Dominion and Stewardship

• What is dominion?


  'Power over'. Many Christians believe they should have power over animals because of this
• Psalm 8 interpretation


  humans are described as been made 'little less than God' and have dominion over what God has made. Psalm 8 is a hymn celebrating God's glory in which the status of humans is clear. "When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honour. Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his 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 sea." - those suffering at the hands of evil forces are those made in the image of God and valued highly by their creator
• How is imago dei relevant to dominion?

  Humans were made in the image of God so they have power over creation. We are the only beings that were made in the image of God so surely that makes us superior to other life forms?
• Where does the idea of fear come from?

  Genesis 9:1-3. Human dominion means that humans are to be feared by all other creatures
• Anthropocentric view of environment

  the Bible places no intrinsic value on animal life or on the life of any other living thing. They only have value as they serve human desires. Anthropocentric view of environment: humans see themselves as the pinnacle of creation which everything else is measured and found to be of lesser value. So Anthropocentric means centring the universe on humans. Encourages humans to be uncaring about anything non human
• Humans have control of the environment


  Christians who interpret dominion as power over believe that humans are entitled to use the environment to satisfy their needs. Supported by the fall. They assume that after the fall the humans needed to control an environment that was already damaged by sin. Aquinas develops this. He says that humans have only indirect duties to animals. Aquinas followed Aristotles view that animals are just part of the human food chain. He objected cruelty to animals. Only because it bred cruelty in Humans
• Idea of dominion as stewardship


  Views of those Christians who argue that to have 'dominion' over the environment really means that humans should act as stewards of the entire environment - caretakers of God's creation. World belongs to God because he created it as well as humans. As the most intelligent species, humans have a responsibility to look after it because they have been made in God's image
• Biblical evidence of stewardship


  Focuses on statements in genesis that God viewed his creation as 'good'. (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). The environment has intrinsic value because God made it and therefore must reflect God's goodness
• Principle of Plentitude


  Began with Plato, suggests that all the forms of existence that are possible in the universe will exist somewhere. Augustine used a version of the principle to suggest that a universe with many species is better than a universe with just one bcs having a huge variety of species highlights the depth of God's power + beauty of creation. Creation is perfect because of the range and diversity, reflects God's omnipotent creativity
• How did the church shift to stewardship?

  Pope Benedict XVI began to turn the Church's attention toward the need for environmental sustainability. Francis took this further with Laudatio Si. Mostly focuses on its call for action on climate change. Previously, Aquinas' interpretation was the main doctrine until the late 20th century. Francis said that 'Christians have at the times incorrectly interpreted the scriptures' and 'we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God's image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures'. Our dominion over the universe should be understood 'in the sense of responsible stewardship'.
• What is net zero carbon?

  refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas that is produced and the amount that is removed from the atmosphere
• What does the Church of England aim to do?

  The church aims to tackle their own carbon emissions and aim for net zero carbon by 2030
• What are eco churches?


  Churches that are making changes within their church to be more eco friendly. For example, solar panels installed at St Augustine's Highbury, or Preston-next-Faversham St Catherine's infra-red chandeliers