stewardshio and environment

Question 1

catholic beliefs about stewardship and environment

Answer 1

• believe both stories of creation in Genesis show that human beings are the most important part of creation. God made humans superior to the rest of creation by giving them the reason and free will. this is the reason God made humans stewards of the world
• catholics should be concerned about looking after the environment and the planet. need to work to protect the plant, cutting down on pollution, care for animals and make sure the world is in its best shape to pass onto future generations
• pope francis wrote an encyclical letter called Laudatory si in 2015 which means ‘Care for our common home’. letter inspires Catholics to protect the earth and take part in catholic social teaching. “Each community….has a duty protect the earth and ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations”
• 2 greatest commandments are to love god and love their neighbour ‘love thy neighbour’. idea of neighbour means not just those close to us, but people in different countries
• catholics should be concerned about those who suffer badly from climate change
  Genesis:
  “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it”

Question 2

jewish beliefs about stewardship and environment

Answer 2

• book of genesis states god created the universe and everything in it
• jews believe God is the lawgiver and a judge
• torah gives clear rules on being stewards of the earth and jews believe God will judge them on how well they will follow the Torah
• as part of the covenant Moses made with God at Mt.Sinai, Jews aim to follow the 613 mitzvot. a covenant is a promise or an agreement and jews are told they must never destroy things in the land that are useful and give land a rest from growing crops every 5 years

Question 3

humanist beliefs about stewardship and environment

Answer 3

• agree with catholics and jews that we should look after the environment
• they believe the universe was created by the big bang and developed through process of evolution
• reject belief in God and do not believe God created the universe
• believe we have to protect and preserve the environment and that includes all life including animal life
• believe we should control population through the use of contraception which is in direct contrast to catholic beliefs