Religion and Planet Earth

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF LIFE

Consideration of where life originated is important, as many believe that human behaviour is destroying a gift that God made.  We need to recognise that we are destroying a planet which cannot be replaced and we are also destroying a God-given gift and therefore disrespecting Him by not caring for the universe.

Christianity and Judaism -

Many Christians and Jews believe the world was made as outlined in the Genesis creation story.

Day 1 - God created light

Day 2 - God made the sea and the heavens

Day 3 - God made the land

Day 4 - God made the sun and the stars

Day 5 - God made the birds and the fish

Day 6 - God made animals and humans

Day 7 - God rested

Islam - 

In Chapters 4 and 11 of the Qur'an, a story of how Allah made the world in 6 days and created humans is told.  Man was created first, then woman, and all humans descended from these two people.  The story is similar to that of Adam and Eve.

Hinduism -

There are many Hindu stories about the Gods who were involved in creation.  In one, Vishnu was asleep on a cobra snake as it floated on the ocean.  A humming sound awakened Vishnu and a lotus flower grew from his belly.  Brahma, the creator, was sitting on the lotus flower and on Vishnu's command divided the flower into three parts to make the heavens, the Earth and the sky. He then made the grass, trees, flowers, animals, birds, fish and people.

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE EARTH AND THE CARE AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PLANET

For many people, God carefully designed the universe.  They see God has the thoughtful, intelligent and caring designer behind the world.  The world is a very intricate design eg the breathing cycle - humans need oxygen to breathe and plants need carbon dioxide to photosynthesise.  Together, we provide the gases we need to survive.  Many people believe this represents the awe and wonder of the environment that God created.  The world works like a machine - all parts have a purpose and are required for it to work properly.  Therefore, all of nature must be looked after so that the world works correctly.

Religious people believe that the earth and all creation must be protected and cared for by humans.  They must not be harmed or abused.  There are two reasons why they believe this:

• The sanctity of life - most religions believe that God created the world.  Therefore, all of creation should be respected as it is a sacred gift from God and to mistreat it would be disrespectful.  "God created the world and everything in it" Genesis.  "You give new life to the earth" Jewish psalm.  "All life...which Allah has made sacred" Koran.
• Stewardship - most religions believe that humans have been given the duty…