On Nov 19, 12:24*pm, DaveS wrote:
On Nov 16, 9:00*am, Jonathan Cook wrote:





On Nov 15, 12:11*pm, DaveS wrote:

I was told years ago that taking care of trees
and repairing the land is what men are supposed to do in later life.
And then there is that French tale of deep regeneration that has
influenced so many to plant trees. Or honoring the creation as some
Christians put it. Anyway, good stuff.

Sounds like a great "later life". From what scholars say is the oldest
book of the Bible, perhaps the first written story:

"if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with
tears,
*if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of
its tenants,
*then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of
barley."
*The words of Job are ended.

(from the ending of Job 31)

Your post makes me wonder if there is a collection of Bible, Koranic
etc verses/teachings etc on "conserving the creation, " environmental
stuff etc.. My guess is SOMEBODY has done it, but where to look etc..
Anybody?

Be useful stuff sometimes to fight off the slash and burn folks,
without getting into the standard political push and pulls. Job's
message seems to tilt toward fairness in employee (tenant?)
relations? ;+))

Dave-

It's been done, at least with reference to the Bible.....haven't
checked on the Koran yet. So far, just about everything I've looked
at is a thinly veiled exercise in Chritian apologetics, of little or
no use in demonstrating a genuine conservation ethic extending beyond
a mere repetition of the "save some for tomorrow or you'll be sorry"
philosophy. The sad but simple truth is that ALL of the world's great
religions were born of and continue to exist for the need to support a
priestly class, and nothing more. Dominion is the name of the game.

Of course, the rule regarding religions does not necessarily hold ALL
of their adherents in thrall. There are some interesting exceptions.
There are individuals and even minor sects that transcend their
breeding and manage to do good works. Some of the monastic orders,
for example, brew beer and make wine. But judging a culture by its
minorities is generally bad juju.

Even more interesting, there are right thinking individuals who truly
believe that religion can be put to good use despite a dubious (at
best) history. See E.O. Wison's "The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life
on Earth" for an excellent (if doomed) effort along these lines.
Wilson's earlier book, "Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge" was an
effort along similar, though broader, lines.....and that sounded like
a good idead, too. But twelve years later, nothing has changed much.

Meanwhile, secular scholarship and research and discussion have done
more to promote an environmental ethos in the past century and a
half.....and especially in the latter third of that span.....than have
5 or more millennia of demented witchcraft.

And that isn't going to change anytime soon.

Wolfgang
who will not be staying up late in anticipation of the lightning bolt
that has failed to materialize on every one of many more promising
occasions.