Genesis 1:28, 2:15-20 God’s gift of dominion
Genesis 1:28 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."
Increase, subdue, rule. I don't think there is any way an environmentalist can deny the force of these terms. We are not to live as one with nature, we are to live as caretakers of nature. We do not commune in nature, we are to shepherd it. We do enjoy the benefit of nature, and we will pay the price if we abuse nature. I don't think there is any doubt, though, that humanity was created as the crowning achievement of God's activity. As the pride and joy of creation, part of our God-given duty is to manage it, for our benefit and the benefit of the rest of creation.
Most people probably use creation of the benefit of themselves. This is not fulfilling God's initial command to us. To "subdue" means to bring under control. IN this case, submission has a positive implication, if the ruler is benevolent. A benevolent and perfect Adam, established by God, can take a peaceful and orderly creation, which submits to his hand, and then subdue it and rule over it as a divinely-appointed manager. Doesn't sound like a bad set up to me.
Let me ask this questions: Is there anyway to rule nature? In the debate of global warming, it is becoming more apparent that, while our actions can have some impact on our environment, we truly don't have much control over some of the factors that dominate our world (i.e. the sun, atmosphere, El Nino, etc). So, how can we rule, or have dominion, over something that is beyond our control? Is this an issue that reflects the relative peace and tranquility of creation before the fall? If so, how does that peaceful image of creation compare to most evolutionary descriptions of a chaotic earth that arrives at some measure of stability?
What about this: This command was given before the Fall. Does this mean that child-bearing and farming occurred before the Fall? Does this mean that Adam and Eve had a family (or potentially had a family) in the Garden of Eden? Were they working already?
Increase, subdue, rule. I don't think there is any way an environmentalist can deny the force of these terms. We are not to live as one with nature, we are to live as caretakers of nature. We do not commune in nature, we are to shepherd it. We do enjoy the benefit of nature, and we will pay the price if we abuse nature. I don't think there is any doubt, though, that humanity was created as the crowning achievement of God's activity. As the pride and joy of creation, part of our God-given duty is to manage it, for our benefit and the benefit of the rest of creation.
Most people probably use creation of the benefit of themselves. This is not fulfilling God's initial command to us. To "subdue" means to bring under control. IN this case, submission has a positive implication, if the ruler is benevolent. A benevolent and perfect Adam, established by God, can take a peaceful and orderly creation, which submits to his hand, and then subdue it and rule over it as a divinely-appointed manager. Doesn't sound like a bad set up to me.
Let me ask this questions: Is there anyway to rule nature? In the debate of global warming, it is becoming more apparent that, while our actions can have some impact on our environment, we truly don't have much control over some of the factors that dominate our world (i.e. the sun, atmosphere, El Nino, etc). So, how can we rule, or have dominion, over something that is beyond our control? Is this an issue that reflects the relative peace and tranquility of creation before the fall? If so, how does that peaceful image of creation compare to most evolutionary descriptions of a chaotic earth that arrives at some measure of stability?
What about this: This command was given before the Fall. Does this mean that child-bearing and farming occurred before the Fall? Does this mean that Adam and Eve had a family (or potentially had a family) in the Garden of Eden? Were they working already?
Labels: creation, environmentalism, Genesis
posted by Randy Rogers at
1:11 PM
4 Comments
