I am a follower of Christ. I am also a scientist and a natural resource manager. Most people who learn these things about me are a little confused. Non-Christians often don't understand how I can call myself a scientist and believe what I do about God. Christians tend to get a little uncomfortable based on what they know about environmentalists (although I would never call myself an environmentalist...) Read on for some things that I've been thinking about lately.
I first learned the concept of Original Instructions in a class on Native American Ecology taught by Thom Alcoze at Northern Arizona University.The idea is basically this - every living creature was given jobs by God. Grass was told to absorb sunlight, carry fire, and be eaten by deer. Deer were told to eat grass, fertilize the soil, and be eaten by other animals. Mountain lions were told to keep deer populations in control. And humans were told to monitor ecosystems, keeping them in balance, harvesting trees when necessary, burning when necessary, planting when necessary. Things go great until individuals stop following their Instructions. When a lion starts killing for pleasure, we have a problem. When a human dirties water faster than it can be cleaned, we have a problem.
 |
| Photo by Isaac Bickford. |
I've heard many Bible studies and sermons about the Original
Instructions given to humans by God at the time of creation. Most of them are based on the following passage.
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
Genesis 1:28
But recently it
struck me that there is Biblical evidence for Original Instructions given to other species as well.
So God created the great creatures of
the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems,
according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.
And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful
and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds
increase on the earth."
Genesis 1:21-22
I think it's amazing how similar the commands are that God gave to the animals and to humans. "Be fruitful and increase in number..." I believe that just like humans, other species were given more detailed instructions than to simply reproduce. Why don't we see these details in Genesis? Perhaps God chose not to spell those out explicitly for us because those Instructions don't apply directly to us (raise your hand whoever has time to read the Instruction manual with even one sentence for each species on earth.) But God gave Instructions to the animals before man ever stepped into the picture.
 |
| Photo by Isaac Bickford. |
When we waste and destroy resources, we are doing more than just ignoring our Original Instructions. We are directly preventing living things that were created by God from following the instructions they were given by the Ruler of the universe.
My passion for responsible natural resources management comes directly because of my faith, not in spite of it. We cannot continue to tolerate the extinction of species and degradation of ecosystems when we have the understanding and the mandate to follow our Original Instructions.
I would love to hear your comments!
It seems like the original sin trumped the Original Instructions. If Adam and Eve had obeyed the one rule God gave them in the garden, and not eaten the forbidden fruit, the earth would have stayed healthy and beautiful. It's mankind's sinful greedy heart that causes waste and destruction. If we are followers of Christ we will be good stewards of the earth. But the extinction of the human soul is more concerning.
ReplyDeleteMy comment really dovetails to some degree with Cheryl's because the very basis of what you are considering is who God made us to be as humans. What are we really like?? And yes that is where sin comes in since it interferes with what God originally made us to be. The "original instructions" you refer to are really more like the divine design or "original code" in a computer analogy which allows it to be and do what it is. But with man it is more complex, flexible and creative than with the animals. I also wish man used his creativity which God endowed him with to be and do greater good including the environment. There are many laws which you are no doubt aware of which man in his hopes to do good have enacted to allegedly protect the environment. However, how many of them require man to responsibly replace and manage what he uses? And to not be creative in extracting loopholes which allow him to circumvent otherwise good laws. We can not really walk by law anyway and as the bible puts it "walking by grace thru faith" is often a wiser solution to any issue be it environmental or otherwise. Man was not made for this but rather to be a wise steward.
ReplyDeletePhil
Thanks for your comments Cheryl and Phil! I absolutely agree that there are things more important than how we use nature, and that misuse of creation and sin are linked. But I also know many followers of Christ who live extremely wasteful lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteThe beautiful thing is that we don't have to choose to encourage EITHER being right with God OR environmental responsibility. As we share our faith with people, we show them why they should care for our world and as we teach people how to use resources responsibly, they learn about the Creator of those resources. The two factors work together in my life as an upward spiral.
..Isaac..
I agree they both work together and should work together. This can really be a relevant point of departure for the basis for all of human civilization up through the modern era. In other words we could ask the question: "to what degree does the modern industrial revolution which allows many people (tho' not all by any means) to have meaningful jobs and careers violate the original mandate by God to responsibly care for and rule over the environment?" Even more problematic are the clutch of circumstances operating on the free market which may propel folks to ignore some aspects of responsibility in order to insure a profit. Can this be overcome while still maintaining responsibility? That is where rules from government can come in but should do so while not being overburdensome to the freedom of companies to make their own businesses work. And then what about the world market where there is such
ReplyDeletea great number of governments?
I wanted to say also in the last blog that I thought that the "original instructions" were more like the "operating system" (O/S) of a computer which allows it to function. However, we are then able to do a great variety of things with it and it's up to us to decide what "code" and "programs" to place upon it. Surely the Bible then functions more like a Guide book to help us know how to use ourselves and how to avoid abuses of what God originally created us for.
Phil
It's true that original sin threw a wrench in what God wanted both for and from us, but the Original Instructions should still hold true in spite of that. We can rise above the sin by following these instructions. They can lead us to not only being good stewards of the earth but of each other as well. Taking care of what we've been given feeds ours souls, and when they are fed is when we can best bring the word of God to thers. It's how I view it anyway.
ReplyDelete