deep ecology at Susan Labandibar

Archive for the ‘deep ecology’ tag

What’s More Important?

I recently was asked: “What’s more important, people or the planet?” For me, the answer was obvious. Our beautiful planet, birthplace and cradle of all the known life in the universe, is more important than the wants and needs of humans, who have become the dominant species to the detriment of the rest of the natural world. But some say that in the celestial game of Pinochle that controls our destiny “People Trump Planet.”

Of course, with our current state of technology, no planet = no people. But that isn’t the point of the question. I would frame the issue as follows: “Is humankind just one life form on a planet teaming with many other living beings, from plankton to elephants? Or is our planet more like a petri dish, containing the ideal ecosystem to support the growth and evolution of mankind?”

What does the Bible say about the relationship of man to animals? While Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden, God instructed them to eat fruit and vegetables, Genesis 1:29-30: “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be food for you. And to the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground–everything that has the breath of life in it–I give every green plant for food.”

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