Dominion, a word which has often been misunderstood, implies caretaking, to act as stewards of God’s own purposes. It does not, in its biblical sense, imply the establishment of a competing reign, which is what the fall has led to. Dominion is not domination without justice, but rather responsible rule that does not exploit its charges. God gave instructions to share the Earth’s vegetation with other creatures (Genesis 1:29–30). The dominion was not God’s authority to use up all the Earth’s resources for human needs alone. A problem in the western world has been that many Christian people have taken God’s command of dominion as a divine authorisation to exploit the Earth with no thought for the welfare of other cultures, other creatures, the landscape, the mineral resources, the oceans or the atmosphere. (Deuteronomy 17:14–20 shows what the Hebrew concept of rule really meant).

There is no doubt that persuasive and influential misinterpretation of Christian doctrine has led to environmental destruction and lack of respect for nature.

Very soon afterwards in the second account of creation in Genesis 2, the biblical reasons for stewardship are reinforced and continued from there in many ways throughout the scriptures:

The trees are to be for enjoyment not purely for food. The aesthetic is placed here before the utilitarian. We are to enjoy creation just as God did when he proclaimed it to be ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31). Enjoyment in this way and destruction do not belong together.

This verse tells how the garden of Eden with all its diversity is to be managed. The Hebrew words abad and shamar more literally mean to serve and preserve the land. This implies good stewardship that avoids the devastation and loss of topsoil that occurs in much agriculture today. These verses about plants and agriculture are soon followed by the rest of biodiversity:

As a plant taxonomist I like these verses and Adam’s task is not nearly finished especially for insects, fungi and micro-organisms. However, the message is that naming usually also implies concern for. This concern for all life is taken up in many other places through the Bible.

The story of Noah has much to say about biodiversity. In itself it was a massive rescue of biodiversity, and reminds me of efforts to rescue animals before closing a dam, but more important was the covenant that resulted between Noah and God.

In Genesis chapter 9 the phrases ‘every animal’ or ‘every living creature’ is mentioned six times as well as ‘every bird’ twice more. This is a biodiverse chapter, but most importantly God’s covenant was not just with Noah and his descendants, but with the animals. It is quite obvious that it is not God’s will that the animals perish or become extinct. Regardless of their value or perceived value, all species were saved in the ark and to be protected through the covenant. Here is the real biblical basis for the preservation of biodiversity.

This theme continues in the following books of the law:

These verses, and similar ones on Leviticus (19:9–10), promote both good management of the land and the soil and also care for the wild animals. The rest for the land is as good for biodiversity as it is for the restoration of the soil. This is different from much of modern agriculture that over-uses the soil drastically, kills biodiversity with chemicals and pollutes the river and water tables.

The books of the Pentateuch are full of small statements that recognise the value of organisms other than man.

Perhaps the greatest passage on biodiversity in the Bible is to be found in the book of Job (Chapters 38–41). After Job has been allowed to suffer terribly and then received visits from his friends whose words were of little comfort, God finally answered Job out of the whirlwind. God does not call on Job to repent but instead gives a wonderful account of many aspects of both the physical and biological sides of creation. There is no shortage of biodiversity here, the hawk soaring, the eagle nesting and feeding her young, the mountain goats and deer calving, lions, ravens, the ostrich abandoning her eggs, and the wild ass roaming the mountains. Behemoth, a water creature, perhaps the hippopotamus and Leviathan the crocodile. This is God’s view of his creation, and its biodiversity is obviously very important. The descriptions of animal behaviour and of the wonders of the heavens did lead Job to repentance.

The Psalms are full of biodiversity but perhaps the correct attitude to it is summed up in:

The ownership of creation by God is a strong motivation for the Christian to be involved in its protection or stewardship. Such Psalms as 8, 104, 148 are full of praise for creation and clearly show that God’s revelation to us is both through the scriptures and through the wonders of his creation.

In many places the scriptures entreat us to learn from nature. More wisdom from Job 12:7–10:

This is echoed in the book of Proverbs:

These verses go on to refer to the lion, the strutting cock, the goat, etc. and Proverbs 6:6:

King Solomon’s wisdom came from his knowledge of nature about which he appears to have had an encyclopaedic knowledge:

What these verses reflect is a people in touch with nature and willing to learn from it. This is something that has been largely lost in our urban 21st century culture. People who remain in touch with nature have much more concern about its welfare as I have seen in my contacts with the indigenous tribal peoples of South America.

The educational rôle of Botanic Gardens, zoos, museums and other environmental organisations is vital to maintain or reintroduce this contact with nature. Isaiah sums up well the purpose of God’s revelation through creation:

Here one of the purposes of God’s revelation through creation is declared so that we may see, know, consider and understand that He has created all these magnificent and useful trees. The purpose of the trees is far more than for human use, reflecting back to Genesis 2 verse 9, where we are told to enjoy the trees.

Jeremiah connects the sin of humankind with the destruction of nature and this has a distinctly contemporary ring about it:

The effect of sin on nature is also reflected by Hosea:

All the prophets, minor and major draw on examples from nature for good and for evil. They were people close to nature and showed concern for it as well as for humankind. They knew the effect of sin and greed on the land and on its biodiversity.

This use of examples and parables from nature is not confined to the Old Testament. Christ was certainly an acute observer of nature:

In Jesus’ teaching we have parables of sowing seed, mustard seed, tares, fruit trees and vines:

If God is concerned for the sparrows then so should we his stewards.