Religion and the Environment/Nature

[Kulindahr]

There have been accusations of religion being the worst thing that ever happened to the planet, in terms of the way we treat nature. I'd like to hear comments about what you think -- and let's have references to actual things religions have said, religious people have done, and what holy writings really say.

 

[Andreus]

interesting.. i sat in on a debate in syria once between a few established imams

they were arguing about the length of time of a day for an eternal being.... their thoughts were that since god made man and man discovered scientific fact, then it was their job to find its meaning....

they were adding up the time it took for life to arise on earth and dividing the years by seven to figure out how long a day for god was.... i think it was somewhere between 200, 000 years to one mill years for a day of an eternal beings existence....

science and god are not destructive..... people are destructive.....

what people use as a rationalle for their detruction is irrelevant.... religion spawned the crusades and the jihads

science spawned nuclear bombs and chemical warfare....

its about people

thats what humans have the hard part with

accepting responsibility as a group for their destructive nature

 

[nitish]

I am only familiar with the islamic religion. It depends on your motives. There's a Ayah in the Qur'an that says god has made earth, plants, animals, everything pretty much for man to use. I am sure this can be viewed as anti environment. However, in other verses, Muslims are urged to be kind to animals, appreciate the beauty of the world and not be wasteful or excessive.

I am anti religion myself, but even i know religion is nothing more than a tool. It can be used for good/evil.

 

[buzzj]

This is Form IV of the Prayers of the People used at the Eucharist in the Episcopal Church USA. The appropriate section is in bold red.

Form IV
[SIZE=-1]Deacon or other leader[/SIZE]
Let us pray for the Church and for the world.
Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world.
[SIZE=-1]Silence[/SIZE]
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Guide the people of this land, and of all the nations, in the ways of justice and peace; that we may honor one another and serve the common good.
[SIZE=-1]Silence[/SIZE]
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation, that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others and to your honor and glory.
[SIZE=-1]Silence[/SIZE]
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours, and grant that we may serve Christ in them, and love one another as he loves us.

 

[sparky95]

Only really from a Judeo-Christian outlook. Religions like Shintoism and the old Paganism of Europe seemed to have a stronger respect for nature.

 

[sparky95]

Well, honestly I cannot! But if your faith involves the worship of natural places you probably are less likely to buldoze it...

 

[josher]

There are strong environmental movements in almost all the Christian Churches. The Southern Baptists, not noted for many progressive stands, even recently began to discuss the issue.

I think you will see more and more (there's already quite a lot) green witnessing and lobbying by Churches in the furture.

 

[JASON0980]

i do believe that 'big religion' dosen't teach reverence for the earth, because it is viewed as a tool. a place to stay for a little while before you go to heven. when i was a christian it always bothered me that nothing positive was ever said about the planet, unless it was earth day.

now as a wiccan i believe that the god and the goddess are in the earth. that they are the earth and every living thing all around us. so killing the earth is in fact killing the gods. many ancient pagan religions believed that the earth was to be worshiped, or at least feared because it was a force more powerful than man. and if there was a battle you didn't start it was one that you were surly not going to win.

many religions made there god from the world around them. most of them were there to guard over nature.

the horned god:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_God

Cernunnos:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cernunnos

Pan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_%28mythology%29

and of course Diana:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_%28mythology%29

 

[kevbo]

If anything, I'd say spirituality has made this planet better. Where else would we get the beautiful man made creations that came through divine inspiration? Art would be no where.

Religion, on the other hand... Well, with the good comes the bad, I suppose.

I'm agnostic, BTW.

 

[JASON0980]

these are good points.

this is going to make me sound like a total freak, but oh well. when spell casting i would say that i am using the earth as a tool, but i am also being respectful of the tools that i am using. for instance (here is the part that makes me look like a freak) when i go to pick plants to use in a spell i am always sure not to take more than needed, and i always ask the plant before picking it. (no i don't get a verbal answer, i ask the plant and give it a tug, if it comes then the answer is yes, if not i move on.)

there are as many different forms of wicca as there are wiccans. most wiccans will go out of their way to not be wastful and to resect the earth. for me to litter would be like a christian spittting on the bible. its not written any where in the bible that you shouldn't spit on it, but it is understood that you shouldn't do it.

i do realize that there are many forms of christianity, and that some of them are better about respecting the earth as a gift from god. from what i have seen, and i'm not saying that i have seen it all, most religions that see the world as coming to an end view global warming and and the down right disgusting condition the planet is in as signs that god is coming soon. i'm not saying that it is wrong for them to believe that, i am saying that it is a shame that these religions are the ones that are most popular.

Jason, would Wiccans inducing spells also not qualify as using the earth as a tool? I have close friendship with a few Wiccans here in Albuquerque, and they decidedly are not any greener than the average Joe out here.

I'm sure this sounds defensive, but I'm not intending a defense so much as a correlation.

Also, tools are not inherently abusive, nor is it necessarily true that the majority of Christianity believes that the shortness of earthly existence for man is any excuse to abuse it and lose it.

None of that is to say the version of Christianity you were exposed to -- participated in -- wasn't abusive or shortsighted, but it is a very broad and diverse religion.

 

[RobinGoodfellow]

i do believe that 'big religion' dosen't teach reverence for the earth, because it is viewed as a tool. a place to stay for a little while before you go to heven. when i was a christian it always bothered me that nothing positive was ever said about the planet, unless it was earth day.

That's because reverence for nature usually isn't that important in the Big Five. It is worth noting, however, that there are basically three beliefs:

1) That man is supposed to use The Earth however he wants, and should use it up soon (a minority of churches, and usually revelationist, but noted out of fair play).

2) Plus or minus. It's there and we'll defend it if needed, but we have other interests (the majority, it seems, but not limited in any way to religious types).

3) Those that do whatever they can in order to preserve nature.

It's also worth noting that the proscriptions against foods, if held to, actually were ecological in their own way. Limiting pigs, for example, cuts out the needed mud and slop by pigs, helping nature, as does eliminating scavengers, shellfish, and most insects from the Jewish diet.

Just an observation...

RG

 

[Kulindahr]

Well, honestly I cannot! But if your faith involves the worship of natural places you probably are less likely to buldoze it...

At first glance, perhaps -- but, then, if you read in the Bible about "all you creatures, clap your hands!", and the mountains singing to God, and God taking pleasure in gazelles, and all such, you'd think that Christianity would have prompted people to be extremely careful of nature.

First glances can be misleading.

 

[nitish]

At first glance, perhaps -- but, then, if you read in the Bible about "all you creatures, clap your hands!", and the mountains singing to God, and God taking pleasure in gazelles, and all such, you'd think that Christianity would have prompted people to be extremely careful of nature.

First glances can be misleading.

Christianity doesn't involve the worship of nature. Sure, you can find good things about nature in the bible....but you can find pretty much anything you want in the bible. However, some pagan religions do put nature front and center. Which means they're less likely to exploit it.

 

[Kulindahr]

It interests me that I haven't seen much about the word "dominion", which has been hurled about quite a bit by (so-called) conservative Christians to justify riding rampant over nature. That always baffled me, as much as the sermons defending slavery.

My early reading of the Bible showed me that when God told humans to "be fruitful and multiply", He told all the animals the same thing, which led me to conclude that He meant all species to be on an equal footing, and for none of us to crowd out the others. So when He added to humans, "And subdue [the earth]", I figured that meant keep it orderly in a way that meant all the critters were to have room to "be fruitful and multiply". So when I first heard the Pope defend overpopulating by saying we're to "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the e4arth!" I knew something was wrong; only later did I realize that the word "fill" had an end to it, and that end had to be, in context, when the other species were getting crowded.
Of course the fact that Genesis says that God put mankind here to take care of the earth might have influenced me, a little.

 

[Shepherd 2]

This is Form IV of the Prayers of the People used at the Eucharist in the Episcopal Church USA.
Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation, that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others and to your honor and glory.

This source is the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer.
Shep+

 

[Shepherd 2]

This collect appears on page 827,
Book of Common Prayer and reads in this way:
"Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us fellow workers in your creation. Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources of nature, that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

This marvelous conduct rests on the understanding of a scriptural passage from Genesis 1:31a, "God saw everything he had made, and indeed, it was very good." Here rests the Episcopal Church's view of creation.
Shep+