Question

describe humanity’s role toward God’s creation (see Genesis 1:26-31; Psalm 8:6-8; Matthew 21:33-46). What does it mean from a Christian perspective for people to have a God-given responsibility for the physical world/universe? (Be as specific as possible.) This does not mean that Christians are the only ones who should be environmentally conscious, but it does suggest that Christians have a motive to serve God by caring for His world.

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) According to the passage in Genesis (1: 26-31) man was created by God just like any other creature was created. However, man has authority over the other creatures simply because unlike others, man was created in the image and likeness of God.

This may not only mean likeness in terms of appearance but, a likeness in terms of a conscience. This means that man has a developed sense of right from wrong. This would entail that man should know the right way of treating God’s creation with love and compassion. Especially since these are the attributed advocated by God.

Psalm says that man was made a ruler to lord over all creation. Also, the parable in Matthew suggests that God has put man in charge of the world and be responsible for it. This is until the time would come when the tenants in charge of the winepress would have to hand over creation to the son of the owner. Here, there is an indication of how human beings have the tendency to treat creation with a lack of compassion and aggression to be profitable from it. However, that is not the purpose of humans being in command of creation. The purpose of it all is to take care of nature and the world while we are tenants or inhabitants of the world because unlike other creatures with have the wisdom and conscience that has been endowed to us by God.