(a) Describe and explain Christian teaching about the importance of taking care of the environment. [8]
The Earth is made by God (Genesis 1&2) and should be treated with respect
The Earth belongs to God, 'The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it' Psalm 24:1, so it is not ours to destroy
God appointed humans as stewards to care for and look after the environment: Then the Lord God placed the man in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it. Genesis 2:15.
Cultivate means more than just watch over - we have a responsibility to conserve the environment: 'The dignity of nature as creation needs to be bound up with our responsibility for the preservation of life.' World Council of Churches
Guard means protect: Keep safe what has been entrusted to you. 1 Timothy 6:20 so we shouldn't only look at how we use the environment, but we should protect it from abuse by others: 'Christians repudiate (reject) all ill-considered exploitation of nature which threatens to destroy it and, in turn, to make man the victim of degradation.' Assisi Declarations
By mistreating the environment we are destroying a gift (Methodist; RC views) and abusing our power/responsibilities
Humans should live in harmony with creation (CofE)
Christians
believe in the interdependence of all things (Quakers & Methodists) - we
need the natural world to survive
Creation is beautiful and should not be damaged (in Genesis 1, after every act of creation God looked at what he had made and 'saw that it was good')
In
mistreating the environment we should think about the effect
on humans and on future generations: 'A good man leaves an inheritance
for his children’s children' Proverbs 13:22