I always wonder how the world would look if the bible had said "Respect the earth and all living beings" instead of “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion…"
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Of course fundamentalists tend not to see it that way.
John 2:15
The next line is critical for context, as it defines what "things in the world" means.
> [...] For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Seems clear to me this isn't about creation (ie not saying don't cherish nature / animals).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction#History_of_scientif...
So perhaps holy books are not the best manuals for environmental stewardship.
Genesis also gives the impression that plant life primarily exists for humans to eat. Humans don't need any encouragement to favor edible plants over inedible, to judge by their tendency to cut down forests to grow crops.
"Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food."
- Frank Herbert, God Emperor of Dune
Remember that, multiple times in the past half-century, the protocol was to launch all ICBMs and pray.
Thankfully over the centuries some people have used their human moral intuitions to gloss over some of the worst parts. But would’ve been much nicer to not have those parts at all.
this is brilliant. The book that is supposed to the be the word on morality needs edits. I can hear the religious right gathering their pitchforks and tiki lights now. It's a perfect book written by the almighty. But for those that don't drink that particular kool-aid it's a self evident observation since it's a book of cherry picked stories by a group of people to push their agenda.
Now to be fair, there's also examples of God (as portrayed by the writers) being vindictive and harsh. I don't have great answers for that, but I do wonder how much it is seeing through their perspective of the situation and how much it was God. (I obviously come at this as a believer).
As to being the only moral text... I certainly hope it's not, because we've learned a lot since then, and I hope what's considered truth can expand beyond one book.
EDIT: not to dismiss your points, just to say that some of us view it in a more nuanced way.
There is also a theory that Jesus was vegan and a belief that Christians should be too:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_vegetarianism#Biblic...
Video is an interesting format but I'm glad you shared that page, text is more appropriate to dive into a subject.
Amazing question. I'm not spiritual, but regularly debate this topic with others (including here): this will be a useful way of approaching it. Thanks for posting the link!
But that's because they're either too smart to try or we have altered their genetic makeup by culling anyone who strayed too close.
As for "subdue", ask anyone maintaining a large garden how much they have to work to keep it from reverting back to a wilderness. Gardening is choosing which species stay and which are forcibly removed and optimizing the environment to enable your chosen species to thrive. If the words "subdue" and "dominion" freak you out, pick your brains up off the floor and go touch grass.
Western civilization has decided that it wants to keep the primate species and is dissatisfied when they become roadkill, so it altered the environment to enable the chosen species to thrive. This article is a gardening success story. Gardening requires dominion. We have dominion over the primates and we have chosen to be benevolent with that dominion.
The motorway was not a natural occurrence, and neither cars or trucks evolved naturally. Humans went there and installed a limited fix for the destruction they caused in the first place.
Totally normal gardener behavior.