Ecological Stewardship: The Biblical Perspective

(Article entitled “Ecological Stewardship: The Biblical Perspective” published in book entitled “Ecological Spirituality: Cross Cultural Perspective” in 2007.)
Rev. Dr. Davis George

1. Ecological Challenges:
The effects of ecological degradation surround us: the smog in our cities; chemicals in our water and on our food; eroded topsoil blowing in the wind; the loss of valuable wetlands; radioactive and toxic waste lacking adequate disposal sites; threats to the health of industrial and farm workers. The problems, however, reach far beyond our own neighborhoods and work-places. Our problems are the world's problems and burdens for generations to come. Poisoned water crosses borders freely. Acid rain pours on countries that do not create it. Greenhouse gases and chlorofluorocarbons affect the earth's atmosphere for many decades, regardless of where they are produced or used.

Opinions vary about the causes and the seriousness of environmental problems. Still, we can experience their effects in polluted air and water; in oil and wastes on our beaches; in the loss of farmland, wetlands, and forests; and in the decline of rivers and lakes. Scientists identify several other less visible but particularly urgent problems currently being debated by the scientific community, including depletion of the ozone layer, deforestation, the extinction of species, the generation and disposal of toxic and nuclear waste, and global warming. These important issues are being explored by scientists, and they require urgent attention and action. We are not scientists, but as responsible citizen of the world we call on experts, citizens, and policymakers to continue to explore the serious environmental, ethical, and human dimensions of these ecological challenges.

Ecological issues are also linked to other basic problems. As eminent scientist Dr. Thomas F. Malone reported, humanity faces problems in five interrelated fields: environment, energy, economics, equity, and ethics. To ensure the survival of a healthy planet, we must not only establish a sustainable economy but must also labor for justice both within and among nations. We must seek a society where economic life and environmental commitment work together to protect and to enhance life on this planet.


2. Ecology: A Common Patrimony:

According to Pope John Paul II Ecology is our common patrimony. And the goods of the earth, which in the divine plan should be a common patrimony, often risk becoming the monopoly of a few who often spoil them and, sometimes, destroy them, thereby creating loss for all humanity. God has given the fruit of the earth to sustain the entire human family "without excluding or favoring anyone." The Second Vatican Council says "God destined the earth and all it contains for the use of every individual and all peoples".1
 
2.1 The Earth is a Gift to all Creatures

In the creation story we read in the Bible, "God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good." (Gen 1:31) The heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, the earth and the sea, fish and birds, animals and humans—all are good. The whole creation is called to bless the Lord. (Pro 8:2; Dan 3:74-81) The earth, the Bible reminds us, is a gift to all creatures, to "all living beings–all mortal creatures that are on earth." (Gen 9:16-17) Hence the covenant of Noah consisted of all creatures. (Gen 9:9-10) It is amazing to see how all living creatures are taken care of and protected by God himself. God’s plan was that we live interconnected as we are interdependent.
Aquinas in Summa Theologica tells us that God produced many and diverse creatures. Hence the whole universe together participates in the divine goodness more perfectly, and represents it better than any single creature whatever. Respect for nature and respect for human life are inextricably related. "Respect for life, and above all for the dignity of the human person," Pope John Paul II has written, “extends also to the rest of creation.”  2 Pope John Paul II said.

2.2. Alienation from Nature: Ecological Crisis

In the name of development man has been consistently alienating himself from nature. Exploitation and depletion of natural resources to satisfy man’s insatiable lust and greed slowly made humanity more and more vulnerable to impoverished life and destruction. Human beings were made to be part of God’s creation with an added responsibility and accountability to make this planet earth more productive and fruitful for all God’s creation. Not paying heed to this sacred duty entrusted to him, man brought humanity to almost the verge of natural catastrophe.

2.2.1Global Ecological Destruction: Consumption and Population

Consumption in developed nations remains the single greatest source of global ecological destruction. A child born in the United States, for example, puts a far heavier burden on the world's resources than one born in a poor developing country.
To deal with population problems the world has to focus on sustainable social and economic development. According to Gandhi “there is enough in the world for man’s need, but not enough for man’s greed.” 

3. The Ecological Crisis: A Moral Problem

Faced with the widespread destruction of the environment, people everywhere are coming to understand that we cannot continue to use the goods of the earth as we have in the past. . . . [A] new ecological awareness is beginning to emerge. . . . The ecological crisis is a moral issue.3
 
There is a growing awareness that world peace and prosperity is threatened not only by the arms race, regional conflicts and continued injustices among peoples and nations, but also by a lack of DUE RESPECT FOR NATURE, by the plundering of natural resources and by an progressive decline in the quality of life. The sense of precariousness and insecurity that such a situation engenders is a seedbed for collective selfishness, disregard for others and dishonesty. Faced with the widespread destruction of the environment, people everywhere are coming to understand that we cannot continue to use the goods of the earth as we have in the past. The public in general, as well as political leaders are concerned about this problem, and experts from a wide range of disciplines are studying its causes. 

Pope John Paul II appreciated the great discoveries and technological advancements made by science. At the same time he expressed his concern over the indiscriminate application of advances in science and technology, which according to him have become a moral problem. As a result of this man is often oblivious of God’s plan which is so evident in nature. Every time we discover something new, we discover how God has implanted his laws in the smallest of atom and the biggest of constellation. This should be a humbling experience which makes him wonder at the order in the universe and worship the God in nature. John Paul II expressed his concern over the growing lack of respect for life. God alone is the author of life and we need to learn to respect life and be grateful for the wonder of life in so many forms. Indiscriminate genetic manipulation can result in untold miseries. Human beings could be treated as any other animal and the bonding between person to person, parents and children, families and society may be lost. In the name of progress and scientific advancements, we should not manipulate and exploit human needs and human situation. Ethical values must be safeguarded to preserve human dignity. 

Uncontrolled destruction of animal and plant life has brought about imbalance in ecology and this in turn has affected human beings. To add to this we have witnessed reckless exploitation of natural resources. We end to forget that we are interdependent beings and man alone cannot survive on this planet earth. There is a growing awareness on this issue all around the world. 

4. Authentic Development: Option for the Poor

 The ecological problem is intimately connected to justice for the poor. Unrestrained economic development is not the answer to improving the lives of the poor. Material growth alone will not constitute a model of development. A "mere accumulation of goods and services, even for the benefit of the majority," as Pope John Paul II has said, "is not enough for the realization of human happiness." 4 He has also warned that in a desire "to have and to enjoy rather than to be and to grow," humanity "consumes the resources of the earth, subjecting it without restraint as if it did not have its own requisites and God-given purposes."

It must also be said that a proper ecological balance will not be found without DIRECTLY ADDRESSING THE STRUCTURAL FORMS OF POVERTY that exist throughout the world. Rural poverty and unjust land distribution in many countries, for example, have led to subsistence farming and to the exhaustion of the soil. Once their land yields no more, many farmers move on to clear new land, thus accelerating uncontrolled deforestation, or they settle in urban centers which lack the infrastructure to receive them. Likewise, some heavily indebted countries are destroying their natural heritage, at the price of irreparable ecological imbalances, in order to develop new products for export. In the face of such situations it would be wrong to assign the responsibility to the poor alone for the negative environmental consequences of their actions. Rather, the poor, to whom the earth is entrusted no less than to others, must be enabled to find a way out of their poverty. This will require a courageous reform of structures, as well as new ways of relating among peoples and States.

5. The Biblical Vision of God's Good Earth

We read in the Bible, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Gen 1:27-28)

Yet, man’s lordship is not "absolute, but ministerial: it is a real reflection of the unique and infinite lordship of God.  Hence, man must exercise it with wisdom and love, sharing in the boundless wisdom and love of God." 5.  In Biblical language, "to name" creatures (Genesis 2:19-20) is the sign of this mission of knowledge and transformation of created reality.  It is not the mission of an absolute and insensitive master, but of a minister of the Kingdom of God, called to continue the work of the Creator, a work of life and peace.  His responsibility, defined in the Book of Wisdom, is to govern "the world in holiness and justice" (Wisdom 9:3; Wisdom 13:5; Romans 1:20). The Book of Wisdom, echoed by Paul, celebrates this presence of God in the universe.  This is what the Jewish tradition of the Hasidim also sings “You are wherever I go!  You are wherever I stop… wherever I turn, wherever I admire, only You, again You, always You”.6
 
5.1 Bible and Ecology: Splendor of Creation

The book of Genesis teaches us that the Lord God formed us "out of the dust of the ground" (Gen 2:7; 3:19). Psalm 139 thanks God for fashioning us fearfully and wonderfully "in secret", "in the depths of the earth". The Psalms delight at and are full of awe over the mystery of our intimacy with the earth, our intimacy with "fire and hail, snow and mist", "mountains and all hills", "sea monsters and all depths" (Ps 148). Psalm 104, one of the most lyrical praises, sings the glory of God "robed in light as with a cloak", who "spread out the heavens like a tent cloth" and "made the moon to mark the seasons".

The Bible shows nature’s link with God who created it, blessed it, and shows himself through it. He appears in fire, in wind, and in water. God also uses nature to bring humans closer to him and to punish them when they go astray. Everything in the world, therefore, remains sacred since it is linked with God and leads to him. Various texts in the Psalms (Ps 19:1-7; 98:7-9; 104:1-5, 13-25; 148:3-13) show that all things on earth are seen as God’s handiwork which bring him honour and praise by their very existence. 

The prophet Daniel in a canticle calls on all the "works of the Lord" to bless him: "Let the earth bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Mountains and hills, bless the Lord, everything growing from the earth bless the Lord" (Dan 3:74-76). The last chapters of the Book of Job call upon the animals, nature, birds, etc., and praise God for their presence. Chapter 12 urges humans to learn humbly from the earth: "But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or the plants of the earth, and they will teach you " (Job 12:7, 8).15 The Bible is concerned with salvation or life-giving blessings not only in the afterlife but also within this world and within present history, individual and collective. It envisions a new world and a new history. Its salvific concern embraces nature, that is, the earth, air, trees, seas and birds. 

The cosmos is God’s ‘womb’, as it were. The intimate relationship between God and the cosmos explodes with seminal energy that generates and regenerates life. God, as it were, energises the cosmos and the cosmos in return dances with the creator.

In Jesus’ teaching, one can see his ecological concern in his language. He used ordinary creatures such as birds, lilies, grass, etc., to help to put his message of concern for the world across. He also shared his experience of a loving God dynamically present in the world. He is encouraging his listeners to have eyes that see and ears that hear the movement of God in the world. Jesus was passing on to his listeners what he had discovered about God’s reign in the natural things around him.
The miracles of Jesus (37 of them in the Synoptic Gospels and seven in John) form a major section of the Gospels and reveal Jesus’ concern for the world as such. Through the miracles Jesus destroys the "domination" of Satan over the created realities and establishes the "dominion" of God which is liberating. In this sense all the miracles have ecological resonance. The nature miracles (Mk 4:35-41; 6:45-62, etc.) invite us to trust in the absolute power of God in the midst of ecological disasters. The feeding miracles (Mk 6:30-44; 8:1-10) tell us about the abundant resources of nature, which provide us with food and drink, and which need to be evenly distributed according to the needs of the people. The miracles of exorcism (Mk 5:2-20; Lk 4:35-41, etc.) reveal that cosmic ecological harmony is on the agenda of God who directs the forces of ecocide. The healing miracles (Mk 5:25-34, etc.) call us to be God’s stewards in the restoration of the disfigured images of God in creation, especially, human beings. The resuscitation miracles (Mk 5:21-21, 35-43, etc.) challenge us not to be silent spectators of the world-wide ecological holocaust that is taking place, but to be active agents in the creation of "a new heaven and a new earth" (Rev 21:1-4).

A serious reflection on the life-events of Jesus Christ, his teaching and his miracles from an ecological point of view is very inspiring. Today, if one reads the Gospel from an ecological perspective one can see Jesus of the Gospel as an ‘Ecologist.’ 

5.2 Scientists learn from creation

Louis Agassiz, perhaps the greatest natural scientist of the nineteenth century, declared that it is the job of prophets and scientists alike to proclaim the glories of God and he spent his life as a scientist doing exactly that. As Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, "The true doctrine of omnipresence is that God reappears with all his parts in every moss and cobweb.” 7 In our study of natural objects we are approaching the thoughts of the Creator, reading his conceptions, interpreting a system that is His and not ours.”8 "Facts are the words of God, and we may heap them together endlessly, but they will teach us little or nothing till we place them in their true relations, and recognize the thought that binds them together." 9

Today there is another interesting trend. It is that the number of inventions based on copying nature is now beginning to be systematically exploited. In so doing, one need not even bring up the argument over whether "nature" refers to the handiwork of God or millions of years of mindless evolution; all that matters is that nature is incredibly successful at solving problems with which we have struggled for years.

This trend began by noticing that many inventions were discovered by observing how "nature" had solved problems. Inventors spent centuries trying to invent the airplane after watching birds fly. The book Serendipity: Accidental Discoveries in Science chronicles several of these observations which led to inventions. It also includes some discoveries that really appear to have been accidents, but many came from simply noticing the invention already working in nature, and using scientific inquiry to discover just how they work. For example, the color purple is associated with royalty partly because the natural dye Tyrian purple could only be extracted from small mollusks in the Mediterranean Sea. It was very expensive because it took 9,000 of them to produce a gram of dye. The synthesis of this color by William Perkin led to the birth of the synthetic dye industry. Certain peptides which are highly effective in fighting a variety of bacteria were discovered when it was observed that some African frogs would heal perfectly in murky water filled with lethal bacteria. The list goes on and on. 10
 
The present scenario fosters the trend of a more systematic imitation of nature. The word "biomimicry" has been coined to refer to the idea of purposely copying nature to discover new inventions. The author of a book with that title sees this emerging field as the result of centuries of trying to fight nature as gradually succumbing to a trend to acknowledge nature's ways as best. She points out that not only has nature already invented everything we have but, it has many more inventions whose workings still evade us.

We realize that all our inventions have already appeared in nature in a more elegant form and at a lot less cost to the planet. Our most clever architectural struts and beams are already featured in lily pads and bamboo stems. Our central heating and air conditioning are bested by the termite tower's steady 86 degrees F. Our most stealthy radar is hard of hearing compared to the bat's multifrequency transmission. And our new 'smart materials' can't hold a candle to the dolphin's skin or to the butterfly's proboscis. Even the wheel, which we always took to be a uniquely human creation, has been found in the tiny rotary motor that propels the flagellum of the world's most ancient bacteria.

Humbling also are the hordes of organisms casually performing feats we can only dream about. Bioluminescent algae splash chemicals together to light their body lanterns. Arctic fish and frogs freeze solid and then spring to life, having protected their organs from ice damage. Black bears hibernate all winter without poisoning themselves on their urea, while their polar cousins stay active, with a coat of transparent hollow hairs covering their skins like the panes of a greenhouse. Chameleons and cuttlefish hide without moving, changing the pattern of their skin to instantly blend with their surroundings. Bees, turtles, and birds navigate without maps, while whales and penguins dive without scuba gear. How do they do it? How do dragonflies outmaneuver our best helicopters? How do hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than one tenth of an ounce of fuel? How do ants carry the equivalent of hundreds of pounds in a dead heat through the jungle?

No wonder that these marvelous creations inspire awe and reverence; they are the work of the Almighty. When we look on any or the least of these, we are looking at God moving in his majesty and power. The new millennium promises to provide many new and wonderful inventions as scientists recognize the hand of God in nature and begin to understand the principles behind so many inventions which are found everywhere in His creations.

6. Estrangement of Humans from Nature: Ecological Conversion

In the Book of Genesis, where we find God's first self-revelation to humanity (Gen 1-3), there is a recurring refrain: "AND GOD SAW IT WAS GOOD". After creating the heavens, the sea, the earth and all it contains, God created man and woman. At this point the refrain changes markedly: "And God saw everything he had made, and behold, IT WAS VERY GOOD" (Gen 1:31). God entrusted the whole of creation to the man and woman, and only then as we read could he rest "from all his work" (Gen 2:3).

Adam and Eve's call to share in the unfolding of God's plan of creation brought into play those abilities and gifts which distinguish human beings from all other creatures. At the same time, their call established a fixed relationship between mankind and the rest of creation. Made in the image and likeness of God, Adam and Eve were to have exercised their dominion over the earth (Gen 1:28) with wisdom and love. Instead, they destroyed the existing harmony BY DELIBERATELY GOING AGAINST THE CREATOR'S PLAN, that is, by choosing to sin. This resulted not only in man's alienation from himself, in death and fratricide, but also in the earth's "rebellion" against Him (Gen 3:17-19; 4:12).

In the Bible's account of Noah, the world's new beginning was marked by the estrangement of humans from nature. Hosea, for example, cries out:

There is no fidelity, no mercy,
no knowledge of God in the land.
False swearing, lying, murder, stealing
and adultery!
in their lawlessness, bloodshed
follows bloodshed.
Therefore, the land mourns,
and everything that dwells in it
languishes:
The beasts of the field,
the birds of the air,
and even the fish of the sea perish  (Hos 4:1b-3).

The idea of social justice is inextricably linked with ecology in the Scriptures. In passage after passage, environmental degradation and social injustice go hand in hand. Indeed, the first instance of "pollution" in the Bible occurs when Cain slays Abel and his blood falls on the ground, rendering it fallow. According to Genesis, after the murder, when Cain asks, "Am I my brother's keeper?" the Lord replies, "Your brother's blood calls out to me from the ground. What have you done?" God then tells Cain that his brother's blood has defiled the ground and that as a result, "no longer will it yield crops for you, even if you pray.” 

In the biblical vision, therefore, injustice results in suffering for all creation. To curb the abuse of the land and of fellow humans, ancient Israel set out legal protections aimed at restoring the original balance between land and people (Lev 25). Every seventh year, the land and people was to rest; nature would be restored by human restraint. And every seventh day, the Sabbath rest gave relief from unremitting toil to workers and beasts alike. 

Pope John Paul II emphasized the need for personal conversion. “As individuals, as institutions, as a people, we need a change of heart to preserve and protect the planet for our children and for generations yet unborn.” 11 We need to have a paradigm shift -   from a culture of consumption to a culture of conserving; from depleting to replenishing.

7. Environmental Stewardship: God's Stewards and Co-Creators

7.1 Stewardship: Protecting the Environment for Future Generations

Stewardship is defined in this case as the ability to exercise moral responsibility to care for the environment. It implies that we must both care for creation according to standards that are not of our own making, and at the same time be resourceful in finding ways to make the earth flourish. In Genesis, God said "till it and keep it", (Gen 2:15) and this should be understood not as dominion over the whole world, but as the ‘stewardship’ of human beings over the creatures. We must have a relationship of mutuality with other creatures and we must empathize and participate with, delight in, and accompany the creatures to bring about a communion of all sections of creation whose head is God himself. It is awesome that the creator of this universe in his wisdom entrusted his own creation to human beings so that they may take care of it and make it productive and fruitful for the benefit of the entire of creation. He did not visualize that humans would exploit the creation for his selfish ends. Yet, God alone is sovereign over the whole earth. "The LORD'S are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it" (Ps 24:1). We are not free, therefore, to use created things capriciously. Humanity's arrogance and acquisitiveness, however, led time and again to our growing alienation from nature (Gen 3:4; 6:9, 11)

7.2 Theological and Ethical Foundations of Stewardship 

God, the Creator of all things, rules over all and deserves our worship and adoration (Ps. 103:19—22). The earth, and, with it, all the cosmos, reveals its Creator’s wisdom and goodness (Ps. 19:1—6) and is sustained and governed by his power and loving-kindness (Ps. 102:25—27; Ps. 104; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3, 10—12). Men and women were created in the image of God, given a privileged place among creatures, and commanded to exercise stewardship over the earth (Gen. 1:26—28; Ps. 8:5). Our stewardship under God implies that we are morally accountable to him for treating creation in a manner that best serves the objectives of the kingdom of God. However, both moral accountability and dominion over the earth depend on the freedom to choose. The exercise of these virtues and this calling, therefore, require that we act in an arena of considerable freedom–not unrestricted license, but freedom exercised within the boundaries of God’s moral law revealed in Scripture and in the human conscience (Exod. 20:1—17; Deut. 5:6—21; Rom. 2:14—15). These facts are not vitiated by the fact that humankind fell into sin (Gen. 3). Rather, our sinfulness has brought God’s responses, first in judgment, subjecting humankind to death and separation from God (Gen. 2:17; 3:22—24; Rom. 5:12—14; 6:23) and subjecting creation to the curse of futility and corruption (Gen. 3:17—19; Rom. 8:20—21); and then in restoration, through Christ’s atoning, redeeming death for his people, reconciling them to God (Rom. 5:10—11, 15—21; 2 Cor. 5:17—21; Eph. 2:14—17; Col. 1:19—22), and through his wider work of delivering the earthly creation from its bondage to corruption (Rom. 8:19—23). Indeed, Christ even involves fallen humans in this work of restoring creation (Rom. 8:21). As Francis Bacon wrote in Novum Organum Scientiarum (New Method of Science), that man by the ‘Fall’ fell at the same time from his state of innocence and from his dominion over creation. Both of these losses, however, can even in this life be in some parts repaired; the former by religion and faith, the latter by the arts and sciences. Sin, then, makes it difficult for humans to exercise godly stewardship, nonetheless the work of Christ in, on, and through his people and the creation makes it largely possible. 

When He created the world, God set aside a unique place, the Garden of Eden, and placed in it the first man, Adam (Gen. 2:8—15). God instructed Adam to cultivate and guard the Garden (Gen. 2:15)–to enhance its already great fruitfulness and to protect it against the encroachment of the surrounding wilderness that made up the rest of the earth. Having also created the first woman and having joined her to Adam (Gen. 2:18—25), God commanded them and their descendants to multiply, to spread out beyond the boundaries of the Garden of Eden, and to fill, subdue, and rule the whole earth and everything in it (Gen. 1:26, 28). Both by endowing them with his image and by placing them in authority over the earth, God gave men and women superiority and priority over all other earthly creatures. This implies that proper environmental stewardship, while it seeks to harmonize the fulfillment of the needs of all creatures, nonetheless puts human needs above non-human needs when the two are in conflict. 

Some environmentalists reject this vision as "anthropocentric" or "speciesist," and instead promote a "biocentric" alternative. But the alternative, however attractively humble it might sound, is really untenable. People, alone among creatures on earth, have both the rationality and the moral capacity to exercise stewardship, to be accountable for their choices, to take responsibility for caring not only for themselves but also for other creatures. To reject human stewardship is to embrace, by default, no stewardship. The only proper alternative to selfish anthropocentrism is not biocentrism but Theo centrism: a vision of earth care with God and his perfect moral law at the center and human beings acting as his accountable stewards.  

7.3 Authentic development based on Justice.

How are we to fulfill God's call to be stewards of creation in an age when we may have the capacity to alter that creation significantly and perhaps irrevocably? How can we as a "family of nations" exercises stewardship in a way that respects and protects the integrity of God's creation and provides for the common good? For this we need to focus on economic and social progress based on justice. Sustainable development can happen only when we focus on justice; justice not only for the rich, but also for the poor and marginalized; even to all other plant and animal kingdoms. In the name of development we have often destroyed the mother earth on whom we depend for survival. Exploitation of the environment has resulted in ecological imbalance and poses great threat to future of the planet earth. The common good calls us to extend our concern to future generations. Climate change poses the question "What does our generation owe to generations yet unborn?” As Pope John Paul II has written, "there is an order in the universe which must be respected, and . . . the human person, endowed with the capability of choosing freely, has a grave responsibility to preserve this order for the well-being of future generations."12

Passing along the problem of global climate change to future generations as a result of our delay, indecision, or self-interest would be easy. But we simply cannot leave this problem for the children of tomorrow. As stewards of their heritage, we have an obligation to respect their dignity and to pass on their natural inheritance, so that their lives are protected and, if possible, made better than our own.  
A more responsible approach to population issues is the promotion of "authentic development," which represents a balanced view of human progress and includes respect for nature, respect for order in the universe and social well-being.

7.4 Interdependence to solidarity and moral responsibility

"The ecological crisis," Pope John Paul II has written, "reveals the urgent moral need for a new solidarity, especially in relations between the developing nations and those that are highly industrialized".13 The earth's atmosphere encompasses all people, creatures, and habitats. The melting of ice sheets and glaciers, the destruction of rain forests, and the pollution of water in one place can have environmental impacts elsewhere. As Pope John Paul II has said, "We cannot interfere in one area of the ecosystem without paying due attention both to the consequences of such interference in other areas and to the well being of future generations." 14 Responses to global climate change should reflect our interdependence and common responsibility for the future of our planet. Individual nations must measure their own self-interest against the greater common good and contribute equitably to global solutions. 

Pope John Paul II has said that interdependence, must be transformed into solidarity. Surmounting every type of imperialism and determination to preserve their own hegemony, the stronger and richer nations must have a sense of moral responsibility for the other nations, so that a real international system may be established which will rest on the foundation of the equality of all peoples and on the necessary respect for their legitimate differences."15 Whether we like it or not, we have all been born on this earth as part of one great family. Rich or poor, educated or uneducated, belonging to one nation, religion, ideology or another, ultimately each of us is just a human being just like everyone else. We all desire happiness and do not want suffering. Furthermore, each of us has the same right to pursue happiness and avoid suffering. When we recognize that all beings are equal in this respect, we automatically feel empathy and closeness for them. Out of this, in turn, comes a genuine sense of universal responsibility: the wish to actively help others overcome their problems.

Nowadays, significant events in one part of the world eventually affect the entire planet. Therefore, we have to treat each major local problem as a global concern from the moment it begins. We can no longer invoke the national, racial or ideological barriers that separate us without destructive repercussions. Tenzin Gyatso Dalai Lama of Tibet said that in the face of such global problems as the greenhouse effect and depletion of the ozone layer, individual organizations and single nations are helpless. Unless we all work together, no solution can be found. Our mother earth is teaching us a lesson in universal responsibility.  Good wishes alone are not enough; we have to assume responsibility.

8. Conclusion: Need of the Hour - Ecological Balance.
 
We are amazed to see the marvels of science and technology and at the same time saddened to see human starvation in some parts of the world and extinction of other life forms. Where Exploration of outer space is taking place paradoxically the earth’s own ocean, seas and freshwater areas grow increasingly polluted, and their life forms are still largely unknown or misunderstood…Many of the earth's habitats, animals, plants, insects, and even microorganisms that we know as rare may not be known at all by future generations.  We have the capability and the responsibility to take proactive steps to preserve the ecological balance.  The whole universe is God's dwelling. Earth, a very small, uniquely blessed corner of that universe, gifted with unique natural blessings, is humanity's home, and humans are never so much at home as when God dwells with them. In the beginning, the first man and woman walked with God in the cool of the day. Throughout history, people have continued to meet the Creator on mountaintops, in vast deserts, and alongside waterfalls and gently flowing springs. In storms and earthquakes, they found expressions of divine power. In the cycle of the seasons and the courses of the stars, they have discerned signs of God's fidelity and wisdom. We still share, though dimly, in that sense of God's presence in nature.
For many people, the environmental movement has reawakened appreciation of the truth that, through the created gifts of nature, men and women encounter their Creator. The Christian vision of a sacramental universe–a world that discloses the Creator's presence by visible and tangible signs–can contribute to making the earth a home for the human family once again. Pope John Paul II has called for Christians to respect and protect the environment, so that through nature people can "contemplate the mystery of the greatness and love of God."
Reverence for the Creator present and active in nature, moreover, may serve as a ground for ecological responsibility. For the very plants and animals, mountains and oceans, which in their loveliness and sublimity lift our minds to God, by their fragility and perishing likewise cry out, "We have not made ourselves." God brings them into being and sustains them in existence. It is to the Creator of the universe, then, that we are accountable for what we do or fail to do to preserve and care for the earth and all its creatures. For "the LORD'S are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it" (Ps 24:1). Dwelling in the presence of God, we begin to experience ourselves as part of creation, as stewards within it, not separate from it. As faithful stewards, fullness of life comes from living responsibly within God's creation.

Stewardship implies that we must both care for creation according to standards that are not of our own making and at the same time be resourceful in finding ways to make the earth flourish. It is a difficult balance, requiring both a sense of limits and a spirit of experimentation. Even as we rejoice in the earth's goodness and in the beauty of nature, stewardship places upon us the responsibility of the well-being of all God's creatures.

Education in ecological responsibility is urgent if our “paradise lost" has to be regained. The children have to be taught to respect their neighbors and to love nature. "If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it."-Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) 36th President of the United States.

NOTES & REFERENCES

  1. Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), no69, in Austin Flannery, ed., Vatican Council (Gaudium et Spes, 69).
  2. John Paul II, The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility (Washington,  D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1990), no. 7.
  3. Ibid., nos. 1, 15.
  4. John Paul II, On Social Concern (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis) (Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1988), no. 28.
  5. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae," NewYork, Random House, 1995,  no. 52
  6. M. Buber,” I Racconti dei Chassidium,” Milan 1079, p.256
  7. T Royston M. Roberts, Serendipity: Accidental Discoveries in Science, Wiley & Sons, New York, 1989.
  8. The Agassiz, Louis, Methods of Study in Natural History, Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1863, p. 14
  9. Agassiz, Louis, "Evolution and Permanence Type" reprinted in The Intelligence of Agassiz by Guy Davenport, Westport, Conn., Greenwood Press, 1983, p. 231.
  10. Benyus, Janine M., Biomimicry, William Morrow, New York, 1997, pp. 6-7.
  11. John Paul II, The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility (Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1990), no. 6.
  12. John Paul II, "The Exploitation of the Environment Threatens the Entire Human Race," address to the Vatican symposium on the environment (1990), in Ecology and Faith: The Writings of Pope John Paul II, ed. Sr. Ancilla Dent, OSB (Berkhamsted, England: Arthur James, 1997), 12.
  13. John Paul II, The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility (Washington,  D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1990), no.10
  14. Ibid., no. 6.
  15. See also treatment of this topic in Stewardship: A Disciple's Response (Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1993),39.
  16.  Wallace, Mark I. Fragments of the Spirit: Nature, Violence, and the Renewal of Creation. New York: Continuum, 1996.
  17. Williams, George H. “Christian Attitudes toward Nature.” Parts 1 and 2. Christian Scholar’s Review 2, no. 1 (fall 1971): 3–35; no. 2 (spring 1972): 112–26.
    Wilderness and Paradise in Christian Thought. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1962.
  18. Zizioulas, John. “Preserving God’s Creation: Three Lectures on Theology and Ecology.” Parts 1–3. King’s Theological Review 12 (spring 1989): 1–5; 12 (autumn 1989): 41–45; 13 (spring 1990): 1–5.
  19. John Paul II, On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum (Centesimus  Annus) (Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,  1991), no. 38.
  20. John Paul II, "International Solidarity Needed to Safeguard Environment," Address by the Holy Father to the European Bureau for the Environment, L'Osservatore Romano (June 26, 1996).

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