RD&T’s contributing writer, Dr. Eva Bell, shares her thoughts on the interaction between humanity and the destruction of our precious environment.
With the exception of a few skeptics, most people believe that God created the earth, sea and skies, the cycle of seasons, plant and animal life, and environmental systems. Then He entrusted the care of His creation to Man, on a long-time lease. God also gave Man dominion over the earth. Its vast resources were to be used responsibly to feed, clothe, and accommodate him and his family. Man was endowed with intelligence for research, invention, and scientific discovery in various specialities like biology, physics, and chemistry. Technological inventions were to be used for the good of Man as well as for the preservation of the natural environment. It was to be a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship.
However, history shows that every major scientific discovery has been misused because Man has forgotten that he is merely the caretaker – the steward of the earth’s resources. God is still the owner and Man is accountable for his actions. One of the paradoxes of modern science is that Man has assumed God-like powers but has squandered the confidence vested in him for short-term gains, with total disregard for posterity. As a consequence, he has upset his relationship with nature and ushered in an eco-crisis. Hundreds of years ago, the prophet Jeremiah said,
Your wrongdoing has upset Nature’s order, and your sins have kept you from her gifts.
