Conservation of the Planet

[Himantolophus]

Please move this if this is the wrong forum.

Many people these days are very conservation minded and they warn of Global Warming and global extinctions. What is everyone's opinion on how Man is allowed to use the Earth.

Some say that Man is the supreme being on Earth and that animals and plants were created for man's use. Therefore, as long as it benefits man, it doesn't matter what we do. Others say the Day of Judgement is coming and we will be taken off the Earth and the Eartth will be restored when Jesus returns, so don't worry. There are other people that simply do not care if species go extinct for whatever reason (money mostly).

On the other hand, others look at man as just another of the millions of species on the planet and we've become a sort of reckless Super-species that suddenly is able to control the environment and do as he pleases to it. They say that we have no right to do this and that the animals have as much right to be here on Earth as we are.

Opinions?

[zoegirl]

Please move this if this is the wrong forum.

Many people these days are very conservation minded and they warn of Global Warming and global extinctions. What is everyone's opinion on how Man is allowed to use the Earth.

Some say that Man is the supreme being on Earth and that animals and plants were created for man's use. Therefore, as long as it benefits man, it doesn't matter what we do. Others say the Day of Judgement is coming and we will be taken off the Earth and the Eartth will be restored when Jesus returns, so don't worry. There are other people that simply do not care if species go extinct for whatever reason (money mostly).

On the other hand, others look at man as just another of the millions of species on the planet and we've become a sort of reckless Super-species that suddenly is able to control the environment and do as he pleases to it. They say that we have no right to do this and that the animals have as much right to be here on Earth as we are.

Opinions?

My thoughts
Mankind was given a mandate in the Garden that we were to be stewards of God's creation. As such, we are given the responsibility to use God's earth, its resources, it's plants, its animals wisely.

Being a good steward means understanding what we are to be good stewards of, and that means undersanding God's creation and the rules and effects of the relationships of the organisms and their habitat.

I think this mandate is still in effect and we are to care and love for God's creation.

We are made in God's image and as such, we are different than the animals, but this mandate needs to be taken
seriously. I am disappointed that many Christians resist this idea, especially, I think, because so many of those who do care about the environment are not Christians and do uplift the animals and plants and reduces the uniquness of mankind. They define what they believe in order to not be the same as *those* freakish environmentalists, instead of defining what they should do from scripture.

"A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel."
Proverbs 12:10

[jenna]

Very good answer, Zoe. That's one reason I like this forum so much, because of all different things and verses you can learn. My husband and I were discussing treatment of animals recently, but until now I never knew this verse. And I read my bible alot! God works in mysterious ways.

[Himantolophus]

I agree with you in that we have to respect the life on Earth (no matter what origin it has). I think most people think like this but it is getting to the point where the Earth is no longer sustainable. We are killing off plants and animals just by trying to live.

I should elaborate my question here... if nature and Man comes into conflict, like if a development intrudes on the habitat or destroys the habitat of a species or a group of species, do we as a "special species" have the right to pave over the habitat just because we are supposedly a level above all other creatures? Or does God want us to respect the "space" of all living things? Does God want us to spend all the time and energy to save endangered species even if they would have gone extinct naturally in nature? Is each species considered equal as in it's importance?

[Gman]

I agree with you in that we have to respect the life on Earth (no matter what origin it has). I think most people think like this but it is getting to the point where the Earth is no longer sustainable. We are killing off plants and animals just by trying to live.

I should elaborate my question here... if nature and Man comes into conflict, like if a development intrudes on the habitat or destroys the habitat of a species or a group of species, do we as a "special species" have the right to pave over the habitat just because we are supposedly a level above all other creatures?

Nope...

Or does God want us to respect the "space" of all living things?

Himantolophus... Absolutely... If you look at some of the laws in the old testament, you will see that God also gave special rights to animals.

Here are just a few...

ANIMALS - Exod. 20:8-11, 23:5, 11, 12; Lev. 22:28; Deut. 25:4
DONKEY - Exod. 23:5, 12
BIRDS - Deut. 22:6, 7
CATTLE - Exod. 20:8-11;
COWS - Lev. 22:28
OX- Exod. 23:12; Deut. 25:4
WILD ANIMALS- Exod. 23:11; Lev. 25:5-7
INJURY TO ANIMALS- Exod. 21:33-36; Lev. 24:18-21

My belief is that God very much wants protection for animals of every kind... And of course there are dire consequences for those who destroy the earth.

Revelation 11:18 The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great-- and for "destroying those who destroy the earth."

More about that here: http://www.godandscience.org/apologetic ... nment.html

By the way, if I ever found the Bible or Christ to be anti-environmental, I would never consider myself a Christian.

Does God want us to spend all the time and energy to save endangered species even if they would have gone extinct naturally in nature?

I really don't think they would have gone extinct if it wasn't for man...

Is each species considered equal as in it's importance?

Absolutely... When you take one species out, it usually effects the whole ecosystem... Which effects the earth, which effects God...

[zoegirl]

ditto

[Gman]

Speaking of conservation, Sister Dorothy Mae Stang, a Catholic nun, in the Amazon region of Brazil was a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, an international Catholic religious order that works for social justice and human rights on five continents.

"Stang was a well-known activist for agrarian reform in the Amazon region of Pará State. She worked with the Pastoral Land Commission, the Catholic Church's arm that fights for the rights of rural workers, peasants and defends land reforms in Brazil."

She was a strict conservationist for the rain forests there...

She was later killed on a dirt road by two gunman (poachers) after reading to them from the Bible. This just happened recently as of 2005.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2005 ... -24-09.asp

Now that is a definition of a real hero....

[JCSx2]

We need to be good stewards of our planet.

[Himantolophus]

I just heard about Dorothy Mae on the "Planet in Peril" show on TV. Sad how these poachers and loggers deal with their problems. We need more people like her on this Earth.

[jenna]

Who is Dorothy Mae? And what happened to her?