The
psalmist said in 118:24 “This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and
be glad in it.” And yet, even though we human beings see ourselves as the most
intelligent life form on earth, our choices and ethical decisions regarding the
Earth—the only home planet we know at the moment where we can live, we are
responsible for almost all the damage done to the planet. Using the science
series called Cosmos, if we were to picture that the earth is aged about 45 or
46 years old, all the damage that we have done to it has taken place only in
the last minute of the earth’s life.
The
relationship between humans and our home planet is becoming more complex and
also exceptionally urgent. Read the internet and the news, and you’ll find
stories and reports about pollution, animals becoming near-extent, and other
issues such as global warming. Religions have responses to these issues, and
today I want to help you understand more about what various sincerely-held
views—including Humanism—have to say about environment ethics. It’s my hope
that after today, you’ll understand how to relate to people of differing
beliefs and that you’ll appeal to new friends in these communities, and to act
in unity and solidarity with each other to address these pressing needs.
Sikhism

Guru
Nanak, the first of the Sikh human gurus, taught and is written in the Sikh
holy text, the Guru Granth Sahib:
Nature
we see, Nature we hear, Nature we observe with awe, wonder and joy. Nature in
the nether regions, Nature in the skies, Nature in the whole creation…Nature in
species, kinds, colours. Nature in life forms. Nature in good deeds. Nature in
pride and in ego. Nature in air, water and fire. Nature in the soil of the
earth. All nature is yours, O powerful CreatorYou command it, observe it and
pervade within it.
If
you were to read the lives of the human Gurus, they are filled with beautiful and
inspiring stories about their love for nature.
Did you know that our Sikh friends are forbidden to kill animals just
for the sake of killing or to eat to excess, which they consider to be an
unnecessary death for an edible creature? In Sikh hymns found in the Guru
Granth Sahib, Waheguru is said to provide all of all life, and that in
Waheguru’s eyes, there is no difference between the world of humans and the
world of nature. Humans and nature are of equal importance to Waheguru, and
Sikhs are taught that all life must be treated with respect. The human Gurus
made Sikhs aware of our responsibility towards this earth. Within the Guru
Granth Sahib, it is written that Sikhs believe that the environment can only be
preserved if the balance created by Waheguru is maintained.
The
Assisi Declarations on Nature, 1986
In
1986, His Royal Highness Prince Philip (the husband of Her Majesty, Queen
Elizabeth II), was, at the time, the President of the WWF International. Prince
Philip invited five leaders of five of the world’s major religions to meet with
each other to discuss how their faiths, their teachings, ethics and global
communities could help save the natural world.
This
meeting poignantly took place in Assisi in Italy, as it was the birth place of
St Francis, the Roman Catholic patron saint of animals and the natural
environment. From this meeting, key statements and commitments were voiced by
each of the five faiths, as they outlined their own distinctive traditions and
approaches to the care for nature.
In the
Assisi Declarations on Nature, the official Sikh statement was:
• Since the beginning of the Sikh
religion in the late fifteenth century, the faith has been built upon the
message of the ‘oneness of Creation’. Sikhism believes an almighty God created
the universe. He himself is the creator and master of all forms of the
universe, responsible for all modes of nature and all elements of the world.
Sikhism firmly believes God to be the source of the birth, life and death of
all things.
• Sikhism teaches that the natural
environment and the survival of all life forms are closely linked in the rhythm
of nature. The history of the Gurus is full of stories of their love and
special relationship with the natural environment-, with animals, birds,
vegetation, earth, rivers, mountains and the sky. There is also a very strong
vegetation tradition.
• It is for this reason that in Sikhism
those who kill for lust of hunting, eating or to make sacrifices are condemned.
In Sikh hymns God is often referred to as the provider for all life which God
loves and is loved by. God as both father and mother guarantees equality to man
and woman in faith and compassion towards all beings and nature.
Christianity
The
Bible is the central point of reference for Christian teaching about caring for
the environment. For instance, Genesis 1:26 and 28 reads, “Then God said, 'Let
us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of
the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and
over all the creatures that move along the ground.'… God blessed them and said
to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.
Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living
creature that moves on the ground.'”
Some
of our Christian friends have interpreted this story as giving people the right
to exploit the environment, and plunder it, we have! However, most Christians
that I know view themselves as not having power or dominion over the world that
they believe was created by God, but that they are to be responsible and
accountable to God with regards to the decisions and consequences in life that
they made.
The
Bible has very little to say, specifically, about the environment, but it
explains the principles of stewardship, another word for responsibility, for
God’s creation:
In
the Old Testament the Jews were told to rest the land once every 50 years so
that it would produce more in the future (Leviticus 25:8-11). They were also
ordered not to destroy trees when they were attacking a city:
When
you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do
not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their
fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the field people, that you should
besiege them? (Deuteronomy 20:19)
Our
Christian friends believe that the earth clearly belongs only to God, and not
to human beings:
It is
clear that the earth still belongs to God not to humans:
The
earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
Psalm 24:1
In
the Christian New Testament, Jesus is reported to have emphasized God’s concern
for life, and the pleasure that it brings:
Consider
how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even
Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. Luke 12:27-28
The
Christian church has recently become more concerned about the environment. The
Roman Catholic church made a statement about it in 1988:
The
earth and all life on it is a gift from God given us to share and develop, not
to dominate and exploit. Our actions have consequences for the rights of others
and for the resources of the earth. The goods of the earth and the beauties of
nature are to be enjoyed and celebrated as well as consumed. We have the
responsibility to create a balanced policy between consumption and
conservation. We must consider the welfare of future generations in our
planning for and utilization of the earth’s resources.
Even
as recently as last year, high-profile Christian leaders have highlighted the
importance of taking care of our world. In his encyclical titled, “Laudato Si,”
His Holiness, Pope Francis boldly stated, “The Earth, our home, is beginning to
look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet,
the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with
rubbish."
The
World Council of Churches have said: The dignity of nature as creation needs to
be bound up with our responsibility for the preservation of life, and in the
Declaration on Nature, Assisi, (1986) said: Christians repudiate all
ill-considered exploitation of nature which threatens to destroy it and, in
turn, to make man the victim of degradation.
Hinduism
Our
Hindu friends are very concerned with the relationship between humans and the
environment. According to the teachings of karma, resources in the world become
scarce because people use them for their own ends rather than with
responsibility. People should use the world unselfishly in order to maintain
the natural balance and to repay God for the gifts he has given. The Bhagavad
Gita says, “For, so sustained by sacrifice, the gods will give you the food of
your desire. Whoso enjoys their gift, yet gives nothing, is a thief, no more
nor less.”
I remember
when we visited India 2 years ago, Hindus treat trees with great respect
because it is the most important type of plant life and, like all living
things, they believe that trees have an atman, which means a soul. If there is
but one tree of flowers and fruit within a village, that place is worthy of
your respect.
In
the Sanskrit epic from the 9th century CE, the Mahabharata, the god Lord
Krishna compares the entirety of the world with the banyan tree because it is
large and provides a home for many different creatures. Furthermore, the Hindu
concept of ahimsa (non-violence and respect for life) prevents our Hindu
friends from causing harm to any creature, and for this reason, many devout
Hindus are vegetarian.
For
our Hindu friends, the universe is the divine creation, and must be honored in
all its parts. Animals and plants, mountains and rivers, everything forms part
of earth, and as such, many things are worshiped and revered for the noble
qualities they possess. For example, cows are so highly revered that it is
banned to kill a cow, and for those that are no longer able to produce milk,
they are retired, and not slaughtered. Special sanctuaries called “goshallas”
have been created for these animals.
In
the Assisi Declarations on Nature of 1986 the Hindu statement was:
• The human role is not separate from
nature. All objects in the universe, beings and non-beings, are pervaded by the
same spiritual power.
• The human race, though at the top of
the evolutionary pyramid at present, is not seen as something apart from earth
and its many forms. People did not spring fully formed to dominate lesser life,
but evolved out of these forms and are integrally linked with them.
• Nature is sacred and the divine is
expressed through all its forms. Reverence for life is an essential principle,
as is ahimsa (non-violence).
• Nature cannot be destroyed without
humanity destroying itself.
• The divine is not exterior to
creation, but expresses itself through natural phenomena.
Islamic
belief about the environment
The
Holy Qur’an says that Allah (Subhanhu Wataala) is the sole creator of the
world. Allah (Subhanhu Wataala) saw fit to appoint humans in the world to serve
as his trustees or “viceregents,” as Muslims believe that people are told and
commanded to look after the world for Allah (Subhanhu Wutaala) and for the
future:
The
Holy Qur’an described the earth is green and beautiful. The whole earth has
been created a place of worship, pure and clean. Whoever plants a tree and
diligently looks after it until it matures and bears fruit is rewarded. If a
Muslim plants a tree or sows a field and humans and beasts and birds eat from
it, all of it is love on his part.
In
the Holy Qur’an, Muslims are instructed to look after the environment and not
to damage it. For instance, Surah 30:30 says, “Devote yourself single-mindedly
to the Faith, and thus follow the nature designed by Allah, the nature
according to which He has fashioned mankind. Do not alter Allah’s creation.”
Muslims
have to look after the earth because it is all Allah’s creation and it is part
of a human’s duty to Allah. As Surah 13:3—4 says, “Allah is He Who raised up
the heavens without any pillars that you can see. Then He settled Himself on
the Throne, and constrained the sun and the moon to serve you; each planet
pursues its course during an appointed term. He regulates it all and expounds
the Signs, that you may have firm belief in the meeting with your Lord. He it
is Who spread out the earth and made therein firmly fixed mountains and rivers,
and of fruits of every kind He has made pairs. He causes the night to cover the
day. In all this, verily, are signs doer a people who reflect.
This
passage from Holy Qur’an leads our Muslim friends and neighbors to understand
that they are responsible for the world which has been created for them, and
that they have to make their own decisions and be responsible for these
decisions, with regards to how they treat what they understand is the gift of
our planet.
If
you read the Assisi Declarations on Nature, the Muslim statement was:
• The central concept of Islam is
Tawhid or the Unity of God. Allah is Unity; and His Unity is also reflected in
the unity of mankind, and the unity of man and nature. His trustees are
responsible for maintaining the unity of His creation, the integrity of the
Earth, its flora and fauna, its wildlife and natural environment. Unity cannot
be had by discord, by setting one need against another or letting one end
predominate over another; it is maintained by balance and harmony. There Muslims
say that Islam is the middle path and we will be answerable for how we have
walked this path, how we have maintained balance and harmony in the whole of
creation around us.
• So unity, trusteeship and
accountability, that is Tawhid, Khalifah and Akhirah, the three central
concepts of Islam, are also the pillars of the environmental ethics of Islam.
They constitute the basic values taught by the Qur’an. It is these values which
led Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, to say: ‘Whoever plants a tree and diligently
looks after it until it matures and bears fruit is rewarded.'
• For all these reasons Muslims see
themselves as having a responsibility towards the world and the environment,
all of which are the creations of Allah.
• Unlike many other religions, Muslims
do not have any specific festivals in which they give thanks for the harvest or
the world. Instead they give thanks to Allah regularly for his creation.
• In order to separate Islam from other
religions, the Islamic year is only 354 days, this means that the months and
festivals happen at a different time each year and so there is no particular
festival which falls during a period of harvest.
Judaism
Most
of our Jewish friends believe that the one G-d whom they worship created
everything and all life within the six days of creation, as it is written in
Sefer Bereshit, or “Genesis.” Jewish teaching about caring for the environment
comes from the TaNaKh (the 24 canonical books in the Hebrew Bible), especially
the Torah:
Then
G-d said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule
over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all
the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' … G-d
blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the
earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and
over every living creature that moves on the ground.' Genesis 1:26 and 28. Most
Jews revere this passage as it informs them of their responsibility for the world,
understanding that G-d made it for them and has trusted them with their ability
to ensure it is kept clean and holy.
The
Jewish Scriptures do not have a lot to say about the environment. In the Torah,
the ancient Hebrew people were commanded to allow their land to rest and
recuperate once every 50 years, to ensure that it would remain fertile and
arable for them in the future (Leviticus 25:8-11). They were also ordered not
to destroy trees when they were attacking a city:
When
you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do
not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their
fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the field people that you should
besiege them? Deuteronomy 20:19
In
the annual festival of Tu B’Shevat (New Year for Trees), Jews demonstrate their
respect for trees on the fifteenth day of the Jewish month of Shevat. This has
been particularly important since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948
as Israelis have tried to reclaim the desert by planting trees.
Every
year, at Rosh Hashanah, or the Jewish New Year, our Jewish neighbors offer
thanks to G-d for the creation of the world. Although humanity has the role of
steward, the TeNaKh is clear that the earth is still G-d’s possession:
The
earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
Psalm 24:1
Jews
should also show respect to animals:
You
shall not muzzle an ox in its threshing. Deuteronomy 25:4
The
righteous one knows [the needs of] his animal’s soul. Proverbs 12:10
In
the Assisi Declarations of1986, Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg said that:
When
the whole world is in peril, when the environment is in danger of being
poisoned and various species, both plant and animal are becoming extinct... it
is our Jewish responsibility to put the defence of the whole of nature at the
very center of our concern… The encounter of G-d and man in nature is thus
conceived in Judaism as a seamless web with man as the leader and custodian of
the natural world.
Humanism
For
myself as a Humanist, I am proud to recognize the seriousness with which
theistic communities have given time, money, intellect and passion to
addressing the needs of our natural world. Although not all Humanists quote
from the Humanist Manifesto, its words inspire me and I agree to the ideals and
ethics that are written:
“Humans
are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change.
Humanists recognize nature as self-existing. We accept our life as all and
enough, distinguishing things as they are from things as we might wish or
imagine them to be. We welcome the challenges of the future, and are drawn to
and undaunted by the yet to be known.
Ethical
values are derived from human need and interest as tested by experience.
Humanists ground values in human welfare shaped by human circumstances,
interests, and concerns and extended to the global ecosystem and beyond. We are
committed to treating each person as having inherent worth and dignity, and to
making informed choices in a context of freedom consonant with responsibility.”
As a
Humanist, and as a person who values the sincerely-held belief of all, I would
invite and encourage each of you to find a project, or some other outreach and
relief effort that brings justice and restores love and peace to our natural
world. As you’ve heard today, the world’s religions teach similar ethics about
how we are to treat our environment and ecosystem. Although the religions might
not agree with each other about things such as sin, salvation, eternal
rewards/punishments, or the authority that certain special texts hold in
people’s lives, the religions have shown that all of their followers can work
with others to ensure that we leave our planet in better conditions than we
have found it…because of our corporate irresponsible behavior and choices. Do
not be afraid to work with others because they are different. We are
interconnected and need each other to survive on this home called Earth that
all living things. May today be the first step in ensuring that we, as a
collective humanity, bring justice and love to our neighbors in the trees,
fields, rivers, oceans, and skies, who have their own ways of asking for our
respect and consideration.
The 1st Humanist Manifesto was published in 1933. You can find a copy of it at AmericanHumanist.org. Thee is also the 2nd Humanist Manifesto of 1973 and the 3rd Manifesto of 2003.
ReplyDeleteGood sermon. A couple thoughts.
ReplyDeleteFirst - The sermon suggests that most Christians, Jews, etc are creationists who see their scripture literally. This is not always the case. Only about half of US Christians are creationists, and the number is different elsewhere (lower in Europe, higher in Africa). Similar points for Jews and Hindus. Here is some info on specific churches, starting at the 23:00 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEoLjtU2VLA
Second - Don't forget us Pagans! Pagans (along with Humanists) are routinely treated as second-class citizens in America, and too often this happens in UU churches too. Check out our environmental statement, and especially read the section "we are part of the web of life". It's fully Humanistic, with no requirement for the supernatural. It shows what I think is a much more powerful motivation for environmentalism than the "stewardship" that we hear from a supernatural believer viewpoint. I think UU too can take the approach in this Pagan statement much more effectively than the "stewardship" idea. http://ecopagan.com/
Nice to read your sermon. Best - Jon Cleland Host
Overpopulation is another huge issue to be considered. Populace of the planet is coming to an untenable level. The issue is extremely trying for the immature nations where individuals are confronting lack of assets like water, sustenance and fuel.AbundaTrade
ReplyDeleteYour articles are inventive. I am looking forward to reading the plethora of articles that you have linked here. Thumbs up! best artificial christmas tree
ReplyDelete