Unfortunately a literal reading of Genesis 1:28 says to subdue the Earth (master or control in a few translations, and use all the resources for God’s purpose in one). Those trying to paint a nicer picture might change it to being stewards of the planet (which is what I always heard as a kid), but that’s not what’s there. To be fair, it was written in a time where the world seemed endless and humans couldn’t possibly destroy everything, a mindset that lasts to this very day. Even less than a century ago we were okay with dumping stuff into the water or burying it, or burning things because it was a huge world and the smoke disappeared into the sky.
Unfortunately a literal reading of Genesis 1:28 says to subdue the Earth (master or control in a few translations, and use all the resources for God’s purpose in one). Those trying to paint a nicer picture might change it to being stewards of the planet (which is what I always heard as a kid), but that’s not what’s there. To be fair, it was written in a time where the world seemed endless and humans couldn’t possibly destroy everything, a mindset that lasts to this very day. Even less than a century ago we were okay with dumping stuff into the water or burying it, or burning things because it was a huge world and the smoke disappeared into the sky.