An environmentalist is a person worships the environment and cares for nature more than people. Christians and others share the common perception that environmental ethics exist for how human beings should relate to the land, the free market perceptive and the environmental perceptive. Humans share a relationship with all creations of the earth. But as humans, they find themselves as having a role in the created order which is they have a closer relationship with the creator who has charged them with acting responsible within his creation. Even allowing a common complaint of environmental activists is that Stewardship means that the earth was made exclusively because of human beings - that having dominion upper nature is the same as having the power and directly of domination. Christians consequently share a close relationship by means of the whole of aspects of creation, since in relation to the environment, its unbroken humanity, not unbroken nature, that's seen to be the problem. Stewardship in simple terms means to manage someone else’s property. Christians proclaims that everything belong to God, so as Christians, we need to have the attitude that our belongings are his belongings. As stewards, we have the responsibility of being in charge of the earth. We have been placed in charge and are responsible for whatever happens to it, even though it does not belong to us, as we all know it belong to God. In Genesis 2:15, God took man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work and take care of it.
Christian’s duties as being a responsible steward need to manage God’s belongings to the best of their ability. Only the Christian has the proper foundation for understanding people's true responsibility to ca...
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... We accept the challenge to work at restoring God’s overall design. Moved by faith in God, we commit ourselves to promote the healing that rises at one as well as the other private and environmental levels from integrated lives dedicated to serve God and humanity.
Works Cited
Keepers of the garden: Christians and the environment
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King James Bible, Retrieved, October, 13,2011
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Annotation: This source does a great job of explaining the difference between the political view of environmentalism, and the Christian view on the environment. The source goes on to talk about how those differences are highlighted by the fact that Christians believe they are placed by God, in charge of Creation. Whereas the political view leans more towards the idea that we are equals with the rest of creation.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1 NIV). First God created and fostered an environment for which His children were to live. He gave it light, water, land, vegetation, creatures on land and sea then finally man and women in His own image. God delighted in everything He created then gave everything to man to cultivate for man’s existence and to glorify Him. Christian faiths are divided in their approach to Christian environmentalism. There are those who claim the relationship between humans and the environment is anthropocentric and others that take a broader view of biocentrism. The message that God gives us is to look at the world of nature and see that the care of the earth is essential to the care that we must show others.
A good ethical theory requires both logical rigor and intuitive appeal to provide an effective tool for understanding what is right and what is wrong. In the field of environmental ethics, there has been significant scholarship in developing a duty ethics based on the inherent value of nature, most notably by Paul Taylor. Taylor indeed provides a logically clear argument for protecting the environment by building on the principles he calls the biocentric outlook (Taylor, 99). While this scholarship has been helpful in offering an explanation for what those who value the environment intuitively recognize, some have noticed that it does not provide positive answers to how we should live (Cafaro, 31). Virtue ethicists, on the other hand, have specifically addressed this question (Sandler, 6), and the result is a very accessible theory that harks back to the classic naturalists like Thoreau (Cafaro). Environmental virtue ethics has its own problems, however; sometimes seems that virtue ethicists are valuing human “flourishing” or “experiences of wonder” before the natural environment they’re claiming to uphold (Rolston, 70). This paper attempts to provide a framework for addressing this critique of environmental virtue ethics by defining the limitations of normative ethical systems and outlining guidelines for environmental virtues as well as some of the advantages a system of virtue ethics has over other ethical approaches.
God has ultimate rule over the earth and He exercises His authority with loving care. When God delegated some of His authority to the human race, He expected people to take responsibility for the environment and the other creatures that share the planet. People must not be careless and wasteful as we fulfill this charge. God was careful how He made this earth and humans must not be careless about how we take care of it. God saw that all He had created was excellent in every way. People need to realize that they are part of God’s creation, and He is pleased with how He made us. Humans are valuable to God because He made us for a good reason.
A question like “Should Christians be concerned about environmental protection?” seems trivial, but many Christians waver in their view concerning this topic. With each generation, it seems to be debated concerning whether or not Christians should assume some of the responsibility for preserving the earth’s environment. The Bible states in Genesis 6:6, “So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them (humanity) and put them on the earth. It broke his heart” (NLT, 2008). This verse represents one of only several verses when God felt sorry. As a result of humanities misbehavior and mistreatment of all creation, God regretted ever creating them. From this perspective, it would be obvious to the average Bible believer, that Christians have a fundamental obligation to preserve and cultivate the earth.
In an era where wars, terrorism, abortion, human sexuality, and poverty are just a few of the myriad of issues that face a church that feels increasingly under attack, the church is compelled to seek out theological responses to these societal troubles, if it is to remain a voice of hope in anxious times. The church, through faith in Christ believes and knows it has the answer to the problem of the human condition, but often feels unsure and inadequate in how to live and respond within its community.
The links between environmentalism and Christianity have a long and complicated history that in the end comes down to a matter of perspective. People can read one document and come up with several different meanings. The Bible has been used over and over to fit the needs of those who’re using it. In its earliest uses its messages were formed to be easier and more appealing in order to convert people, but as time when on and the religion grew more and more people began to associate spirituality and religion back into nature and the environment. With Saint Francis came a message of love and compassion towards all that he extended to include not only the poor and meek, but every living thing. In american history the Protestant view that was seen
“First, there is the call to be a Christian. Second, for each individual there is a specific call—a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being. Every individual is called of God to respond through service in the world. Third, there is the call that we face each day in response to the multiple demands on our lives—our immediate duties and responsibilities” (Smith, ...
Ahimsa is the non-violence towards all living beings, which includes humans, animals, and our environment. In the religion of Buddhism, many people believe that all living animals in our environment may have been humans in their past lifetime. This also led to many believing that it is possible for these environmental souls to be their ancestors. Due to the huge connection Buddhist have towards the environment and nature, they take really good care of the life around them, these types of lives include the insects and animals. A Buddhist named José Kalapura, stated that the Buddha taught us all that being respectful towards nature is one of the main essentials in life, and that this could be done by appreciating and living in harmony with the
Traditionally, Western views of environment ethics has been unclear and for the most part unnecessary. We used earth’s resources without thinking about consequence. This nonchalant use aided in the West’s ability to influence the world through technological advances. In the past, limited travel and slow communication systems had limited our view to a local one. If pollution or to much urbanization occurred the solution was to move.
Environmentalism, according to Webster Dictionary, it is a theory which tries to preserve and restore the environment. It has become a global theory whereby countries and people have seen the need to assist in minimizing the environmental issues being faced. This can be achieve by changing the way we think, work, behave and strive for development as it affects what we greatly depend on, natural resources. Awareness campaigns as well as seminars, meetings, workshops and even lectures are conducted to aid in changing our way of living in order to diminish the negative impacts on the environment. It is crucial to comprehend that the environment must not be customized for us; rather we should acclimatize to it. Environmentalism provides this opportunity whereby we improve and r...
Christians Helping to Perserve the Environment Many Christians believe that God created the World and also made man to be its stewards i.e. To look after something that does not belong to you. Christians who want to be good stewards attempt to protect the World and the rest of creation, by dealing with environmental problems e.g. a major oil of the coast of Spain, or forest fires in Australia. Examples of these stewards are "Green Peace" who try to overt environmental disasters and clear up others. Another example is the "RSPCA", who work to prevent cruelty to animals. As most Christians believe God created the Earth for people to live on and multiply, they give thanks to their creator in many different ways: Well Dressing:
We need to use the natural resources in a positive way so that we do
Steven Garber in the next two chapters of his book challenges us to figure out our calling and to “know”. To then use this new knowledge of the world, this new understanding of our purpose in light of seeing the world for what it is to make ourselves responsible for change, and through our calling change the world using God’s gifts to us to glorify his kingdom and love it just as he loves us. Andy crouch points out that each individual life choice has an effect on those around us and when we realize this, we then are able to flourish and restore through good works for “the common good”. This is only feasible by seeing others as one in the same, all brothers and sisters in Christ. Help those most vulnerable to societies downfalls and help one another flourish as Christ has commanded us to do.
In our class we talked about environmental ethics, practiced leave no trace principles, and completed a hands-on service project at the community S.U.R.F. garden. Through the area of environmental ethics, I thought more about how I can contribute to preserving the environment. When we talked about the ideas of conservation and preservation I thought about what I realistically can do to create an impact on others, my community, and campus to participate in environmental service. Through the hands-on service project at the community S.U.R.F garden I was able to put forth what I learned from the LNT principles: planning ahead and being prepared, disposing waste properly, and through environmental ethics I was able to understand more about