tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998770.post110997215056425233..comments2024-03-29T05:18:41.556-04:00Comments on The AC is On: Christianity and EnvironmentalismAnvilcloudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07974744042579564912noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998770.post-1110040377015957592005-03-05T11:32:00.000-05:002005-03-05T11:32:00.000-05:00What a great post! AC, have you heard of Christian...What a great post! AC, have you heard of Christian Carnival? Every week, people submit their best posts for inclusion in the "Christian Carnival." I have the link to it at my blog. Whoever hosts it puts all the posts together with the links, so people can go to it, read brief descriptions, and read the posts if they like. It's a great way to get your blog "out there" and bring new readers in. You should really submit this post, it's fabulous!Jennifer Swanepoelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03412037714911643943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998770.post-1110009680361151302005-03-05T03:01:00.000-05:002005-03-05T03:01:00.000-05:00Hello again, Anvilcloud. I commend you on your que...Hello again, Anvilcloud. I commend you on your quest to reinterpret and question bibilical notions, ideas which are so often taken as simplistic answers or justifications for how we live our lives. I myself am not Christian, but have done much interpreting and reinterpreting of the Jewish bible. I have participated in many incredible and heated discussions regarding interpretation of the Torah (old testament). In my experience, there are a couple of things that I like to keep in mind when engaging in discussion about how we should interpret a particular passage, 1) the old testament was written in Hebrew, so any english translations are already interpretations to begin with - as with any language, there are many words that simply do not translate well, or exist at all, in the English language, 2) there are many, many passages in the bible which are often not interpreted literally in even religious contemporary societies(such as laws regarding sacrifice after sinning - see leviticus chapter 4 - that talk about sacrificing goats, etc. and doing various things with their blood and fat, etc.), 3) there are many ways to interpret every passage - that's the beauty of Torah! I once spent two weeks discussing the first sentence in D'varim (Deuteronomy). Keeping these things in mind, there are many ways to interpret the relationship between people and the earth as represented in the bible, and there are also many ways to interpret G-d giving humankind dominion over all the animals and earth, etc. as you mentioned, in Genesis. As for my interpretation, I agree with you...the passage does not necessarily connatate that people can destroy the earth as they will, but perhaps people were instructed to "think about" what they have been "given" and "use it wisely". I would like to take it a step further...if people were created B'tzelem Elohim (in G-d's image), then our relationship with the earth should be a G-dly one, as we were made in the divine image, and should treat the earth as G-d treats us (this warrents ambiguity as it depends on your interpretation of how G-d treats us. I also think the people-G-d relationship differs across Judasim and Christianity). Also, the section in Genesis just before G-d creates Adam talks about how there was no one to tend to the earth that G-d had just created. This could imply that Adam (and really, humankind) was created for the sole purpose of tending the earth, thus negating your professor's argument that people have divine permission to do to the earth what we will. Rather, the whole reason we were put on this planet in the first place, was to be the earth's keepers and tend to her, as a gardener would tend and nurture her garden. So - Christians and Jewish people alike are solely responsible for the welfare of our ecological planet. What do you think?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998770.post-1110000380552328012005-03-05T00:26:00.000-05:002005-03-05T00:26:00.000-05:00Perhaps I should have chosen my words better. How...Perhaps I should have chosen my words better. However, the extent to what I was getting at was that our bodies need protein and nutrients from meat to live. Therefore, we can't feel bad for eating other creatures, as that's where the bulk of it comes from. I agree that we shouldn't go overboard with it, as I'm sure has happened, and that enough to get by on is fine. I can't say much on that, though, since I'm no toothpick myself, and surely no vegetarian or vegan. (Of course, my gluttony comes straight from chocolate, which I'm pretty sure doesn't abuse too many animals!) I just didn't see what the big deal was about this specific lobster. I mean, okay, so he was 100 years old, but I thought it was cool the idea that he could be learned from and safer in a controlled environment such as the aquarium. As well, everyday tons of lobsters are killed for eating, and no one bats an eye at them. This lobster was just another one of them, that had just avoided being caught for a while longer. As to the environmental issue, I agree with you. To get what we need is good, to go past that may not be a good thing.Christihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05369978641581682398noreply@blogger.com