OVERUSE and STEWARDSHIP
By Soung Lyoul Lee
Recently, in this newspaper, there has been much debate concerning
creation versus evolution. Whether or not you believe in creation as I do,
we must all believe that the earth is our Garden of Eden, so to speak.
These days, life in our garden has become very fertile with the help of
technology and advancing material civilization. And many countries make
development policy their prime objective. On the other hand, the globe
that we all share is being gradually destroyed and it is time for us to face
the responsibility. So, from the standpoint of a young student of theology,
I want to discuss our created world's slow destruction and the possibility
of it's preservation.
This topic was the keypoint of UNCED(U.N. Conference on Environment
and development) held in Rio de Janero, June of 1992. Heads of state,
ministers, environmental leaders, and others attended this session and drew
up referenda such as the Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on
Biological Diversity, and Agenda 21. And the prime subjects for discussion
were projects related to global warming, biodiversity preservation,
stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean pollution, etc. And UNCED concluded
in the same month. We watched this conference with hopefulness. However,
on Oct. 17, 1993, a little more than a year after UNCED was closed,
GREENPEACE divulged that a Russian navy ship had dumped about 900
tons of liquid nuclear waste into Korea's East Sea. In fact, a lot of nuclear
waste has been dumped into the ocean world wide by developed countries.
Anyway, it is clear that the survival of fish, marine plants, sea birds,
and mammals is in danger due to this ocean pollution. And it is common
knowledge that in the end this would have a bad effect upon the human
body via the food chain.
I just drew on this instance of nuclear waste dumping, but there are
many elements of ocean, soil, and air pollution on this earth. In the
present situation, it is necessary that we should understand anew this
problem of nature's destruction through the eye of theology. Because
theological inspection may throw some light on the understanding of this
problem. In Genesis, God created Adam and Eve. And said to them
"Subdue the earth", "Have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the
earth."(Gen 1:28) All right. I belive that's true. We have the right to
subdue, to have dominion. But the problem is 'Overuse'. God also gave
to them another command "Till" and "Keep"(Gen 2:15). THIS is our
obligation. But man has mixed up 'right' and 'obligation.' Adam and Eve
overused right, for they ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil
that their Creator commanded them not to eat. Therefore they were sent
forth from the Garden of Eden by their Creator.
In that sense we can see that the result of overuse is expulsion. If
man doesn't deal well with his obligations, and overuses his rights, or
destroys nature, then nature won't give her benefits to man anymore.
Finally man will be left out in the cold and sent forth from this earth
like Adam and Eve by our Creator. In view of this, I think we need to
take 'stewardship' of our Garden of Eden, nature. We have to regard
nature not as our own possession but as the object given by the Creator
to keep it well and use it properly. This is the way that man and nature
can survive together. And this goal will be completed by proper
stewardship.
"Humans preserve nature, nature protects humans."
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The writer is attending the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in
Seoul.-- Ed.
The Korea Herald, Tuesday, December 7, 1993. Opinion section(6). (이 글은 1993년 12월 7일자 Korea Herald, 6면 Opinion란의 In my view(Readers' forum)에 실린 것임.)