this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
1653 points (96.4% liked)
Memes
45746 readers
1625 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Unfortunately a literal reading of Genesis 1:28 says to subdue the Earth (master or control in a few translations, and use all the resources for God's purpose in one). Those trying to paint a nicer picture might change it to being stewards of the planet (which is what I always heard as a kid), but that's not what's there. To be fair, it was written in a time where the world seemed endless and humans couldn't possibly destroy everything, a mindset that lasts to this very day. Even less than a century ago we were okay with dumping stuff into the water or burying it, or burning things because it was a huge world and the smoke disappeared into the sky.
The really wild one is the Ann Coulter reading:
“God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, “Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It’s yours.”
(Referring to Dominionism and Genesis 1:28, on Hannity & Colmes, 20 June 2001)