A land ethic outlines the ethical relationship between the environment and mankind. There has been great controversy over how much authority mankind has over the land and how they should be taking care of it. In the two books “A Sand County Almanac” written by Aldo Leopold and “Pollution and the Death of Man” written by Francisa Schaeffer, the two authors outline their ideal land ethics and why mankind should care for the land. Leopold focused his rationale on worldly perspectives, on the contrary, Schaeffer focused his thinking on Biblical mandates derived from the Word. Through different perspectives and sets of beliefs, both Schaffer and Leopold came to the conclusion that there is value in the land and must be protected holistically, however,
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The Byzantine and Platonic Christians are similar in believing that the only thing valuable is the heavens and nature is not properly emphasized. However, the reformed Christian believed that since God speaks about both the heavenly and earthly, they are both valuable. With that being said, there are two different groups in the Christian circle (Schaffer and Middelmann, 1992, p. 37-44). Overall, both Leopold and Schaffer agreed that there are two kinds of people in the world, who will either value the land or take advantage of it. Both Leopold and Schaffer came to the conclusion that the land must be protected because it has value. Leopold began his explanation by unpacking the concept of community. Each piece of land is critical to the functioning of the whole land, and if one uneconomical piece were to be ignored, the economic factors would not be able to flourish (Leopold, 1949, p. 203). Thus, the land has a high value. To echo Leopold: “The interdependence between the complex structure of the land and its smooth functioning as an energy unit is one of its basic attributes” (Leopold, 1949, p. …show more content…
The Lord has dominion over everything that He has created. Thus, we fall under the authority of Christ. The Lord could have left all mankind without a way out of their sin, yet, He did not. He saved us from our sins and gave us new life (English Standard Version, 2019). Throughout His teaching in John 15, He used a parable to elaborate on the care He provides for mankind. In this parable, the Lord was the vinedresser, and we were the vines. The Lord picks off the bad fruit so that we are able to flourish and grow beneficial fruit. In John 15:4 He stated, “‘...No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain with me” (English Standard Version, 2019). The Lord takes care of mankind with the intention for us to be full of abundant life. In the same context, since mankind has been given dominion over the land, it is our responsibility to follow Christ’s example in stewarding the land well. Humanity is supposed to tend to the land, eliminate the life-taking pressures from the land, and assist it in being full of life. Therefore, I agree with
The Byzantine and Platonic Christians are similar in believing that the only thing valuable is the heavens and nature is not properly emphasized. However, the reformed Christian believed that since God speaks about both the heavenly and earthly, they are both valuable. With that being said, there are two different groups in the Christian circle (Schaffer and Middelmann, 1992, p. 37-44). Overall, both Leopold and Schaffer agreed that there are two kinds of people in the world, who will either value the land or take advantage of it. Both Leopold and Schaffer came to the conclusion that the land must be protected because it has value. Leopold began his explanation by unpacking the concept of community. Each piece of land is critical to the functioning of the whole land, and if one uneconomical piece were to be ignored, the economic factors would not be able to flourish (Leopold, 1949, p. 203). Thus, the land has a high value. To echo Leopold: “The interdependence between the complex structure of the land and its smooth functioning as an energy unit is one of its basic attributes” (Leopold, 1949, p. …show more content…
The Lord has dominion over everything that He has created. Thus, we fall under the authority of Christ. The Lord could have left all mankind without a way out of their sin, yet, He did not. He saved us from our sins and gave us new life (English Standard Version, 2019). Throughout His teaching in John 15, He used a parable to elaborate on the care He provides for mankind. In this parable, the Lord was the vinedresser, and we were the vines. The Lord picks off the bad fruit so that we are able to flourish and grow beneficial fruit. In John 15:4 He stated, “‘...No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain with me” (English Standard Version, 2019). The Lord takes care of mankind with the intention for us to be full of abundant life. In the same context, since mankind has been given dominion over the land, it is our responsibility to follow Christ’s example in stewarding the land well. Humanity is supposed to tend to the land, eliminate the life-taking pressures from the land, and assist it in being full of life. Therefore, I agree with