caring for the earth a christian spiritual perspective
TRANSCRIPT
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Caring for the Earth
A Christian Spiritual Perspective
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What should our attitude be towards God’s creation?
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‘Having dominion over the earth’ does not mean that we should exploit the earth and its resources for our own ends- but we should be responsible stewards
accountable to God for our actions and also to recognise our place in the ecosystem.
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Our response should be a perception of the heart not just the intellect.
The covenant of creation •God’s covenant promise to Noah (Genesis 9)
with all creation not to destroy the earth ever again.
•We should look to St Francis’ relationship with the
animals and see our inter-relatedness in the web
of nature.The priesthood of humanity•We should be priests and stewards not
masters and possessors.
•We have the capacity to transform the environment
for God’s glory through God’s grace.
Our response should be a perception of the heart not just the intellect.
The covenant of creation •God’s covenant promise to Noah (Genesis 9)
with all creation not to destroy the earth ever again.
•We should look to St Francis’ relationship with the
animals and see our inter-relatedness in the web
of nature.The priesthood of humanity•We should be priests and stewards not
masters and possessors.
•We have the capacity to transform the environment
for God’s glory through God’s grace.
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Covenant of the Rainbow
God promised Noah ever to destroy the earth again in a flood. (Genesis 9)
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St Francis of Assisi
Living in harmony with the natural world.
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Poor stewardship means the ecosystem becomes out of balance
We must replenish what we take out of the earth
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Greed and Consumerism is producing mountains of waste
Landfill sites are becoming full.Plastic is difficult to recycle.
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Industrialisation over the last 200 years has had a major detrimental impact on the environment
Factory and vehicle emissions are destroying the ozone layer and increasing global warming.
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Maintaining important habitats and diversity
Rainforests are rich habitats : they help maintain the earth’s atmosphere and are a precious source of medicines
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Forests are being destroyed for timber and beef production, destroying soils and causing
desertification
Deforestation
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Hardwoods take hundreds of years to grow
Eucalyptus and other fast growing trees should be used instead for building and firewood.
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Principles to which we should adhere as Christians:The sacrament of creation
We should acknowledge that God -made the world
redeemed it sustains it.
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We need to challenge consumerism and our ever increasing demand for things we do not really need and the
‘throw away society’
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We should have our focus on God our creator and sustainer
We should worship and thank God for all his blessings and look to him for our provision.
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The Sabbath Feast of Sufficiency
We need to challenge increasing consumption and learn to enter God’s rest and Jubilee.
We should give back to God in worship and be sustained by Him.
Our true relationship with the environment should
be to rest in the promises of God.
As Christians we therefore have a distinctly different part to play in environmental action to:
‘New Agers’ - who believe in Gaia (Mother Earth God) Pantheists - who worship creation rather than the creator.
The Sabbath Feast of Sufficiency
We need to challenge increasing consumption and learn to enter God’s rest and Jubilee.
We should give back to God in worship and be sustained by Him.
Our true relationship with the environment should
be to rest in the promises of God.
As Christians we therefore have a distinctly different part to play in environmental action to:
‘New Agers’ - who believe in Gaia (Mother Earth God) Pantheists - who worship creation rather than the creator.
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We should take a Sabbath rest to honour God and for our health and well-being.
Keeping the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments.
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We must-•recognise the spirit behind the rising tide of neo- paganism, humanism and feminism which has infiltrated the church.•make a stand for a truly Biblical perspective.
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We should encourage alternative technology
development educationand care for the poor and needy.
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Ref: Foster C. (2004) ‘Sustainability is a Spiritual Issue,’ The Crucible. January/ March 2004 issue p30-36.
We should:-•take personal responsibility by adopting simpler lifestyles.•take an active role in campaigning for reduction in
carbon dioxide emissions.•protect wildlife.