Responsibility for the earth and the naming of creation in the Old Testament – A response to Laudato Si

Abstract

Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ draws the current ecological crisis to our attention and reminds Christians of their responsibility to care for God’s creation. He calls for a greater commitment to an ecological spirituality and, where necessary, an ecological conversion. This article explores the Old Testament roots of this responsibility to the earth through an examination of two key interrelated themes in the two creation accounts in Genesis. These two themes are: the God-given dominion over creation and the naming of creation by man. Both of these demand that Christians accept that they have responsibility for creation