soil-conservation-people-religion-and-land.pdf - South West NRM

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Stewardship - What Is It? Stewartlship has several connotations: in the sphere - of secular land stewardship it refers in its simplest physical terms to using the land in a way that at least maintains its productive potential. In spiritual terms it is a partnership between man and earth - a caring/sharing/respecting relationship. Strwarclship as a worthy human goal, is upheld by eco-ogists (because it maintains ecological processes), by humanists (because it preserves the earth's bounty for posterity) and by believers (because it obeys God's word). Why is stewardship important? From an ecological point of view it is essential that we do not live off our land capital 'if our ecosystems are to continue to support an increasing world population. From the humanistic point of view, we have no right to act as though we are the last generation to inhabit this planet. From the theological point of view, sinful man has a duty to respect and keep fruitful, the works of the Almighty. The international environmental thinker Rene Dubois (1973) suggests in his chapter on Theology of the Earth, that the injunction in Genesis to dress and keep ("cultivate and guard" in the Good News Bible) the Garden - - of -- Eden, is an early warning on our responsibility to the earth. Lwdermilk proposes his 1 lth Commandment (see p. 14). It is this lack of direct and unambiguous reference to the earth (environment, land, ecology ) in the Ten Commandments which has led many environmentalists to accuse Christianity - of both neglect and arrogance. Their view is. that while manv --A , . references are made to the earth in the scriptures, our western (Judeo-Christian) democracies based on the - - commandments as our legal cornerstones, receive little if any support from the Church in developing land ethics. Whatever our viewpoint, physical man cannot survive while ever he takes an arrogant, consuming, utilitarian view of his land and its produce. To alert the community to the need for - - a changed attitude tmard our land, the writer has proposed that specific concepts (Roberts, 1983) be taught in Australian schools, as listed in "What should we teach?" (see p. 15). It is nw suggested that the Church should develoo a complimentary "theology of the land" for our & education system. does the Church about Man/Land Relations? Scholars of the bible quote a comprehensive catalogue of passages which refer to the creation and man's place in it. The words "dominion, subdue, replenish and multiply" , have been variously translated from the Greek, Hebrew and Latin and have been interpreted in significantly different ways depending on the doctrine of the Church concerned. *R. Strelan (pers.com.) proposes that the list be headed by a fourth, namely the God/Earth relationship.
The writer's mn simplistic view recognises three * relationships: The writer suggests that if the (lestrnction of nature is any indication, Christian countries are guilty of gross neglect of this third relationship. While much has been written by theologians in defence of the Church's concentration on the first relationship, if a nation's culture is centred on its religious beliefs (albeit unconsciously for many), then the Church has a central role to play in propounding and explaining ~an/Earth relationships. It is difficult to avoid the impression that the Church is avoiding conservation issues and has put them in the ecclessiastical "too hard basket". Take Montefiore (1978) as an example: he says quite categorically, "The first priority of the church is God. The world has urgent pressing needs, but the church is not primarily in the welfare business - it is about God." While one cannot argue with his priorities, the impression is given of an escapism, at least from the social realities of our time. Closer to home, several branches of the Christian Church in Australia, while making doctrinal statements on social issues in general, are silent on land and stewardship, unlike their American counterparts. An example might be a Church with mainly rural members, deeply rooted in the rural tradition of perseverance, independence and "battling cockies" as the congregation stereotype. Its leaders are often men of the land whose background is one of hardship, economic survival and a battle against the elements. They are in daily contact with their people who are caught in an economic bind which often relegates the very idea of stewardship to the category of a luxury they can ill afford. These leaders understand why conservationists are often seen as a threat to financial survival rather than champions of Christian Land Stwardship. Hi storic perspective Few environmental writers have caused more of a stir in the Christian Church than Lynn White (see p. 16). White is strongly supported by eminent writers such as Toynbee (1974), Derr (1973) and Nash (1973). Equally reputable scholars like Southwick ( 1972) , Olsen-T jensvold ( 1978) , Elsdon ( 198 1 ) , B arr (1974), Imsland (1971), Farigy (1972), Richardson (1972), Reidel (1971) and Ruether (1978) dispute a number of White's basic tenets. Yaple (1982) has given a useful analysis of the proponents on both sides of the "Christian arrogance'' argument. White's original paper "The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis" considers Christianity as one of the important factors which moulded technological man's attitudes to the world around him. Many Christians would disagree with White's "uncaringw interpretation of the Christian view of
Page 4: SOUL CObJSERVATION PEOPLE, RELIGION
Page 8 and 9: with " Generous sod", Dennis displa
Page 12 and 13: the earth's resources. However, it
Page 14 and 15: Certainly the earth and thus man, w
Page 16 and 17: That each Church set up a commissio
Page 18 and 19: LET THE RED VAN SPEAK In 1854 "the
Page 20 and 21: WHAT SHOULD WE TEACH What must the
Page 22 and 23: established a dualism of man and na
Page 24 and 25: R IBLIOGRAPHY Anonymous. 1985. Stat
Page 30: PREFACE : This paper has been writt
Page 33 and 34: vital supplies. The once-heroic pio
Page 35 and 36: to land use decision-making which t
Page 37 and 38: a approach for Australia. The dange
Page 39 and 40: As Ashby points out past experience
Page 41 and 42: exclusive right to use the land, ne
Page 43 and 44: matter. They certainly don't do tha
Page 45 and 46: a constraint on our freedom of acti
Page 47 and 48: and every individual creature and t
Page 49 and 50: Christians was noted. Both display
Page 51 and 52: Nature's Harmonies'. As David Lowen
Page 53 and 54: key phrases in Genesis are: "Have d
Page 55 and 56: Can Values and ~thics be Taught? Pl
Page 57 and 58: "The university's job may not be th
Page 59 and 60: coming generations. The list below
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National goals should change as pro
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indicators can continue to progress
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the problems of the present. It sho
Page 67 and 68:
Cook, E. 1970. Environmental Ethics
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Santmire, H. P. 1970. Brother Earth
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--- - - - - - I. ORGANISATION AND I
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7' - - F a - - present parties, hav
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5. Res~onsibilitv of Faculties of A
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A -- 15. Role of Urban-Based conser
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FEDERAL STATE LOCAL EDUCATION l N C
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- - --< -- - I. ORGANISATION AND IN
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present parties, have failed to con
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Responsibilitv of Faculties of Agri
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15. Role of Urban-Based Conservatio
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FEDERAL STATE LOCAL EXTENSION LANDH
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government. In this way the long-st
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on a permanent basis. 8. -Role -- -
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%==. 10. Wider Use of Group Methods
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N0113V UOJ S31V3S3Lnlll QNV S13A31
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11. In Queensland, about 40% of nat
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Earth Garden, May 1 986 speak or th
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combines very small holdings with s
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The stages of cultural and ecologic
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The role of trees in controlling so
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proportions,. - _ 6. We must bring-
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an Land Degrad By Brian Roberts The
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principles ror de~elopment In \uch
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Exposed clay subsoil following seve
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evide~~c-to indicate that this situ
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the field and the proportion of exi
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A.I.A.S. Symp. 20/10/89 EFFECTIVE G
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These figures exclude the contribut
Page 150 and 151:
these four requirements are met, th
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the association of the group with a
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A rational analysis should be made
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REFERENCES Anonymous. (1978). Basis
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APPENDIX 2 ELEMENTS OF A SHIRE LAND
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' I a -I how T'S NEW IN LAND C CTS
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and tresspassers, rather than as cr
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The Present Position . - - - ~r&e&t
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on Objectives - - -- - - ----=:I .
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APPENDIX 2 * 1. clear goals which a
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.A- 7. Planninq -- - -,sip - proble
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Brian Roberts, DDIAE 1989 Farm plan
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farm plan or major changes in physi
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Cover Story LAND STE ARDSH udes Tow
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individual's rights. No individual
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B R Roberts Darling Downs Institute
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attention at an early date. Advisor
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TABLE 1 1 LE AGRICULTURE 1. LAND CA
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th~should be ol t1[;11 c.onc-crn to
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which could form the cornerstone of
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CLEARING: WHO SHOULD DECIDE? Brian
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. Who has the knowledge and informa
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Range Monitoring Workshop Nat. S.C.
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Because most of the pastoral zone i
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FIGURE 1 iabifity ratings for Austr
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environment as distinct from the ef
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will be referred to later. It is de
Page 224 and 225:
~ield workers are agreed that the i
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consumed in good and poor seasons r
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sufficiently to meet the criteria a
Page 230:
Roberts, B. (1986). Proc. Sec. Int.
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The second reality is that in some
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choices of cultivation practices ar
Page 241 and 242:
For those roads that are parallel t
Page 243:
Role of Trees in the Property Plan
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