The other day, I was listening to a podcast from Logically Critical called Why Atheism? (as a quick aside, I laughed my butt off at the Ode to a Superhero episode.)

Overall, the episode is very good - basically explaining to people what atheism really is - a lack of belief in a higher being.  Atheists are often forgotten in the “Freedom of religion” debate, and I’d never considered that Atheists are often unwilling to share their beliefs (or lack thereof) for fear of being discriminated against at workplaces, social events, etc. 

One point at the end really struck me powerfully, which is the purpose of this post.  The host indicated that, as an Atheist himself, he was constantly worried about the intentions of those that are extremely religious, and their goals in this world.  Since, in many Judeo-Christian beliefs which are predominantly in power in the West, this world is treated to be mainly as a den of sin and just a layover till we get on that next plane to the afterlife,  why would any of them care what happens to it? 

I think I have happened upon this thought before, but I never let it sink in as deeply as I did after listening to the podcast.  It was shockingly frightening - and I understood what the host was talking about.

Genesis 1:28 clearly indicates to Adam, the progenitor of all mankind, that the world is his to do with as he wishes.  Quoting from Bibletools.com:

 1:28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

 Now, environmentalists have been pointing to this passage as a source of our huge distance from the natural world, and our centuries of tearing it apart for our current societal goals.  And that is, in itself, disturbing.

But what about the social impact as well?  If we are to believe Religioustolerance.org’s chart, over 2 billion worldwide are Christian, and 14.5 million are Jewish.  That means that a major portion of the world reads the Bible/Pentateuch - where this verse exists.

Bibletools wants to clarify to environmentalists that this has been misread for a long time:

Genesis 2 contains a parallel account of creation, adding detail to certain parts of the narrative of the first chapter. Notice God’s expanded instruction: “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend [dress, KJV] and keep it” (verse 15). This greatly modifies the force of “have dominion” and “subdue it” from Genesis 1:26, 28!

Tend (Hebrew ‘abad) means “to work or serve,” and thus referring to the ground or a garden, it can be defined as “to till or cultivate.” It possesses the nuance seen in the KJV’s choice in its translation: “dress,” implying adornment, embellishment, and improvement.

Keep (Hebrew shamar) means “to exercise great care over.” In the context of Genesis 2:15, it expresses God’s wish that mankind, in the person of Adam, “take care of,” “guard,” or “watch over” the garden. A caretaker maintains and protects his charge so that he can return it to its owner in as good or better condition than when he received it.

 It made me feel better about those that actually know this, but how many do not know this?  How many read the Bible and take it at its current interpretation and don’t have the explanation behind it? (see Edit below)

In essence, how many read that passage in the Bible and feel no compunction about what happens to the Earth or the people in it because this world doesn’t matter - only heaven matters?

It makes me view our president differently as well.  Part of what really annoyed me about him is his arrogance - the audacity he had to stand up in the face of the people of the world and say, “We’re going to support oil because it is more sustainable and environmentally friendly than coal.” (or really, whatever crazy thing he’s saying lately…like nuclear energy being renewable and has no emissions.  A claim could be made that our education system might be making more of a difference on the environment than our fuel system, but I digress.)  Needless to say, I thought to myself, “How does he have the balls to stand up there and say he’s doing things to benefit our environment, and then do whatever lines his pockets with money?”  How can he say the Iraq War is about freeing people, when it really is about cheap oil so he and his cronies can make more money?

But now, my eyes are wide.  President Bush is a man of faith.  Perhaps this really IS a religous war. Perhaps he is acting in accordance with his beliefs to fight an “opposing” religion, without regard the world at hand because this world does not matter - only the afterlife matters.  Eerie.  Saving those oil fields from heathens to heat the homes of Christians worldwide, and if it destroys the earth - who cares? 

Dominion over the Earth and Subdue it.

There are those out there that believe he is actually a member of Christians that is apocalyptic in belief, and that his actions are directly pointed at destruction, in order to bring around the Apocalypse sooner.  Because heaven is all we are waiting for, right?  A video found by a friend - I have not watched it yet. 

I’m not sure how I feel about this - I guess the world-lovin’ part of me wants to believe that people couldn’t be this misguided.  For some reason, it makes me feel better to believe that Bush is ambivalent, or ignorant, towards the environment instead of attacking it purposefully.

On top of all of this, how do environmentalists - or anyone - convince any of these believers that it is IMPORTANT, nay, IMPERATIVE to take action about the negative impact we have on the environment? If the world is just an annoying traffic light between you and your afterlife (which is promised to be a rockin’ good time at the right hand of God and all), why would you ever choose to ride a bike instead of drive?  Or put your money into sustainable living methods?  Or do anything that preserved the world at all?

Have we produced a religion with a deity that creates a world, and then empowers the creature creations of that world to destroy it?  Can global warming survive Judeo-Christian belief?  Have we pressed the self-destruct button on our world through the creation of a faith that values everything after death more than the world of the living? 

 A 2000 year countdown, and we didn’t even know the clock was ticking.  Where’s Bond when you need him?

Edit:

I had a conversation with a devout Catholic man after posting this who indicated that he was, and believes all Catholics are, taught the differences in the Hebrew that lead one to understand that subdue is inaccurate and it really means “stewardship”.  Having been in evangelical studied for 10 years instead of Catholicism, I did not know that.  I only discuss what I was taught - which did not involve any sense of responsibility for the earth.  I would also like to point out that I was not taught to destroy it either. 

(disclaimer: Because I listened to a podcast on Atheism does not necessarily indicate I am Atheist.    Thanks.)

(Disclaimer 2: I understand that some of this post may sound sensational - at the very least, it has some generalizations.  My concern still exists, however, and would love to know what you’ve experienced with regard to religious teachings of such a nature. )