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White refers ro is vastly differenr
from che ceaching of Jesus Chrisr as
recorded in che Biblc. He refers ro che
religion rhar cook over rhe Roman
Empire and labeled irself
"Chrisrianiry."
Whire's ofren cired paper, enrirled
"The Historical Roocs of Our Eco–
logic Crisis," was published in
Science,
the journal of che American Associ–
arion for the Advancemenr of Sci–
ence, March
lO,
1967. In chis paper,
Whire lays che cause of che environ–
mental crisis at che doorsrcp of popu–
lar Christian teachings. He asks,
"What did Christianicy cell people
about rheir relations with rhe envi–
ronmenr? Chrisrianicy insisred rhat it
is God's will rhar man exploir narure
for bis proper ends.
"By desrroying pagan animism
[narure worship] Chrisrianicy made ir
possible ro exploit nacure in a mood
of indifference."
Asrounding as Whire's rhesis
sounds, a second rhought reminds us
thar Christian professing narions have
led che world in che sheer magnirude
of rheir pollurion. Only relacively few
orher indusrrialized nacions such as
che USSR and Japan have followed
suit. Japan , in particular, has scriven
ro emulare che rechnological prowess
of che Chrisrianized Wescern world.
Japan likewise suffers from sorne of
che worst pollurion imaginable.
Christian narions havc indeed ser
the example and led che way roward a
more pollutcd environmenr. Bur
where did Chrisrians gcr chis idea?
Does the Bible rcally sancrion man's
rape of thc cnvironmenr? Does che
basic guidebook of Chrisrianicy teach
environmenral responsibiliry? lt's
time ro examine what che Bible really
reaches.
Man to Domínate
The nrst environmenral command
recorded in che Bible is found in rhe
book of Gencsis: "have dominion
[subjugarc, rule] ... over all che
earrh," ir commands man. ' 'Be fruü–
ful, and multiply, and replcnish che
earth, and subdue ir."
4
These simple commands have pro–
found environmental meaning. They
show clearly rhar man was inrcnded
ro peak che pyramid of life, rhar is, ro
dominare che earrh and all lifc upon
ir. The book of Genesis srates rhar
man was made in God's image and
was rherefore ser above che animal
and planr wodd co rule over ir.
Bur rulership is only half rhe as–
signmenr. Many people ofren assume
rhar man has coral freedom - license
- ro maim, destroy, and pillage che
earth's resources for selnsh ends. Non–
sense! This is che way of selfishness,
which leads ro rhe pollution of the
environrnenr. Whar man muse learn
is the way of giving, of concern for
orhers, of keeping the environmenr
pure.
"The second chaprer of Genesis
srates chat man, after he had been
placed in che Garden of Eden, was in–
scrucred by God ro dress ir and ro
keep ir - a scaremenr which has eco–
logical implications," notes Dr. René
Dubos in a lecrure reprinted by
Smirhsonian Instirurion, 1969, en–
tirled, " A Tbeology of the Earrh."
Modern Chrisrianicy, rhough our–
wardly opposed ro pollurion, has gen–
erally failed ro undersrand che envi–
ronmenral and social meaning of
rhese plain Biblical sraremenrs. The
command ro Adam co dress and keep
the Garden of Eden clearly implics rc–
sponsible srewardship of che earrh
God creared for man.
If the cause of che environmenral
crisis is due ro man's permissivc arri–
cude roward rhc environmenr,
broughr on in pare by Christian acti–
tudes,
it
is because Chrisrianity
failed
to fo/Low its guidebook,
rhe Bible.
One of rhe major failings of mod–
ern Chrisrianicy is rhar ir did nor pub–
lish man's responsibilicy ro cake care
of bis home. Indeed no major reli–
gion has made ir clear char humans
muse mainrain rhe earrh's life-supporr
macbinery for rhe benenc of all, if our
spaceship is ro survive irs voyage.
The earch's physical resourccs have
been devoured on a firsr come, firsr
serve basis, wirh lirtle regard for rhe
needs of fucure generations. So far,
rhere have been few actempcs and no
successes ar planeracy planning. Scarc–
icy of resources is one reason. Human
greed for shorr-rerm profirs and !use
for power are orhers.
Planetary Housekeeping
To save our planecary borne, we
muse undersrand how ic funccions as
an inrerconnecred living machine.
Norhing lives of irself on Spaceship
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