'virgin territory': is this steward-speak?

4 or 5 trees

Study how a society uses its land, and you can come to pretty reliable conclusions as to what its future will be. -E.F. Schumacher

In the Western view resources [or land, for that matter] can be owned as well as exploited. Not only can the owned but thet can also be bought and sold. Land is a market commodity just like food and clothing. That might not strike us as very odd, but it is worth noting that the idea of selling land is a relatively new idea even in Western culture...The notion of private property which can be freely bought, exploited, developed, subdivided and sold is foudational to the contemporary market economy of capitalist countries. This is not just an economic concept. It is a fundamental way of seeing land. -Brian Walsh

A simple article in the NYTimes this morning created a stir in my soul. How are we as Christians to view the environment? What does a careful reading of Genesis 1-3 tell us? I have listed many articles (aside from gen 1-3 i suppose) to help us form a more faithful approach to the environment. Middleton and Walsh write, "The Biblical idea of stewardship, however, balances authority with servanthood. This strikes at the heart of our humanity. Although we are indeed lords of the earth, we are also servants of God. We are called to excercise out rule in oberdient response to Yahweh's ultimate sovereignty. Subduing the earth is an issue of covental responsibility."

There is that phrase covental responisbility. Covenantal, by definition, implies blessings and curses: blessings for covenantal fidelity, curses for infidelity. To make room in your worldview for environmental exploitation, as a culture or individually, is to break covenant. We know that Christ alone fulfill(ed) the covenant perfectly, and so those who are joined with Him by faith are morally acceptable to God for Christ's sake. But, I still must ask, what are the effects of generational/cultural covenant breaking in the here and now, especially in regards to environment? What are the curses? Have we evangelicals thought through this well enough?

Here are some good articles:

Genesis 1-3

A Biblical Perspective on Environmental Stewardship

Shining a Light in a Dark Place

Remember the Scriptures