Discussion questions
- 'The physical does matter to God.' To what extent is that true and how does God show this?
- God commissioned humanity in Genesis 1:28: 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' What is your understanding of the word radah (translated as ‘rule’) in this verse?
- Do we tend to think of creation as something ‘other’ than us? If so, what damage can this way of thinking cause?
- What can we ourselves do to move from being egocentric (considering humans to be at the ‘top of the pile’ with the rest of nature beneath) or ecocentric (considering humans to be no more important than or different from every other living thing), to being theocentric (considering humans to have a special role to care for and protect all living things)?
- Read Leviticus 25:1–7. What do these verses tell us about sustainable stewardship of creation, and how does that relate to our care for other people?
Action to take
Pray! Tearfund has lots of resources to help you pray and we are asking supporters to commit to praying for the climate crisis for the next year.
More from Katharine
If you want to hear more from Katharine on the issues raised in Study One, you can go to her Global Weirding series on Youtube and listen to: 'Religion has nothing to say about climate change, right?
