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The Christian tradition is more than 2,000 years
old and exists in hundreds of different cultures.
Although it is impossible to represent the full
diversity of this tradition in such a small space
on this website, we have selected a few traditional
(biblical and nonbiblical) and contemporary texts
that speak about important aspects of the divine-human-nature
relationships.
Resources in this section contain frequently
cited biblical and nonbiblical materials as well
as contemporary materials and special papers on
related topics. It is important, however, to remember
that single, stand-alone texts*
will not adequately address any tradition’s
knowledge of divine-human-nature relations. Additionally,
although several rich and not entirely consistent
scriptural passages have been cited in this section,
quoting a few biblical passages either tends to
narrow, if not preempt, the religion-ecology discussion
through the proof-texting of “God’s
word,” or it barely begins to open up thoughtful
deliberation regarding helpful and ambiguous scriptural
resources available to Christian faith communities
around the world. Ultimately individual passages
are not very helpful in answering the question,
“What does the Bible say about environmental
responsibility?,” because they are taken
out of the context of the full range of biblical
materials, as well as out of the contemporary
context in which scholars are working. In the
Christian tradition, more than three decades of
focused scholarly attention on the topic of religion
and ecology has produced a wealth of commentary
and constructive scholarship that, seen in the
context of today’s eco-justice crisis, is
much more likely to stimulate truly significant
theological reflection and ethical discourse in
this area than is the aforementioned tendency
toward proof-texting. It is for this purpose that
visitors are encouraged to read the special papers
posted in this section.**
It is our hope that this section will stimulate
fresher and more nuanced discussions of what the
Christian tradition has to say about ecology and
the human vocation in faithful relation to God.
*The
individual passages provided here are intended
to give you a glimpse of some of this tradition’s
thinking on the divine-human-nature relationship
but it is not, by any means, a complete or exhaustive
inventory of cultural or denominational representations
in this tradition. There has been a range of responses
to these topics. Some scholars have noted that
certain passages are anthropocentric and hierarchical.
Please note the range of scholars listed in the
bibliography
section who have commented on many of these passages.
** For
a more comprehensive examination of specific biblical
resources that address an environmental ethic,
please see Richard Hier’s paper, “Reverence
for Life and Environmental Ethics in Biblical
Law and Covenant,” listed in this section.
1
The Bible is divided into several sections: The
Old Testament, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical
Books, and the New Testament. Selections below
are from books of the Old and New Testaments.
Gen 2:15
The Lord God took the man and put him in the
garden of Eden to till it and keep it.2
Gen 1–2:2–23
In the beginning when God created the heavens
and the earth, the earth was a formless void
and darkness covered the face of the deep, while
a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light”;
and there was light. And God saw that the light
was good; and God separated the light from the
darkenss. God called the light Day, and the
darkness he called Night. And there was evening
and there was morning, the first day.
And God said, “Let there be a dome in
the midst of the waters, and let it separate
the waters from the waters,” So God made
the dome and separated the waters that were
under the dome from waters that were above the
dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky.
And there was evening and there was morning,
the second day.
And God said, “Let the waters under the
sky be gathered together into one place, and
let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
God called the dry land Earth, and the waters
that were gathered together he called Seas.
And God saw that it was good. Then God said,
“Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants
yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind
on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.”
And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation:
plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees
of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in
it. And God saw that it was good. And there
was evening and there was morning, the third
day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in
the dome of the sky to separate the day from
the night; and let them be for signs and for
seasons and for days and years and let them
be lights in the dome of the sky to give light
upon the earth. And it was so. God made the
two great lights—the greater light to rule the
night—and the stars. God set them in the dome
of the sky to give light upon the earth, to
rule over the day and over the night, and to
separate the light from the darkness. And God
saw that it was good. And there was evening
and there was morning, the fourth day.
And God said, “Let the waters bring forth
swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly
above the earth across the dome of the sky.”
So god created the great sea monsters and every
living creature that moves, of every king, with
which the waters swarm, and every winged bird
of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful
and multiply and fill the waters in the seas,
and let birds multiply on the earth.” And
there was evening and there was morning, the
fifth day.
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth
living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping
things and wild animals of the earth of every
kind.” And it was so. God made the wild
animals of the earth of every kind, and the
cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps
upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that
it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make humankind
in our image, according to our likeness; and
let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the birds of the air, and over
the cattle, and over all the wild animals of
the earth, and over every creeping things that
creeps upon the earth.”
So God created humankind in his
image
in the image of God he created
them;
male and female he created
them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be
fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and
subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of
the sea and over the birds of the air and over
every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
God said, “See, I have given you every
plant yielding seed that is upon the face of
all the earth, and every tree with seed in its
fruit; you shall have them for food. And to
every beast of the earth, and to every bird
of the air, and to everything that creeps on
the earth, everything that has the breath of
life, I have given every green plant for food.”
And it was so. God saw everything that he had
made, and indeed, it was very good. And there
was evening and there was morning, the sixth
day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished,
and all their multitude. And on the seventh
day God finished the work that he had done,
and he rested on the seventh day from all the
work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh
day and hallowed it, because on it god rested
from all the work that he had done in creation.
These are the generations of the heavens and
the earth when they were created.
In the day that the Lord God made the earth
and the heavens, when no plant of the field
was yet in the earth and no herb of the field
had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused
it to rain upon the earth, and there was no
one to till the ground; but a stream would rise
from the earth, and water the whole face of
the ground—then the Lord God formed man from
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and the man became
a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden
in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man
whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord
God made to grow every tree that is pleasant
to the sight and good for food, the tree of
life also in the midst of the garden, and the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A river flows out of Eden to water the garden,
and from there it divides and becomes four branches.
The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one
that flows around the whole land of Havilah,
where there is gold; and the gold of that land
is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there.
The name of the second river is Gihon; it is
the one that flows around the whole land of
Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris,
which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth
river is the Euphrates.
The Lord God took the man and put him in the
garden of Eden to till and keep it. And the
Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely
eat of every tree of the garden; but of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall
not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you
shall die.”
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good
that the man should be alone; I will make him
a helper as his partner.” So out of the
ground of the Lord God formed every animal of
the field and every bird of the air, and brought
them to the man to see what he would call them;
and whatever the man called every living creature,
that was its name. The man gave names to all
cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to
every animal of the field; but for the man there
was not found a helper as his partner. So the
Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the
man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs
and closed up its place with flesh. And the
rib that the Lord God had taken from the man
he made into a woman and brought her to the
man. Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
for out of Man this one was
taken.”3
Gen 8:18–9:7
So Noah went out with his sons and his wife
and his sons’ wives. And every animal,
every creeping thing, and every bird, everything
that moves on the earth, went out of the ark
by families.
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took
of every clean animal and of every clean bird,
and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And
when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor, the
Lord said in his heart, “I will never again
curse the ground because of humankind, for the
inclination of the human heart is evil from
youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living
creature as I have done.
As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and
heat,
summer and winter, day and
night,
shall not cease.”
God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to
them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill
the earth. The fear and dread of you shall rest
on every animal of the earth, and on every bird
of the air, on everything that creeps on the
ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into
your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing
that lives shall be food for you; and just as
I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life,
that is, its blood. For your own lifeblood I
will surely require a reckoning; from every
animal I will require it and from human beings,
each one for the blood of another, I will require
a reckoning for human life.
Whoever sheds the blood of a
human,
by a human shall that person’s
blood be shed;
for in his own image
God made humankind.
And you, be fruitful and multiply, abound
on the earth and multiply in it.4
Gen 9:9–17
As for me, I am establishing my covenant with
you and your descendents after you, and with
every living creature that is with you, the
birds, the domestic animals, and every animal
of the earth with you, as many as came out of
the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that
never again shall all flesh be cut off by the
waters of a flood, and never again shall there
be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said,
“This is the sign of the covenant that
I make between me and you and every living creature
that is with you, for all future generations:
I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall
be a sign of the covenant between me and the
earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and
the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember
my covenant that is between me and you and every
living creature of all flesh; and the waters
shall never again become a flood to destroy
all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I
will see it and remember the everlasting covenant
between God and every living creature of all
flesh that is on the earth.” God said to
Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant
that I have established between me and all flesh
that is on the earth.”5
Exod 21:28–32
When an ox gores a man or a woman to death,
the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall
not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall
not be liable. If the ox has been accustomed
to gore in the past, and its owner has been
warned but has not restrained it, and it kills
a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and
its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom
is imposed on the owner, then the owner shall
pay whatever is imposed for the redemption of
the victim’s life. If it gores a boy or
a girl, the owner shall be dealt with according
to this same rule. If the ox gores a male or
female slave, the owner shall pay to the slave-owner
thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be
stoned.6
Lev 26:2–4, 14–16, 19–20
You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my
sanctuary: I am the Lord.
If you follow my statutes and keep my commandments
and observe them faithfully, I will give you
your rains in their season, and the land shall
yield its produce, and the trees of the field
shall yield their fruit (Lev 26:2–4).7
But if you will not obey me, and do not observe
all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes,
and abhor my ordinances, so that you will not
observe all my commandments, and you break my
covenant, I in turn will do this to you: I will
bring terror on you; consumption and fever that
waste the eyes and cause life to pine away.
You shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies
shall eat it (Lev 26:14–16).8
I will break your proud glory, and I will make
your sky like iron and your earth like copper.
Your strength shall be spent to no purpose:
your land shall not yield its produce, and the
trees of the land shall not yield their fruit
(Lev 26:19–20).9
Deut 22:1–4
You shall not watch your neighbor’s ox
or sheep straying away and ignore them; you
shall take them back to their owner. If the
owner does not reside near you or you do not
know who the owner is, you shall bring it to
your own house, and it shall remain with you
until the owner claims it; then you shall return
it. You shall do the same with a neighbor’s
donkey; you shall do the same with a neighbor’s
garment; and you shall do the same with anything
else that your neighbor loses and you find.
You may not withhold your help.10
Deut 22:6–7
If you come on a bird’s nest, in any tree
or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, with
the mother sitting on the fledglings or on the
eggs, you shall not take the mother with the
young. Let the mother go, taking only the young
for yourself, in order that it may go well with
you and you may live long.11
Deut 22:10
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey
yoked together.12
Deut 25:4
You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading
out the grain.13
Job 12:7–10
“But ask the animals, and they
will
teach you;
the birds of the
air, and they
will
tell you;
ask the plants of the earth, and
they will teach you;
and the fish of sea will
declare to you.
Who among all these does not
know
that the hand of the Lord has
done this?
In his hand is the life of every
living thing
and the breath of every human
being.14
Job 38:1, 4–41 [see also Job 39, 40,
41]
Then the Lord ansered Job out of the whirlwind;
. . .
“Where were you when I laid the
foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have
understanding.
Who determined its
measurements—surely you
know!
Or who stretched the line upon
it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang
together
and all the havenly beings
shouted for joy?
“Or who shut in the sea with
doors
when it burst out from the
womb?—
when I made the clouds its
garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling
band,
and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Thus far shall you
come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves
be stopped?’
“Have you commanded the
morning since your days
began,
and caused the dawn to know
its place,
so that it might take hold of the
skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of
it?
It is changed like clay under the
seal,
and it is dyed like a garmet.
Light is withheld from the
wicked,
and their uplifted arm is broken.
“Have you entered into the
springs of the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the
deep?
Have the gates of death been
revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of
deep darkness?
Have you comprehended the
expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.
“Where is the way to the dwelling
of light,
and where is the place of
darkness,
that you may take it to its
territory
and that you may discern the
paths to its home?
Surely you know, for you were
born then,
and the number of your days is
great!
“Have you entered the storehouses
of the snow,
or have you seen the
storehouses of the hail,
which I have reserved for the time
of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
What is the way to the place
where the light is
distributed,
or where the east wind is
scattered upon the earth?
“Who has cut a channel for the
torrents of rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,
to bring rain on a land where no
one lives,
on the desert, which is empty of
human life,
to satisfy the waste and desolate
land,
and to make the ground put
forth grass?
“Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops
of dew?
From whose womb did the ice
come forth,
and who has given birth to the
hoarfrost of heaven?
The waters become hard like
stone,
and the face of the deep is
frozen.
“Can you bind the chains of the
Pleiades,
or loose the cords of Orion?
Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth
in their season,
or can you guide the Bear with
its children?
Do you know the ordinances of
the heavens?
Can you establish their rule on
the earth?
“Can you lift up your voice to the
clouds,
so that a flood of waters may
cover you?
Can you send forth lightnings, so
that they may go
and say to you, ‘Here we are?’
Who has put wisdom in the
inward parts,
or given understanding to the
mind?
Who has the wisdom to number
the clouds?
Or who can tilt the waterskins
of the heavens,
when the dust runs into a mass
and the clods cling together?
“Can you hunt the prey for the
lion,
or satisfy the appetite of the
young lions,
when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in their cover?
Who provides for the raven its
prey,
when its young ones cry to
God,
and wander about for lack of
food?15
Ps 8:3–9
When I look at your heavens, the
work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you
have established;
what are human beings that you
are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little
lower than God,
and crowned them with glory
and honor.
You have given them dominion
over the works of your
hands;
you have put all things under
their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of
the sea,
whatever passes along the paths
of the seas.
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all
the earth!16
Ps 36:6
Your righteousness is like the
mighty mountains,
your judgments are like the
great deep;
you save humans and animals
alike, O Lord.17
Ps 104:5–30
You [God] set the earth on its
foundations,
so that it shall never be shaken.
You cover it with the deep as
with a garment;
the waters stood above the
mountains.
At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder
they take to flight.
They rose up to the mountains,
ran down to the valleys
to the place that you appointed
for them.
You set a boundary that they may
not pass,
so that they might not again
cover the earth.
You make springs gush forth in
the valleys;
they flow between the hills,
giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their
thirst.
By the streams the birds of the
air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water
the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the
fruit of your work.
You cause the grass to grow for
the cattle,
and plants for people to use,
to bring forth food from the earth,
and wine to gladden the human
heart,
oil to make the face shine,
and bread to strengthen the
human heart.
The trees of the Lord are watered
abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he
planted.
In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has its home in the fir
trees.
The high mountains are for the
wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the
coneys.
You have made the moon to mark
the seasons;
the sun knows its time for
setting.
You make darkness, and it is
night,
when all the animals of the
forest come creeping out.
The young lions roar for their
prey,
seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises, they withdraw
and lie down in their dens.
People go out to their work
and to their labor until the
evening.
O Lord, how mainfold are your
works!
In wisdom you have made
them all;
the earth is full of your
creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are
there,
living things both small and
great.
There go the ships,
and the Leviathan that you formed
to sport in it.
These all look to you
to give them their food in due
season;
when you give to them, they
gather it up;
when you open your hand, they
are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are
dismayed;
when you take away their
breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit,
they are created;
and you renew the face of the
ground.18
Ps 136:4–9
who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures
forever;
who by understanding made the
heavens,
for his steadfast love endures
forever;
who spread out the earth on the
waters,
for his steadfast love endures
forever;
who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures
forever;
the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures
forever;
the moon and stars to rule over
the night,
for his steadfast love endures
forever;19
Ps 148
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the
heavens!
Let them praise the name of
the Lord,
for he commanded and they
were created.
He established them forever
and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which
cannot be passed.
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his
command!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the
earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
Let them praise the name of
the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and
heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his
people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are
close to him.
Praise the Lord!20
Prov 12:1
The righteous know the needs of
their animals,
but the mercy of the wicked is
cruel.21
Ecc 1:4–7
A generation goes, and a
generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises and the sun
goes down,
and hurries to the place where
it rises.
The wind blows to the south,
and goes around to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind
returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams
flow,
there they continue to flow.22
Is 24:5–8a, 10–13
The earth lies polluted
under its inhabitants;
for they have transgressed laws,
violated the statutes,
broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore a curse devours
the earth,
and its inhabitants suffer for
their guilt;
therefore the inhabitants of the
earth dwindled,
and few people are left.
The wine dries up,
the vine languishes,
all the merry-hearted sigh.
The mirth of the timbrels is
stilled,
the noise of the jubilant
has ceased (Isa 24:5–8a). . . .23
The city of chaos is broken down,
every house is shut up so that
no one can enter.
There is an outcry in the streets
for lack of wine;
all joy has reached its eventide;
the gladness of the earth is
banished.
Desolation is left in the city,
the gates are battered into ruins.
For thus it shall be on the earth
and among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the
grape harvest is ended (Isa 24:10–13).24
Ez 34:25–28
I will make with them a covenant of peace and
banish wild animals from the land, so that they
may live in the wild and sleep in the woods
securely. I will make them and the region around
my hill a blessing; and I will send down the
showers in their season; they shall be showers
of blessing. The trees of the field shall yield
their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase.
They shall be secure on their soil; and they
shall know that I am the Lord, when I break
the bars of their yoke, and save them from the
hands of those who enslaved them. They shall
no more be plunder for the nations, nor shall
the animals of the land devour them; they shall
live in safety, and no one shall make them afraid.25
Hos 4:1–3
Hear the word of the Lord,
O people of Israel;
for the Lord has an indictment
against the inhabitants
of the land.
There is no faithfulness or loyalty,
and no knowledge of God in
the land.
Swearing, lying, and murder,
and stealing and adultery
break out;
bloodshed follows bloodshed.
Therefore the land mourns,
and all who live in it languish;
together with the wild animals
and the birds of the air,
even the fish of the sea are
perishing.26
Joel 1:2–3, 6–7, 9–12, 17–20
Hear this, O elders,
give ear, all inhabitants of
the land!
Has such a thing happened in
your days,
or in the days of your ancestors?
Tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their
children,
and their children another
generation (Joel 1:2–3). . . . 27
For a nation has invaded my land,
powerful and innumerable;
its teeth are lions’ teeth,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.
It has laid waste my vines,
and splintered my fig trees;
it has stripped off their bark and
thrown it down;
their branches have turned
white (Joel 1:6–7). . . . 28
The grain offering and the drink
offering are cut off
from the house of the Lord.
The priests mourn,
the ministers of the Lord.
The fields are devastated,
the ground mourns;
for the grain is destroyed,
the wine dries up,
the oil fails.
Be dismayed, you farmers,
wail, you vinedressers,
over the wheat and the barley;
for the crops of the field
are ruined.
The vine withers,
the fig tree droops.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple—
all the trees of the field are
dried up;
surely, joy withers away
among the people (Joel 1:9–12). . . .29
The seed shrivels under the
clods,
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are ruined
because the grain has failed.
How the animals groan!
The herds of cattle wander
about
because there is no pasture for
them;
even the flocks of sheep are
dazed.
To you, O Lord, I cry.
For fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness,
and flames have burned
all the trees of the field.
Even the wild animals cry to you
because the watercourses are
dried up,
and fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness (Joel 1:17–20).30
Joel 2:1–10, 12–13, 18–27
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
Sound the alarm on my holy
mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land
tremble,
for the day of the Lord is
coming, it is near—
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick
darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the
mountains
a great and powerful army
comes;
their like has never been from
of old,
nor will be again after them
in ages to come.
Fire devours in front of them,
and behind them a flame burns.
Before them the land is like the
garden of Eden,
but after them a desolate
wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.
They have the appearance of
horses,
and like the war-horses they charge.
As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the
mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for the battle.
Before them peoples are in
anguish,
all faces grow pale.
Like warriors they charge,
like soldiers they scale the wall.
Each keeps to its own course,
they do not swerve from
their paths.
They do not jostle one another,
each keeps to its own track;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls;
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows
like a thief.
The earth quakes before them,
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are
darkened,
and the stars withdraw their
shining (Joel 2:1–10). . . .31
Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your
heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and
with mourning;
rend your hearts and not
your clothing
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love,
and relents from punishing (Joel 2:12–13). .
. .32
Then the Lord became jealous for
his land,
and had pity on his people.
In response to his people the
Lord said:
I am sending you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a mockery among the nations.
I will remove the northern army
far from you,
and drive it into a parched and
desolate land,
its front into the eastern sea,
and its rear into the western sea;
its stench and foul smell will
rise up.
Surely he has done great things!
Do not fear, O soil;
be glad and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great
things!
Do not fear, you animals of
the field,
for the pastures of the
wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit,
the fig tree and vine give their
full yield.
O children of Zion, be glad
and rejoice in the Lord your
God;
for he has given the early rain
for your vindication,
he has poured down for you
abundant rain,
the early and the later rain,
as before.
The threshing floors shall be full
of grain,
the vats shall overflow with
wine and oil.
I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust has
eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the
cutter,
my great army, which I sent
against you.
You shall eat in plenty and be
satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord
your God,
who has dealt wondrously
with you.
And my people shall never again
be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the
midst of Israel,
and that I, the Lord, am your
God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again
be put to shame (Joel 2:18–27). . . .33
Joel 3:16–18
The Lord roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from
Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth
shake.
But the Lord is a refuge for his
people,
a stronghold for the people of
Israel.
So you shall know that I, the
Lord your God,
dwell in Zion, my holy
mountain.
And Jerusalem shall be holy,
and strangers shall never again
pass through it.
In that day
the mountains shall drip sweet
wine,
the hills shall flow with milk,
and all the stream beds of Judah
shall flow with water;
a fountain shall come forth from
the house of the Lord
and water the Wadi Shittim.34
Mt 6:26
Look at the birds of the air; they neither
sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not
of more value than they?35
Mt 12:9–13
He left that place and entered their synagogue;
a man was there with a withered hand, and they
asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the
sabbath?” so that they might accuse him.
He said to them, “Suppose one of you has
only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the
sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift
it out? How much more valuable is a human being
than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on
the sabbath.” Then he said to the man,
“Stretch out your hand.” He stretched
it out, and it was restored, as sound as the
other.36
Mt 25:40
And the king will answer them, “Truly
I tell you, just as you did it to one of the
least of those who are members of my family,
you did it to me.”37
Mk 4:28
The earth produces of itself, first the stalk,
then the head, then the full grain in the head.38
John 3:16–17
“For God so loved the world that he gave
his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world
to condemn the world, but in order that the
world might be saved through him. . . .”39
1 Cor 9:9–10
For it is written in the law of Moses, “You
shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading
out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God
is concerned? Or does he not speak entirely
for our sake? It was indeed written for our
sake, for whoever plows should plow in hope
and whoever threshes should thresh in hope of
a share in the crop.40
Col 1:15–17
He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him
all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or rulers or powers—all things
have been created through him and for him. He
himself is before all things, and in him all
things hold together.41
Rev 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for
the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away, and the sea was no more.42
Selections in this section are taken from various
resources in the history of the Christian tradition.
Julian of Norwich. Showings.
Here we may see that truly it belongs to our
nature to hate sin, and truly it belongs to
us by grace to hate sin, for nature is all good
and fair in itself, and grace was sent out to
save nature and destroy sin, and bring fair
nature back again to the blessed place from
which it came, which is God, with more nobility
and honour by the powerful operation of grace.
For it will be seen before God by all his saints
in joy without end that nature has been tried
in the fire of tribulation, and that no lack
or defect is found in it.
So are nature and grace of one accord; for
grace is God, as uncreated nature is God. He
is two in his manner of operation, and one in
love, and neither of these works without the
other, and they are not separated.43
Hildegard of Bingen. Scivias.
Vision Two, #27 Creation opposed Man because he
rebelled against God
And so all the elements of the world, which
before had existed in great calm, were turned
to the greatest agitation and displayed horrible
terrors, because when Man chose disobedience,
rebelling against God and forsaking tranquility
for disquiet, that Creation, which had been
created for the service of humanity, turned
against humans in great and various ways so
that Man, having lowered himself, might be held
in check by it. What does this mean? That Man
showed himself a rebel against God in the place
of delights, and therefore that Creation, which
had been subjected to him in service, now opposed
itself to him.44
Vision Twelve, #2 All creation will be moved
and purified of all that is mortal in it
And so, at this consummation, the elements
are unloosed by a sudden and unexpected movement:
all creatures are set into violent motion, fire
bursts out, the air dissolves, water runs off,
the earth is shaken, lightnings burn, thunders
crash, mountains are broken, forests fall, and
whatever in air or water or earth is mortal
gives up its life. For the fire displaces all
the air, and the water engulfs all the earth;
and thus all things are purified, and whatever
was foul in the world vanishes as if it had
never been, as salt disappears when it is put
into water.45
Catherine of Siena. The Dialogue.
With my wisdom I [God] have organized
and I govern all the world with such order that
nothing is lacking and nothing could be added
to it. Everything is provided for in soul and
body. Nor was it your will that constrained
me to do this, because you did not even exist.
No, it was only my mercy. Constrained by my
very self, I made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the vault of the sky to move above
you, the air so that you might breathe, fire
and water each to temper the other, and the
sun so that you would not be left in darkness.
All these I made and put in order to serve the
needs of humankind. The sky adorned with birds,
the earth bringing forth its fruits, the many
animals all for the life of humankind, the sea
adorned with fish—everything I made with the
greatest order and providence.46
Selections in this section come from contemporary
theologians, biblical scholars, and educators
in the Christian tradition who have been involved
in the religion-ecology dialogue.
Rosemary Radford Ruether. “Eco-feminism
and Theology.”
We might say that the classical patriarchal
cultures have provided certain roots for the
development of today’s crisis, but it was
sparked and fed by modern industrialization
and colonialism. We must therefore urgently
seek to rebuild our development model, which
is based on industrialization, as well as the
roots that maintain it, roots that include the
classical patriarchal culture of the Hebrews
and the Greeks.47
In order to create an ecological culture and
society, we must transform relationships of
domination and exploitation into relationships
of mutual support. This transformation will
not occur without a parallel change in our image
of God, our image of the relationship between
God and creation in all its dimensions. We must
reformulate our concept of God, no longer to
be seen as an imposing power that commands relationships
of domination, but as a power of mutual support,
the source of a true life of mutuality. This
God must be a creator who structures mutually
supportive relationships between human beings
as well as between people groups in global society
and between humans and nature. Only when we
have come to understand that God is the source
and the foundation calling us to live in relationships
of mutual support can we effectively rebuild
our vision of the world.48
Leonardo Boff. Ecology and Liberation.
First and foremost, ecology requires that
we humans should advance beyond our anthropocentric
viewpoint, which is deeply embedded in Western
culture and continually reaffirmed by a certain
type of interpretation of the Hebrew and Christian
religious traditions, which see human beings
as lords of creation and the universe. We believe
ourselves to be the focal point of everything.
We see all other beings as existing for our
purposes, and all creatures as finding their
meaning and praising God through human beings,
at the mercy of human beings, to be used, dominated,
and where convenient, exploited. . . .
Faced with such facts, ecological reflection
has helped us to understand that the human race
is part of nature and the biosphere, not the
center of the universe. It exists in profound
communion with all other beings. It is distinguished
not by biological superiority but by the character
of human beings as moral entities. This means
that we can make free decisions, can choose
the means by which we destroy other beings,
but also that we can act beyond our own interests,
to the extent of taking up the other’s
cause from the other’s point of view. Indeed
we are capable of assuming the responsibility
for preserving nature and promoting all forms
of life, especially those that are oppressed.
. . .
Next, we have to accept the otherness of all
that exists in creation. Every form of being,
animate or inanimate, has a value as such. It
has its possibilities and limitations within
the ecosystem itself. For human intelligence
and affectivity, every being is a challenge
to decipher the message of life, beauty, and
rationality that it possesses in itself. All
beings, especially living beings, deserve to
be accepted and even respected in their otherness.
No one has the right to seize and destroy what
the vast process of evolution has spent thousands
of years in producing. Everything that exists
and lives has the right to exist and live. .
. .
Finally, in the light of these reflections,
it is an urgent requirement that we should understand
the demands of a social ecology. Social ecology
studies human historico-social systems in interaction
with environmental syste |
