The Bible & The Koran
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, are based on the teachings of the Bible and/or the Koran. It is not fair to say that these religions are the same or even interpret the same scriptures in the same way. However, they are based on the same texts. There are two sides to the environmental ethics argument regarding these ancient texts. One side states that the earth was made for man to dominate over, with respect only for the divine and toward fellow humans. This view is often accused as being the root of “the environmental crisis.” Lynn White, the author of The Historical Roots Of Our Ecologic Crisis (1967), blames the Christian religion of being “the most anthropocentric religion the world has seen.” This accusation may have validity in it. However, there is another side to the Bible. The other side sees the earth as God’s sacred land, which He had given to humans to watch over with great respect and responsibility. If one is to examine the words in Hebrew opposed to the words in English, it becomes obvious that the meanings are unclear. Hebrew is a subtle language full of mixed meanings, double meanings, and ambiguities. It is no wonder that scholars see the Bible in so many different ways. For example, Jeanne Kay wrote an article published in Environmental Ethis (1998) in which she states that the word nefesh is used to describe both human and animal spirits alike. Similarly, one the word for God is Elohim, the root of which is el. The words for trees such as terebinth is elah and oak is elon or alon, “implying that these trees had divine associations.”
In Genesis the earth is given a female form of name and God claims multiple times that “it was good.” Further, when God says to subdue the Earth, He also says it is for food, not for whatever man chooses to do with it. A Hebrew book called ETZ HAYIM (2001) which is edited by David Lieber says that the biblical words “’Let the earth bring forth,’ may be related to the ancient concept of ‘Mother Earth.’” At the turn of the thirteenth century, a Roman Catholic called St. Francis of Assisi was quoted in Environmental Ethics (1998) as saying, “Praise be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us...”
More serious interpretations of the Jewish Bible and the Koran believe that plundering or exploiting God’s Earth is a sin. Even though the Earth is viewed by many as grounds for humans to dwell until judgment day, God will not judge in favor of those who do not respect the earth. Still these anthropocentric views are contradicted in Job 12:7-10 (KJV), “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.” Listening to the Earth Mother appears in the most translations of the Bible and it repeated in different light throughout the story of Job. Another example is in Proverbs 6:6-8: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food for harvest.” Even though priests might not recommend learning from watching an insect, the Bible itself has a grand concept of not only the entire Earth Mother but also for her tiniest creature.
Therefore, from Asia to America, from animism to monotheism, and in mythology as well as the Bible, teachings point to the same basic principle in the end—The Earth Mother should be respected. One can discover her voice through any path. Finding the Earth Mother’s voice is the essential key.