Chapter 12.1 – Respect for Creation

Today’s Schedule: 1.Environmental Responsibility and Moral Imperative 2.Biblical Requirements of Environmental Responsibility 3.STEWARDSHIP 4.Stewardship – Specific Example 5.Exercise – Contextualizing Stewardship

Review: Where We’ve Been… EPA-Approved Environment Slideshow –Sustainability –Cyclical vs. Linear Systems –The Story of the Beavers Beavers, Wetlands, Ecosystem… Fur Trade. –The Story of the Coke Can

Al Gore on The Environment and Morality The scientists are virtually screaming from the rooftops now. The debate is over! There's no longer any debate in the scientific community about this. But the political systems around the world have held this at arm's length because it's an inconvenient truth, because they don't want to accept that it's a moral imperative.

So why is taking care of the Earth our responsibility? Read Gen 1:28-31; Gen 2:15-20 Responsibility given to Man by God –‘Dominion’ –Importance of Naming

Stewardship: Man’s Responsibility Stewardship: An act of caretaking which requires that we value the rest of creation as good in itself, not simply because it is useful to us. Activity: Think of one example not related to the environment of a situation in which you are called to act as a steward.

Stewardship: Principles See Textbook p.231, from Strangers and Guests 3. The land’s benefits are for everyone. 4. The land should be distributed equitably. 5. The land should be conserved and restored. 6. Land use planning must consider social and environmental impacts. 9. The land’s workers should be able to become the land’s owners. Do the principles espoused by the bishops seem at odds with the capitalistic ‘American Dream’? Is this the way that resources are currently used in the United States? Around the World?

Final Exercise: Select any of the above concepts / ideas from this year and discuss how it relates to environmental stewardship. Justice Interdependence Wise Judgment Honesty Compassion Courage Temperance