What does your religion say about the environment?

[Satt]

First, the obvious...

Genesis 1
The Creation
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.



Then, God created man...



Genesis 1:28

28God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it;
and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Genesis 2:7
7Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis 2:15
15Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.




So man was taken from the earth and told to rule over it and keep it...




Genesis 3:17-19

17Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you,
saying, 'You shall not eat from it';
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18"Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
19By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return."


The Earth was cursed because of man, therefore making it harder to keep it since God is no longer fully providing for us...


Revelation 21
The New Heaven and Earth
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.


The Earth will be remade...


Revelation 22
Eden Restored
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city.
On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit,
yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city,
and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun,
for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.


God will once again provide for us...

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

If you want to see true wastefulness, look no further than Dubai. The sheer insanity of what's been happening there in the boom years is staggering. I'm just saying: it looks like being a pious muslim doesn't neccessarily mean that you'll treat resources and the environment responsibly.

I'm not a member of any codified religion, so my spirituality doesn't really have to "say" anything about the environment.

I do, however.

I think the biggest mistake our species continues to make is that we tend to think of ourselves as intrinsically apart from the environment - we are not. A loss of biodiversity and the mass extinction of other species may seem like "just a couple of bugs and flowers less" to some, but it'll eventually affect us all - for all life-forms are part of an interconnected ecology, serving as food or pollinator or bane for some other species. It's like pulling blocks out of a Jenga tower: for a while, other factors can compensate for the loss. In fact, it's natural that some species become extinct all the time. But pull out too many blocks at once, and the whole structure collapses.

 

[JJWhite]

If you want to see true wastefulness, look no further than Dubai. The sheer insanity of what's been happening there in the boom years is staggering.

Yeah.. I agree that it is pretty insane over there from what I've heard.

The thing I think of when I think of Dubai is Burj Al-Khalifah, I think the tallest building in the world?

It reminds me of the hadith where Gabriel asks Muhammad (pbuh) when the Day of Resurrection is, and Muhammad replies that he doesn't know that any more than Gabriel does. Then, when Gabriel asks what some of the Signs are, he mentions one being that the poor, barefoot shepherds will begin competing in the building of tall buildings. I'm not one to rant and rave about Apocalyptic Signs, LOL, or anything like that.. and I'm not saying this is what was meant by the hadith anyway... just that every time I think of Dubai, I think of that tower, and every time I think of that tower, it reminds me of the hadith. lol

I'm just saying: it looks like being a pious muslim doesn't neccessarily mean that you'll treat resources and the environment responsibly.

How do we judge who's a 'pious' muslim and who isn't?

Secondly, everyone makes mistakes.. sometimes due to ignorance, sometimes due to other motivations.

 

[JJWhite]

The Earth was cursed because of man, therefore making it harder to keep it since God is no longer fully providing for us...

We don't have anything quite like that, but it's reminding me of a hadith which, IIRC, says, "This world was cursed and everything on it was cursed except for:

- the Remembrance of God,
- a scholar,
- and a student of knowledge."

 

[Eudaimonist]

The thing I think of when I think of Dubai is Burj Al-Khalifah, I think the tallest building in the world?

Ooo! That's an awesome skyscraper!


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

Ooo! That's an awesome skyscraper!

Worthy of Howard Roark, hm?

 

[awitch]

Ooo! That's an awesome skyscraper!
Mark

It's mostly empty from what I understand...no one can afford the rent.

 

[PHenry42]

If you want to see true wastefulness, look no further than Dubai. The sheer insanity of what's been happening there in the boom years is staggering. I'm just saying: it looks like being a pious muslim doesn't neccessarily mean that you'll treat resources and the environment responsibly.

Dubai has exactly what to do with Islamic piety?

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

Dubai has exactly what to do with Islamic piety?

Islam is the official religion of Dubai. 95% of all mosques are subsidized by the state. So if taking care of the environment was part of the "job description" of Islam, wouldn't you think that they fared a little better than they actually do?

(We could extend this to include the rest of the Arab emirates as well. They're all not exactly good stewarts.)

 

[JJWhite]

They've been too busy decorating $11,000,000 Christmas trees in their fancy hotels.

 

[Rationalt]

Why wouldn't there? It's you who are arbitrarily equating the two.

Lol.Muhammad made some declarations regarding Purity of water.Unless the water is mixed with Dog or Pig saliva it is pure.I gave a link in page2 regarding Donkey and cat saliva NOT making water impure and hence fit for drinking.

Even Rat Nibbled skin containers are fit for storing drinking water.

This is a lengthy hadiith.

Sahih Muslim Book #001, Hadith #0025
....


They (again) said: Prophet of Allah, our land abounds in rats and water-skins cannot remain preserved. The holy Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: (drink in water-skins) even if these are nibbled by rats.