Reflect on Psalm 24:1, Psalm 50:10-11, Psalm 115:16.

In what ways have human beings failed to exercise a cooperative and responsible dominion over the Earth that God has given them?

Read Genesis 1:9-12, 20-30.

Do verses 26 and 28 provide a declaration of war on nature?

Are developing tools and technology, farming the land, digging for minerals, extracting fuels, damming rivers for hydroelectric power, harnessing atomic energy all fulfilments of God's primeval command?

Are we the 'lords' of the Earth?

Has Christianity actually caused irresponsible use of natural resources?

So what distinctive contribution to the ecological debate should Christians make?

We believe that God created the Earth and that one day he will recreate it. Read Romans 8:18-25.

In Ronald Higgins' book 'The Seventh Enemy', the first six enemies are the population explosion, the food crisis, the scarcity of resources, environmental degradation, nuclear abuse and scientific technology. The seventh enemy is humanity itself, our personal blindness and political inertia in the face of today's ecological challenge.

Do we find it easier to subdue the Earth than we do to subdue ourselves?

At the root of the ecological crisis is human greed. How does this challenge us?

In what one way could I help to conserve our human environment for the next century?

[mike rose]