Also dear to the hearts of those who are faithful to the religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is this outrageous myth: They all believe that this earth was given to humans by the Almighty God, to use in any way we see fit. None of these believers seem to have any problem thinking that all the resources of this planet are here for us to use in any way we wish. Although a few may now have some doubt as to how far we can consume before we start running out of resources, there is certainly no outcry of protest about this flagrantly irrational concept. There is, if not full belief in this myth, at least acquiescence by all humans in the wanton use of our resources. Up to this point in time, we, as a species, have shown no restraint in the consumption, pollution and destruction of those materials on this planet which sustain us. We have shown blatant disregard for other forms of life and brazen stupidity about the interdependence of all life. As has been so cogently and patiently explained by Jared Diamond, this behavior cannot continue much longer before the entire human civilization collapses.
There is also this concept creep: There are many who have extended this rather bizarre belief to include the entire universe. They say that the Bible only mentions the earth as our unlimited gold mine because the knowledge of those who wrote Genesis extended to only the world that they knew. As our knowledge has extended beyond our earth to the planets, the sun, asteroids, our galaxy, our black hole, other galaxies, to the limits of the universe, none of this has changed our mandate from the Great Creator of all things. Whatever is here, no matter how far out it extends, is here for us to use and enjoy. The commands of our God have not changed, they say. The only change has been the grand extent of what we were given. We have, in other words, taken a gravely destructive concept and made it monstrously bigger. The majority of those who adhere to these religions believe that this entire universe is under our domain, to be used in any way that benefits us as a species, no matter what type of pollution or destruction that might entail.
Here’s how it began, as is written in the King James version of the Bible, Genesis 1:26-31.
And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.
And God blessed them and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed: to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat; and it was so.
And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
It is certainly time this malicious fallacy was permanently laid to rest. This emphasis on the contents of the earth and, perhaps also the entire universe, as belonging to us, leads us terribly astray. If we treat everything we contact as our slave property, to be used, consumed or destroyed in any way that pleases us, we will certainly hasten our demise on this planet. We don’t understand. We were not placed here to use everything up as fast as we can. We are a life form that evolved to have advanced language, communication skills and marvelous tools. Those allow us to be the most efficient killers on the face of the earth. That does not mean that we have no limits as to our consumption of resources. Our success in populating this planet means the opposite. We have to use our resources with great constraint and respect. We are not here to command. We are here to co-exist. We are not here by design, to rule as kings. We are here because this is the only type of environment in which we could have developed as this particular life form. We are fortunate to have this one beautiful life on this planet, but have no power of any significance over this universe. If we do not learn to conserve our resources and treat all other life with respect, we will not long survive.
There is the opposite side of this coin. In order to survive, we do have to consume energy resources. We do have to be aggressive if we wish to continue to live. We have to realize that there is not a personal God who will provide for us. It is all up to us. The universe does not want us here. It will continue to present us with earthquakes, violent storms, plagues, poisons, pestilences, bitter cold, frying heat, crop failure starvation, and killer asteroids, until it some day finds a way to completely eliminate us. Make no mistake. It will. It is up to us to fight for survival against the universe.
It is also true that there is, so far, only one spot where we can obtain the resources necessary for our survival. We are confined to this protective cocoon which has a rotating iron core, producing a magnetic shield which deflects the electromagnetic storm constantly bathing us. We are just the right distance away, at just the right temperature, just the right atmosphere, to be what we are. We can’t go elsewhere to survive. We do not have access to resources elsewhere we can wantonly pollute and destroy. We either conserve our resources here with humility and respect, or there will be none left, and we will be gone forever. Interpretation of the Bible as a command that we should treat all the earth’s resources and all other life with disdain leads us all to commit destructive, suicidal behavior.