Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song And Praise

Who Is My Neighbor in a Climate Threatened World?   Pastor Ellen:  Today, we think about creation and ask the question, “Who is my neighbor in a climate threatened world?”  The concept of environmental stewardship originates with the first of the creation stories, in which God gives humans dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the animals of the land (Gen 1:1–2:4). Traditionally, Christians have distorted the mandate of “exercising dominion” to mean that creation was made for human beings and that we have a right to dominate and exploit creation for our own wants and needs. This has led to incalculable abuses of nature.  But, what we now know is that the Hebrew word for dominion does not mean “to dominate” or “to exploit.” Rather, it means “to take responsibility for,” as a ruler would be responsible to assure the well-being of those in the realm. Natalie Dingledine:  In the first creation story in Genesis, human beings were created last, not as the so-called “crown of creation,” but in