Nowadays we in the church hear much of the task given to us to be good stewards over God’s creation. We are to treat the creation as a fragile, vulnerable artifact given us by God, to be cherished and taken special care of. The animal and plant kingdoms are precious treasures to be maintained in unspoiled beauty, preserved from the corrupting hand of civilization.

But how much of this is derived from Scripture, and how much from romantic secular philosophy? To what extent does the Bible speak of man as steward of the planet? And to what extent does it validate the view of nature as unspoiled perfection marred by humankind’s intervention?

This view of nature is based on a philosophical presupposition: the balance of nature. Nature is considered to be poised in a delicate and fragile equilibrium, the slightest disturbance of which will have the direst consequences. But how valid is this presupposition?

It is of the utmost consequence that we recognize this…. click here to continue reading