Fr Arnold Francis

This three-part presentation attempts to unpack the relationship between the human community and the earth in the two stories of creation (Genesis 1-2). This will involve an examination of Gen 1:26-31 and Gen 2:4b-25

GENESIS 2:2-25

Gen 2:2-25 points out a number of things that are important for understanding human relationship to the environment.

1. In Gen 2:7 humanity (ha adam) is made of the same stuff as the earth—he is formed from the clay of the ground (ha adamah). The play on words in Hebrew between man (ha adam) and ground (ha adamah) establishes a clear and unambiguous relationship between humanity and his/her environment. In fact the passage paints humanity as just another creature in the environment.

2. In Gen 2:8 God planted a garden, “and He placed there the man whom He had formed. The use of garden as a metaphor for the world implies the intrinsic value of creation. The significance of this is that the garden is not simply for human use. It is God’s garden of delight or paradise/pleasure park. 

3. “The Lord God then took the man and settles him in the Garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it” (2:15). This passage says that we were placed in the garden to care for it; it is not ours to use or abuse at will.  Man and woman are simply gardeners or stewards of what belongs to God. In the second account of creation one discerns, in God’s creative activity, a clear movement from desert or unsown earth to sown earth.  This passage says that we were placed in the garden to care for it; it is not ours to use or abuse at will.  Man and woman are gardeners or stewards of what belongs to God.  The passage speaks to human beings of their purpose and their significance. The human community is intended to mimic God’s creative action—moving the earth along the course already mapped out by God--from desert or unsown earth to sown earth.

4. Gen 2:16-17 highlights an important truth—that people’s behaviour or work in God’s garden is regulated by divine command: “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden, except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.” The tree of knowledge of good and bad is presented as the boundary that humanity should not cross. Transgressing the boundary is sin.

Given the fact that humanity is made from the same stuff (adamah) as all other creatures, it might be necessary to view humanity from two approaches—the creation of the cosmos (cosmology) tradition and the creation of humanity tradition (anthropology).

In the creation of the cosmos tradition humanity is simply one of the creatures of planet earth. It is here that one needs to underline the relationship between humanity and the other creatures with which he/she shares the earth.

The creation of the cosmos tradition says that man and woman are children of this environment and are inextricably bound up in it. As such, human beings depend on their environment for continued sustenance and therefore must care for the earth.

 “Sky and earth, bird and fish, each leaf on each tree—all mirror who and what we are; indeed, without them, we could not be ourselves.” (The Transcendence of Justice and the Justice of Transcendence: Mysticism, Deep Ecology and Political Life, Roger S Gottlieb).

Watson expresses this dependence thus: “Humanity is deeply rooted, connected, interrelated and dependent on land and its systems—an ontology of relations. God created humanity in such a way that it is connected to land at all times for its survival.” (Towards a Christian Land Ethic).

Humanity’s future requires that human beings live in solidarity with their environment--care for and nurture the earth, and develop an attitude of respect for the integrity of creation. To do otherwise is to “close down the major life systems of the planet,” thus destroying the very support system that makes human life possible.

Creation of humanity tradition is largely concerned with human beings: their manner of living in the world and the appropriate human conduct.  “While we are creatures, we are in a certain sense very special creatures . . . we cannot evade a sense of being subjects operating in this world”(Christ in a Grain of Sand, Neil Vaney).

While human beings are one with the animals in terms of origin (from the same stuff --dust), they are, nevertheless, distinguished from them by the very fact that they are addressed personally by God.

Man and woman, even though they are creatures in solidarity with the other creatures on the planet, are created to be co-creators with God in bringing the world to its fullest potential—a civilisation of life and harmony where everything belongs. This in itself gives us a certain responsibility for the world.

There is a clear and necessary relationship between both traditions described above. Creation of the cosmos tradition, where human beings are simply a part of their environment, is the arena or context of creation of humanity tradition, where humanity is placed in a privileged position of having dominion over (caring-for and nurturing) the other creatures.

Paul underlines this essential link between human beings and their ecosystem in Rom 8:19-23, where “creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God . . . in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” The destiny of humanity and the natural environment are tied up with each other; humanity is mandated by God to bring creation to its fullest potential.