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Christianity and the web of life

Many Christian ideas and values stem from the Hebrew Bible (to Christians, the Old Testament) and thus overlap with Jewish beliefs. An important starting point to understand the human-nature relationship is the Book of Genesis where God entrusts the world to humans. Pope Francis, in his environmentalist encyclical Laudato si' (Praise Be to You): On Care for Our Common Home," discusses the misinterpretation of Gen 1:28, which grants humans dominion over the earth, as meaning domination of it. Instead, he points out that “the Earth is the Lord’s” (Ps. 24:1) and that humans should have a reciprocal relationship with our surrounding nature: humans care for nature; nature supports human life.

The New Testament, too, contains teachings of Jesus Christ that promote compassion and care for animals and nature. For example, Jesus asserted that all creatures have intrinsic value in the eyes of God, regardless of any financial value humans might ascribe to them (Mt. 10:29). Jesus also spoke of animals as role models for humans, such as birds who trust that God will provide for them (Mt. 6:25-26).
The history of Christian thought teaches that God did not create the Earth to benefit any specific species; rather, it was created for God’s glory. This is why all of Creation praises God. Furthermore, all of Creation, including humanity, is interrelated, as celebrated in the Canticle of the Creatures (Laudes Creaturarum) by St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecologists: 

“Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces vari­ous fruit with coloured flowers and herbs” 

Saint Francis reportedly also had wild flower and herb gardens, where visitors could be reminded of the beauty of the holy Creation. St. Francis’ legacy lives on in the name of Pope Francis, who wrote in Laudato si’:
Picture
“Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us”
© 2021 BEES FOR PEACE
Bees for Peace is a program of 
Pollinator Partnership Canada, a federally recognized charitable organization
(charitable registration no. 84169 5174 RR0001)
Validation of Pollinator Partnership Canada's charitable registration may be found here.

Bees for Peace acknowledges that it is operating primarily on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, in territory covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands.
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Why and How
    • Team
    • Achievements
  • Finding Value in the Web of Life
    • Bees in Religious and Cultural Traditions >
      • Buddhism and Bees
      • Christianity and Bees
      • The Gurung and Bees
      • Hinduism and Bees
      • Islam and Bees >
        • Unani medicine
      • Judaism and Bees
      • The Kawaiwete and Bees
      • The Mayas and Bees
      • The Ogiek and Bees
      • Bees in Indigenous Cultures
    • Web of Life >
      • Buddhism and Nature
      • Christianity and Nature
      • Hinduism and Nature
      • Islam and Nature
      • Judaism and Nature
      • Sikhism and Nature
      • The Golden Rule
    • Faith and Environmentalism >
      • Bees for Peace Israel
      • Islamic Help
  • Bee Protection Made Easy
    • Bees and Other Pollinators
    • Bee Hotels
    • Pollinator Gardens
    • COVID-19 and Community
  • Our Networks
  • Support us!
    • Contact and Privacy
    • Get Involved!