CREATION AND CARE IN GENESIS 1-2: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMANITY’S ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

Abstract

Environmental degradation and climate change represent urgent global challenges, largely driven by human exploitation of natural resources. While scientific and policy frameworks dominate climate discourse, religious traditions particularly the Old Testament which offer profound yet underutilized insights for ecological ethics. The Genesis creation narratives provide a theological foundation for humanity’s relationship with the earth. However, modern readings of Genesis 1:26–28 have often emphasized “dominion” as domination, reinforcing anthropocentric attitudes that neglect ecological care. This misinterpretation has created a gap between scripture and sustainable environmental practice. The study seeks to recover a theologically grounded vision of responsibility by reinterpreting Genesis’ themes of creation and stewardship. Dominion is reframed as stewardship, emphasizing care, responsibility, and sustainability. Employing a qualitative, exegetical approach, the research analyses Genesis 1–2 through historical-critical and literary methods, supported by theological and environmental scholarship. Situated within eco-theology, the study adopts the Creation Care Theoretical Framework, which interprets dominion as a mandate for responsible stewardship and positions humanity as caretakers of creation. This framework highlights interdependence, biodiversity, and covenantal responsibility as theological principles that resonate with modern sustainability ethics. Findings reveal that Genesis presents creation as ordered, interdependent, and good, with humanity tasked to “work and keep” the garden (Genesis 2:15). Properly understood, these narratives call for ecological responsibility rooted in covenantal care. The study concludes by recommending integration of biblical stewardship principles into education, advocacy, and policy to foster holistic responses to environmental crises.