By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Too many people, so-called Christians especially, and those of the “Christian” world, seem to think that they have a G-d given right to abuse and exploit the Earth, our Mother. And all this, as we have spoken about before, due to the misconception and misunderstanding of the word “dominion”, as in “G-d gave man dominion over the Earth.”
Dominion, and again we have discussed this before, in this context, means to be a steward of Creation, of the Earth and all Her wealth. It has nothing whosoever to do with domination and exploitation.
The way man, especially ever since the industrial revolution, has exploited and destroyed the Planet we will have to put on the brakes now and do a total 180degree turn around and go back to the way things were before we went mad.
The blessed late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, said: “Unfortunately, if we scan the regions of our planet, we immediately see that humanity has disappointed G-d's expectations. Man, especially in our time, has without hesitation devastated wooded plains and valleys, polluted waters, disfigured the Earth's habitat, made the air unbreathable, disturbed the hydrogeological and atmospheric systems, turned luxuriant areas into deserts and undertaken forms of unrestrained industrialization, degrading that 'flowerbed' – to use an image from Dante Alighieri (Paradiso, XXII, 151) – which is the Earth, our dwelling-place.”
The sad fact is that he is so very true in what he said, but then again he was a most remarkable man and servant of G-d, with a deep and profound insight.
The Earth is, indeed, our dwelling place and there is but one Earth. The is no Planet B and hence we have to perform a profound U-turn this very instant and try to get the Earth back into some semblance of balance.
If we do not do it now, this instant almost, chances are that things will be too late and in a few decades to a century or two (OK, probably not in the lifetime of many of us here) the Planet will become uninhabitable to human life, if not indeed al life.
Our cars and truck, our factories and power stations, belch out pollution into the air; other things pollute the water in our rives and our seas; yet others pollute the soil... and we are wondering why, in general, there seems to be one new bug after another appearing.
This is not new either, even though we now have to concern ourselves with possible serious climate change (no one knew back then). Already in the 1960s and 1970s Hippies and others were fighting to slow down our life and to reduce our impact on the Planet. The message was heeded for a few years and then we went – once again – all speed ahead. The economy – after all – had to grow, all in the pursuit of the perpetual “more, more more.”
While I may sound very much like a Luddite at times, seeing that I use computers and the Internet, etc., should prove that I am not one. However, I will continue to say that in many ways we must return to the way of our ancient ones and, aside from reconnecting with Nature we must return also to many of their ways of working, including horses and human-powered transportation, by way of an example.
Horses, more than definite, are our possible transportation future, getting miles per hay bale instead of miles per gallon when oil has become scarce and thus too expensive for ordinary mortals to purchase. Hybrid cars are a waste of time and money and the electric car is no answer as yet as it is still far too expensive to make and batteries are still not much use for the longer distances.
We were called to be stewards of Creation and all we became was exploiters and destroyers, especially with the way we have gone after the Earth's resources, whether minerals or oil. Entire mountains had their tops blown off and then taken off bit by bit in the quest for coal and entire eco-systems have been destroyed and everything poisoned in the Tar Sands of Athabasca and in ares of chemical works and other factories.
No consideration whatsoever have we given to the Planet and to its inhabitants, including humans affected by the fallout of the exploitation of areas and of factories and we still play around with an energy source that, in the end, could destroy all life on Earth.
The great majority of people on Earth seem to be hell-bent on destroying the only Planet that we have in their pursuit of “more, more, more” without any consideration for coming generations and for the rest of Creation.
They treat the Planet as if they are the only ones that matter, often in such an egoistical manner that it is the individual that matters and his or her happiness and wealth, and some groups of so-called Christians even seem to justify that with the Scriptures.
“Teach us, oh G-d, thy ways of caring for the Earth and for everything that dwells upon it and in it. Teach us to live as part of Creation and to be the Good Shepherd of Creation and not its destroyer. Amen!”
© 2011
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