When God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful in Genesis, the land was still virgin and undefiled. Adherents of the three major monotheistic faiths have since taken this commandment literally, populating the earth and multiplying descendants, as with other peoples on this blue planet.
Today, the earth is on the verge of destruction. To be more precise, it’s fast becoming a place that may no longer be habitable to many of us and other creatures because of environmental pollution and global warming. The planet will stay, but those who claim to know it and give meanings may be no longer.
Talks of wars, conflicts, terrorism occupy the minds of many, and graphic Biblical images of Daniel and Revelation capture the minds of the Christian faithful. Perhaps, however, we have overlooked the most prominent and imminent danger of our age – Human greed and carelessness leading to the wanton destruction of the environment.
As citizens of the planet earth, let us be mindful of what and how we use and consume, let us till the land and manage it well, doing it ourselves and encourage those around us to do likewise, so that we can be at Peace with the earth.
Adapted from the transcript of my Reflections on Peace on RTHK Radio 4 in 2016. The above photo shows the then growing rift in Larsen C ice shelf in Antarctica.