Project topics and materials
Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »
The dominium command and Genesis (1: 26-28)
The declaration by the creator to make human beings in ―their‖ image and after ―their‖ likeness becomes the origins of subjection and objection between humans and the non-human creatures. The following passage from Genesis1:26-28 contains the ever standing basis of human domination of earth and the Earth Community:
Then God said ‗let us make human beings in our image, to be like ourselves. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, and all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground‘. So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, ‗Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground‘ (Genesis 1.26-28) (New Living Translation).
The background to this passage elaborates how the universe was without form until it was given form or order by separating waters from land, light from darkness, day from night, land from sky, dry land from water bodies such as seas and rivers; light to rule the day as the sun, and lights to rule the night as the moon and stars. It follows that life on earth was only introduced after all such preparations. According to the first (Genesis 1) creation account, man is only created at the very last of God‘s creative activities.
In the passage above, suspicion of anthropocentricity of the text is not doubted at all. Humans are declared rulers of all life on earth, by so becoming Earth and Earth Community become objects and humans are declared subjects. The fact of anthropogenicity of the text cannot be ruled out in this particular narrative. This is because the text belongs to the mythologically composed part of scripture. Dean-Drummond confirms the assertion by the British historian Arnold Toynbee who claimed that, ―the command in Genesis 1:28 to have dominion and subdue (Reign) the earth both permitted and directed humanity in exploitative attitudes to the environment‖ (Deane-Drummond 2008:82). Following the enlightenment the Christian community has been blamed for the dominion aspect through the advancement in science and technology.
The text under consideration indicates that non-humans were created before human beings. We are able to identify the fact that without non-human creation such as land, vegetation, water, light and the rest; man has no basis of living on planet earth. The text proves that human beings, although they have reigned the earth with impunity, they are part of the rest of the Earth Community. In fact human life becomes dependent on the rest of the Earth Community without which male and female human beings would not survive. Humans, though uniquely created as those who are the only ones of the creatures after God‘s likeness, in the image of God (imago Dei) do not have the absolute right to take the centre stage of everything to the extent of depletion of the species.
The process of retrieving the voice of the earth is difficult to discern in the text when humans are declared rulers over the rest of the Earth Community. It is a moment when a ruler like a President or a king is being enthroned or sworn in, in full view of his/her subjects. Those to be ruled cannot voice out anything, until they begin to experience the leadership of a ruler. The earth is silent and yet to voice out its pain.
The only silent voice of the earth is a detachment between the sea, the sky creatures and humans, but humans get total control over those members of the Earth Community which live away from humans such as those in waters and skies. As time went by, humans have invented and devised means and ways of having access to the domain of most members of the Earth Community, including those underneath the earth such as minerals, fossils, gases and many others. Science and technology has caused human beings to claim dominance over the earth to the extent of self-destruction.
It is evident that the principles of intrinsic worth and interconnectedness between humans and the rest of the Earth Community are realised in the text. The fact that God created non-humans first and human beings later with a proclamation of the dominium command is an expression of interdependence and mutual custodianship among the Earth Community. However it is a known fact that, ―we human beings are not the only ones who deserve a fair share, but we are among those who do and in addition, we alone (to our knowledge) have the ability to make decisions about sharing along lines other than ‗might make right‘, both for the needy of our kind as well as other vulnerable species‖ (McFague 1993:5). McFague asserts, and correctly points out other species besides human beings are in need of consideration for continued sustainability. Therefore, the dominium command is not an excuse for abuse of non-human species by human beings, rather humans should work for their survival by tilling the land; eat seeds and fresh produce, while animals eat grass and plants. Humans have a responsibility over creation in terms of how they co-exist with the rest of the Earth Community.
The fall of the human being (Genesis 2-3)
Following the proclamation of dominance, as construed by human beings in the previous section, other members of the Earth Community seem to directly fall under the rule of human beings themselves. Although this part of the account of creation in chapter one of Genesis spills over to chapter two, the main issue at hand in this section is to discern hermeneutically the essence of the happenings in Genesis 3, in view of eco-justice.
The background of this story is that of a scenario when no rain had fallen on the ground, since human beings were not created yet, there was no tilling of the soil (Newsom 2000:63). The story is identified with the Yahwistic tradition in which the creation story begins with the human being, which is more anthropocentric than the first story of Genesis chapter one. Newsom asserts that, ―the story is about the origin of anthropocentrism itself,‖ (Newsom 2000:62), which Newsom further calls the original sin.
The creation story in Genesis chapter two from the onset portrays so much of human centeredness, but the interdependence of humans and other creatures permeates the events in as much as human beings become central in the narrative. The geographical narration of the garden which human beings were given to cultivate is all described to the beauty of the occupier (humans). Newsom‘s indicates that ―though the description is not needed for the plot of the story, it serves to disclose the character of the storyteller, letting us know what he thinks worth telling‖ (Newsom 2000:64).
The physical features of rivers and minerals mentioned in Gn 2:10-14 are still an emphatic indication of the benefits of humans on earth. In Gn 2:15, the human being Adam is placed in what is termed as a garden, not necessarily in the sense of the tilled garden of vegetables as we know it today, but rather ―a forest, a place of trees and fruits. The kind of working and keeping that is suitable to a forest is rather different from that needed to grow vegetables in rows.‖ (Newsom 2000:64) Therefore the human person here is given the duty to interact, so to say, with the rest of nature. Victus argues that ―the text 2:16-17 says they are not only given rights but also given more warnings too…‖ (Victus 2014:51).In the creation account attention is still centred on the human being. Adam gives names to all animals, birds and the rest of the living creatures on earth, a confirmation of human reign over the Earth Community; and loneliness is said to be the main reason of bringing forth other living creatures. The likeness of God in man was not complete without the woman. In Gn 2:20 the story teller expresses the need for the male human being to have a companion after his likeness.
The moment God said it was not good for the man to be alone, and that he would make him a helper who was just right for him (Gn 2:18), we begin to see how human beings identify with the rest of creation, through the eco-justice principles of intrinsic value, interconnectedness, purpose and mutual custodianship of all the living and non-living in the Earth Community. Adam and animals were created from earth depicting a commonality and interdependence. The phrase, ―it is not good for man to be alone‖ (Gn2:18) by the creator, and then all other creatures were created, becomes a certificate for human beings to identity with the Earth Community.
The naming of living creatures by human being does not only portray rulership but identity as well, of humans themselves with the rest of creation. Living things responded and continue to respond to human beings by their names (if tamed), and are known by the same names in the diversity of human languages and cultures. The male human being is joined by the female human being, whom he (Adam) called woman. She was taken from the material of man who was from earth (adamah) so rendering the woman as having been taken from earth as well. They were both naked, still identifying with the rest of the animals which have no clothing up until today.
1. Initiation
1.1. Preliminary remarks
1.2. The Research problem
1.3. Hypothesis
1.4. Research objectives
1.5. Methodology
1.6. Contribution
1.7. Limitations
1.8. OUTLINE OF THE DISSERTATION
2. THE LAND AND ITS PEOPLE
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Location of the Copperbelt (Lamb land)
2.3. Vegetation of Lamba Land
2.4. Effects of deforestation
2.5. Rivers and streams
2.6. Wildlife before and after urbanisation
2.7. The origins of the Lamba people
2.8. The cosmology and religious beliefs of the Lamba people
2.9. Urbanisation of the Lamba Land (Copperbelt)
2.10. The Distortion of the African concept of God and creation
2.11. Effects of natural resource commercialisation on the local people
2.12. Conclusion
3. COPPER MINING INDUSTRY IN ZAMBIA (THE COPPERBELT)
3.1. Introduction
3.2. The Country‟s brief historical and geographical information
3.3. The Copper mining Industry
3.4. Copper mining and processing methods
3.5. Impact of mining activities on nature and the Environment
3.6. The National Policies
3.7. The Environmental Impact Assessment requirements
3.8. An ethical assessment of compliance with the policies
3.9. Enforcement of the Law
3.10. Conclusion
4. ECOLOGICAL HERMENEUTICS
4.1. Introduction
4.2. The approach
4.3. Eco-justice in the law (Torah)
4.4. Ecology in the prophets
4.5. Ecology in the wisdom Tradition
4.6. Ecological perspective of the synoptic gospels
4.7. The value of Earth in the Gospel of John
4.8. God‟s throne and the position of Earth (Act 7)
4.9. Eco-justice in the Pauline Epistles
4.10. The lamentations for Earth in Revelation 12
4.11. Conclusion
5. AN ECO-THEOLOGICAL FRAME WORK FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF CREATION IN THE COPPERBELT
5.1. Introduction
5.2. The role of cultural mythologies in resolving the ecological crisis
5.3. Scramble for land and its resources as new colonialism
5.4. Perpetual succession of land and Leviticus 25:23-34
5.5. Environmental justice
5.6. Co-operate social responsibility of multinational corporations
5.7. Government and sustainable use of Natural Resources
5.8. The role of the Church in the face of ecological crisis
5.9. Citizens and the ecological crisis
5.10. The Zambian Government and Eco-justice
5.11. Conclusion
6. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1. Findings
6.2. Recommendations
Bibliography
Appendix
