There is the opinion
that the cause of the anthropogenic environmental mess we find ourselves in
today, stemming from anthropocentrism, should be laid at the doorsteps of
Judeo-Christian mainstream thinking. Anthropocentrism is the tendency to assess
reality solely through human values- human centeredness in the use of
environmental resources. That is Judeo- Christian mainstream thinking is the
superiority of man over other life forms, and the subjection of nonliving
things to man. This line of thinking it is believed led to the disorderly and
excessive extraction and use of resources in the natural environment. Further
it is held that this concept seeped into modern Western science. The foregoing
are thoughts expressed by Lynn White in an essay of 1967.
The basis from which
that opinion was developed are works of the Church Fathers (Catholic Church)
and the Bible. The following are two pillars forming the basis of the opinion
for the purposes of this post:
- Church Fathers (Thomas Aquinas) - Summa Contra Gentiles, Book 3, Part 2, Chapter 112:
In the work quoted
above, Thomas Aquinas indicated that animals are “ordered to man’s use”.
- The Bible, Genesis Chapter 1, 27-28 (King James Version):
“So God created man
in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created
he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
moveth upon the earth”.
From the foregoing biblical
quotation I am going to deduce two key points for analysis as a way of
addressing the position of Lynn White and Thomas Aquinas too. The two key
points are 1) the creation of man and 2) man’s mandate to run the Earth.
CREATION OF
MAN
Under this section I am going to
look at the material with which man was created to show that man himself is a derivative
of the natural environment, and is sustained by the natural environment. I will
proceed to use the Bible to do the analysis. Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 (King
James Version) says: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living
soul”
There are two key phrases in the
quotation. The phrases are “dust of the ground” and “breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life”. In environmental language dust of the ground is land or
lithosphere, and land or lithosphere is abiotic. The second phrase “breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life”, in environmental language means air or
atmosphere, which is abiotic. It is air that we breathe through our nostrils,
not spirit. In respiration there is exchange of gases between man and the
atmosphere thus sustaining life. Man takes in oxygen from the air or atmosphere
for metabolism, and gives out carbon dioxide into the air for plant use. Plants
in using carbon dioxide in photosynthesis, release oxygen back into the air.
This establishes a vital interconnect between man and plant. Here another component of the natural
environment comes into play, the biosphere- plant belongs to the biosphere and
is biotic. So both materials mentioned in the first and second phrases, from
which man was created are abiotic; nonliving things.
From what I have stated so far,
it is clear that almost all the basic components of the natural environment
come into play in the creation and sustenance of man. The components are the
lithosphere (earth), the atmosphere (air), the biosphere (plants, animals,
microbial etc.) and the anthrosphere (relating to man himself). What I have not
mentioned is the hydrosphere or water. However, water comprises 62% or so of
the human body. With this, all five basic components of the natural environment
show their interactive and integrative bearing on the creation and sustenance
of man.
Of what elements is the natural
environment, from which man was created and sustained, made of? Element is the
basic substance of matter, and elements are made of atoms. Elements in the
human body are oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, calcium and others, all
derived from the natural environment.
To the extent that I have analyze
this section man is wholly matter, carved out of the natural environment and
sustained therefrom, a process sustained and perpetuated from the creation of
such life form and handed down to you and I today, even as I pen this post.
MANDATE TO
RUN PLANET EARTH
My analysis came to a point where man was wholly
matter, carved out of matter and sustained by matter. But something happen to
man that was a game changer. A spirit component was put into man (Job chapter
32 verse 8) which is nonmaterial. It is often called human spirit. Job chapter
32 verse 8 (King James Version) says: “But there is a spirit in man: and the
inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding”. 1ST
Corinthians Chapter 2 verse 11 (King James Version) also says: “For what man
knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so
the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God”.
From the foregoing verses quoted from the Bible it
is clear that man has a spirit in him, and that understanding and knowledge
have been associated with it. It is this spirit in man which is not matter that
sets man apart from other material creatures. It is through this spirit that man
is empowered or mandated to run the Earth. Man develops systems of governance- democracy,
communism, socialism, theocracy, dictatorship etc. Man develops systems of
education. Man invents technology which helps him to process materials for his
comfort. Take the telescope, microscope and computer for example. Today
computers and robots are running factories. In medical science, man has
developed so many branches and knowledge therefrom for their benefit.
Beavers build dam but compared to the Akosombo Dam
in Ghana built by man, there is a vast difference. Termites build anthill, but
compared to Burj Khalifa, a 163-storey skyscraper in Dubai, again, there is a
vast difference, making it unfair to even do a comparison. The vast difference
is because of the human spirit that is in man which is not in other material
life forms. So also is God far superior
to man because of the Spirit of God. Because of the Spirit of God, God is able
to create angels, human beings, planets, stars, galaxies, space, dark matter,
dark energy etc. Because of the Spirit of God, God is able to create and manage
spirit and matter. Man for now can only form material things out of matter and
not create matter let alone spirit. To be able to do things God is doing man
needs to be changed into a God being through the Spirit of God. You may check
the following table. More like chip or microprocessor in cell phones, with
different capacities.
NO
|
SPIRIT
|
POSSESSER
|
FUNCTIONS
|
01
|
Spirit of God
|
God beings:
God(Father), Word(Son)
Few Christians (humans)
|
Creation and management
of spirit and matter.
Creation of angels, planets,
galaxies, elements, humans
etc.
God reproducing Himself in Christians as has been done to Christ.
Used by Christians to do
miracles, and to acquire
Divine knowledge and
growth.
|
02
|
Human spirit
|
Human beings
|
Acquiring material
knowledge, and forming
material things out of
matter- automobiles, train,
Cell phones, laptops, robots,
|
PARTING SHOT
Man was given the mandate to run
planet Earth because of the human spirit in him which is not in other material
life forms. Man was mandated to run the natural environment. Genesis chapter 2
verse 15 (King James Version) says: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him
into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it”. Dress it, in this context
means tending the garden, trimming and cutting back on growth, clearing weed
etc.
However, man, in executing the
functions of his mandate, was to do so in subjection to the authority of the
One who gave him the mandate. But man did not subject himself to that
authority. The human spirit was hacked, and viruses embedded in it. Hence,
dysfunction occurred in the relationship between man and the Giver of the
mandate as well as the application of the functions of the mandate. This is the
genesis of the anthropogenic environmental mess you and I find ourselves in
today, because the virus infected human spirit has been pass down to us. Genesis
chapter 3 verse 17 (King James Version): “And unto Adam he said, Because thou
hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which
I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for
thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;..”
It is not Judeo Christian
mainstream thinking as indicated at the beginning of this post that is the
cause of the anthropogenic environmental mess we find ourselves in today, it is
a breach in the relationship between man and the One who gave him the mandate
to run the natural environment in a clean and balanced manner sustainably.
Reference:
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