Religious Studies

Sort the cards into argument and counter argument.

“The world is ours to do what we like with.”

Discuss this statement showing that you have considered more than one point of view. You must refer to religion and belief in your answer.

Argument

Counter argument

'Because we are the most intelligent and advanced species on the planet and in the Genesis story, God gave us control or 'dominion' over the whole of creation.'
'That's not really convincing though because God made us 'in His image' which means we have a special place in creation and that is to 'rule over the fish, the birds and all the animals'. The fact is, we need the world's resources to keep industry going and to give us necessities such as power, transport and employment. '
That argument is just not meaningful for many people though because they don't even believe in God and don't believe we are 'stewards'.
'Some of these arguments are fair because the planet is our only home and everyone deserves to be able to take advantage of what it provides, but still the statement is correct because the world is ours in that we do have control over it.'

'What makes you say that, then?'
'That's a weak argument though. Just because we have control, that doesn't mean we can do whatever we want with the world. Most religions teach that we must be stewards or care takers for God and exercise responsibility for it. Jews believe in Tikkun Olam, which means 'repair the world' and a story from the Talmud even says that you should delay greeting the Messiah himself until you have planted the seed.'
'Those arguments are not totally valid though because a lot of what we do to the planet is more about greed and want rather than necessity. Catholics believe we should not use the earth's resources, or its people, for profit and Pope Francis' teaching in 'Laudato Si' says we must preserve the planet God gave us and be grateful for it.'
'Nevertheless, even humanists would argue that we need to try and live more sustainably and show more responsibility to the environment because, whilst they may not believe in God, they would argue that earth is our only home and that we should preserve it for future generations. Groups such as 'humanists 4 a better world' are very active on 'green' issues'.
'These are reasonable points of view, but, like many Catholics I don't think we should see the world as 'ours' because that leads to a self-centred attitude. It actually belongs to God who created it and to all the creatures we share it with. As humans we shouldn't ever think in terms of 'control' but in terms of 'social responsibility' and stewardship.

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“The world is ours to do what we like with.”

Discuss this statement showing that you have considered more than one point of view. You must refer to religion and belief in your answer.

Argument

Counter argument

              'Because we are the most intelligent and advanced species on the planet and in the Genesis story, God gave us control or 'dominion' over the whole of creation.'
'That's not really convincing though because God made us 'in His image' which means we have a special place in creation and that is to 'rule over the fish, the birds and all the animals'. The fact is, we need the world's resources to keep industry going and to give us necessities such as power, transport and employment. '
'That argument is just not meaningful for many people though because they don't even believe in God and don't believe we are 'stewards'.
'Some of these arguments are fair because the planet is our only home and everyone deserves to be able to take advantage of what it provides, but still the statement is correct because the world is ours in that we do have control over it.'

              'What makes you say that, then?'
'That's a weak argument though. Just because we have control, that doesn't mean we can do whatever we want with the world. Most religions teach that we must be stewards or care takers for God and exercise responsibility for it.  Jews believe in Tikkun Olam, which means 'repair the world' and a story from the Talmud even says that you should delay greeting the Messiah himself until you have planted the seed.'
'Those arguments are not totally valid though because a lot of what we do to the planet is more about greed and want rather than necessity. Catholics believe we should not use the earth's resources, or its people, for profit and Pope Francis' teaching in 'Laudato Si' says we must preserve the planet God gave us and be grateful for it.'
'Nevertheless, even humanists would argue that we need to try and live more sustainably and show more responsibility to the environment because, whilst they may not believe in God, they would argue that earth is our only home and that we should preserve it for future generations. Groups such as 'humanists 4 a better world' are very active on 'green' issues'.
'These are reasonable points of view, but, like many Catholics I don't think we should see the world as 'ours' because that leads to a self-centred attitude. It actually belongs to God who created it and to all the creatures we share it with. As humans we shouldn't ever think in terms of 'control' but in terms of 'social responsibility' and stewardship.

            

Argument

Counter argument

'Because we are the most intelligent and advanced species on the planet and in the Genesis story, God gave us control or 'dominion' over the whole of creation.'
'That's not really convincing though because God made us 'in His image' which means we have a special place in creation and that is to 'rule over the fish, the birds and all the animals'. The fact is, we need the world's resources to keep industry going and to give us necessities such as power, transport and employment. '
'That argument is just not meaningful for many people though because they don't even believe in God and don't believe we are 'stewards'.
'Some of these arguments are fair because the planet is our only home and everyone deserves to be able to take advantage of what it provides, but still the statement is correct because the world is ours in that we do have control over it.'

'What makes you say that, then?'
'That's a weak argument though. Just because we have control, that doesn't mean we can do whatever we want with the world. Most religions teach that we must be stewards or care takers for God and exercise responsibility for it. Jews believe in Tikkun Olam, which means 'repair the world' and a story from the Talmud even says that you should delay greeting the Messiah himself until you have planted the seed.'
'Those arguments are not totally valid though because a lot of what we do to the planet is more about greed and want rather than necessity. Catholics believe we should not use the earth's resources, or its people, for profit and Pope Francis' teaching in 'Laudato Si' says we must preserve the planet God gave us and be grateful for it.'
'Nevertheless, even humanists would argue that we need to try and live more sustainably and show more responsibility to the environment because, whilst they may not believe in God, they would argue that earth is our only home and that we should preserve it for future generations. Groups such as 'humanists 4 a better world' are very active on 'green' issues'.
'These are reasonable points of view, but, like many Catholics I don't think we should see the world as 'ours' because that leads to a self-centred attitude. It actually belongs to God who created it and to all the creatures we share it with. As humans we shouldn't ever think in terms of 'control' but in terms of 'social responsibility' and stewardship.