Did God give Christians dominion over the Earth? By Dr. Bruce

Or are we responsible for our actions?

In Genesis, God gives mankind dominion over birds, fish and animals as well as commanding people to multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. So, what’s wrong with that? They’re God’s creations, right? He can do with them as He wishes. Well, if you believe that the bible is the literal word of God, sure. Yet, are just His followers affected by that belief? What about everyone, and everything, else? What does this dogma do to them? If we look at history, we notice that the dogma of dominion has far-reaching implications. The very nature of its superiority has lead to the destruction of people, animals, and the environment.

Currently, many appear to believe that this attitude of supremacy is innate to Europeans. Yet, its origins are millennia old. From where? Well, from the bible of course. In it, God is A-OK with violence and all kinds of bad stuff. For instance, in Deuteronomy, the Almighty instructs the Israelites concerning attacking a city: First offer peace. If they accept, enslave the people. If they resist, siege the city and when God delivers it, kill all the men and take the women, children and animals as plunder. Wow! That’s not very loving. It’s even worse for cities that God gives to his people as an inheritance. In this situation, the Creator commands them to kill every breathing creature.

Right, but that’s the Old Testament. The New is nothing like that, is it? Well, in Matthew, Jesus commands his followers to make disciples of every nation (Matthew 28:19–20). Where’s the, ‘if they’re interested in becoming disciples,’ part? It isn’t there. So, conquest is not just an old testament theme? Nope. And, in the 13th and 14th Centuries, a series of Papal declarations eventually codified this dogma of dominion as the so-called Doctrine of Discovery, which gave jurisdiction over the world to the pope and his agents, stating that any non-Christian land could be taken and its people, converted. As you can see, the Papal directives combine the commands of both testaments. This doctrine was used for centuries afterwards by the nations of Europe, not just the Catholic ones either, to promote Christian superiority, oppress and enslave the indigenous and seize land and waterways throughout Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas.

The Doctrine of Discovery has also been practiced in United States history, eventually becoming enshrined in Federal Law. In an 1823 Supreme court case (Johnson vs M’Intosh), the doctrine was used to nullify Native American claims to land. And, when the desire to conquer and populate the Western US captivated the American consciousness, the Doctrine became re-branded. A newspaper editor in 1845 summed up the idea thusly, that it was America’s Manifest Destiny to overspread the continent allotted by God for the free development of our yearly growing population. In 1898 President McKinley used the phrase to justify American Imperialism, “We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than California. It’s manifest destiny,” he said. Certainly, Hawaii’s sugar cane industry and strategic location in the Pacific were the reasons it was coveted, but God’s support of US expansion was the justification. You see, once people feel they’re better than others, because they believe that God is on their side, their actions know no bounds. Even in our current century, the Doctrine’s effects are still felt. A Supreme Court case in 2005 relied upon it to rule against the Oneida Indian nation in a land case involving the state of New York. As Paul, the apostle, says in Romans, ‘If God is with us, who can be against us?’ (Romans 8:31)

Yet, Christian brutalization didn’t stop with humans. In Genesis, before God found favor with Noah, the Almighty threatens to destroy not just people, but animals, creeping things and birds of heaven. In Exodus, God killed all the first-born of Egypt, even of animals. And, not surprisingly, the New Testament supports this idea of dominance. For example, in 1st Colossians (1:16) the author is clear that everything was created through God and for God. And, since God gave us dominion, we can do whatever we wish with anything on earth, right? Couple that with the idea of manifest destiny and you have the wholesale slaughter of countless buffalo. Wait! What?! How are those two connected? Consider this quote from a US military colonel in the 1800’s, when a wealthy hunter balked about the killing of so many of these majestic animals, “Kill every buffalo you can. Every one dead is an Indian gone.” So, how many were slaughtered? Well, it’s estimated that Buffalo had once numbered thirty million and by the end of the 19th century it had dropped to a few hundred.

In Psalms (8:6), the poet writes that God gave man dominion over the works of his hands, and put everything under his feet. Like the earth? Notice how nature is not well-depicted in the bible? It’s where Satan tempted Jesus after all. In 2nd Kings, when children mock the prophet Elisha for being bald, he curses them in God’s name, which causes two bears to exit the woods and feast on the kids. And, what about the snake in the Garden of Eden? Evil? Well, it’s Satan, isn’t it? So, how has this attitude about nature affected its treatment? Well, many with such beliefs apparently don’t feel the need to preserve or respect it. For example, the US state of Indiana was 98 percent forested when Europeans arrived. Now, the only old-growth forests there are small and on private land. How about rivers? Surely, we wouldn’t pollute a source of nourishment, would we? In 1969, the Rouge river in Detroit was so polluted that it burned for seven hours straight. It was only the environmental movement, originally driven mostly by the non-religious, which began to turn our land policies around. As the founder of Earth Day, Senator Gaylord Nelson, said, ‘The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment, not the other way around.’ Yet, that isn’t the attitude of believers with whom I’ve been involved.

Case in point. Consider this conversation I had with a fellow church member, hanging out one night at his apartment. Let me take you to that moment. Derek is a short, stocky guy, with thick curly hair, a bushy beard, and mischievous eyes. We sit on the floor of his living room, which is small and, the furnishings, spartan. Rock music drifts from the speakers of his large, antiquated stereosystem. “Bruce, Bruce, you worry too much about things,” he is saying, smiling. “It’ll all be fine.” “Well, Derek, looking around, it seems to me that most Christians don’t care about the environment.” “Hey,” he says, pointing at me. “God is all powerful. You know, I was once a Satanist,” a fact that Derek had told me repeatedly, but I just nod. “And,” he continues, sitting up straighter, raising his chin in pride, “I was one of his high priests. I had awesome power. Like, one night, I was listening to the radio, and wanted to hear a song. So, I close my eyes and focus on the station playing it. Next thing I know, the song comes on and the DJ says that someone had called in and requested it.” “Ok,” I say, confusedly, “I’m not following.” “It was me, Bruce,” his voice raises in glee as a smirk flashes across his face, “I just thought about requesting it and the DJ received my mental message, but thought it had been a phone call! See!!” I just stare blankly, so he sighs impatiently and continues. “If God is strong enough to pull me away from that kind of power, renewing the earth will be nothing in comparison.” It’s at that point that I realize, Derek’s off his rocker. He is so irrational that God converting him is somehow comparable to revitalizing the entire world. Frighteningly, this type of delusion is common among Christians, that we don’t have to be good stewards, because God has it all under control.

In the 15th C account of the conquistador, Alvar Nunez Cabesa De Baca, he travels across America after being shipwrecked near modern-day Galveston, Texas. At first, he admits to considering the natives to be inferior, because of his Christian upbringing. Yet, over time, he realizes his mistake and seeks to protect them from enslavement. His enlightenment during his journey prompts one to question what’s to blame for the subjugation and abuse of non-European people, the wholesale slaughter of animals and the corruption of our lands. Is this evil inherent in the Europeans and their descendants, many of whom have done these terrible things? Or, is their behavior a result of the dogma of dominion and its corruption of their perspective on the world? Is the way forward to focus only on the negative examples and ignore people like Alvar Nunez Cabesa De Baca? Or, is it to acknowledge, with fairness and humility, the good and bad from the variety of human cultures on the earth, and make a new future together. Like Gandhi said, an eye for an eye makes the world blind.

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