Ecology and Revered nature

In 1866, a German scholars by the name Ernst Haeckel invented term oekologie which latter on known as ecology.  Thus, we can say, ecology is a quite recent branch of knowledge. Romanticism that comes after humanism actually helps to promote the idea of ecology. The romantic art remind the place of nature in human consciousness. For to express the love, one cannot escape but to use the image of flower and some aspects of the cosmos. However, the natural tendency of human is to control nature but not the other-way round for in evolutionary perspective, human is the higher than nature. Ironically, the same thinking also happened in religious point of view, although not many. For instance, there was an article written by Journal science in 1967 describes on how Christian idea of "domination" over nature teaches it followers to exploits nature. This is not what actually what the Bible want to convey. Those who read the Old Testament carefully know that God as the creator of nature, values nature. 

Abraham J Heschel argues on how the idea of Sabbath is not also made for man. Sabbath is to stop the labor, stop to exploits the nature. The Bible also mentioned about the seventh sabbath whereby the people of God need to stop to sow, to reap. This is the sabbath on which human need to throw the effort from exploits the nature. In the book of Psalms, we discover on how not just man can declare the glory of God, even the nature can (Psalms 19:1-4; 98:4-9; Psalms 148).  Nature is significant in God's eyes for nature is essentially God's and inherently good (Genesis 1:4;10, 12, 18, 21, 25). In Christian Faith, the act of conservation is known to be as Creation Care. The world as God created is made beautiful by the beautiful God. This contrary to the other ancient account of Creation which was gory. The story of Babylonian Myth, the story of Tiamat and Marduk who were joining in strife. And the death of the god was the main ingredients of the nature. So, if the world is beautiful and inherently good as Bible stated, it is a duty of man as the crown of creation to preserve the legacy to maintain the beauty. 

As Christian, we are ought to be the steward of creation. Of course bringing the notion of steward of Creation in the fore front, it does not make nature totally sacred and untouched up to the point, lifted the nature above man. The revered nature can be seen as God's creation (and not gods) that we need to conserve and protect. We can see the mandate to rule the world in the very beginning of Genesis 1:27-28. To rule cannot be separated from the idea of serving, and not to exploits. If the world is the  place of living for humanity, made by God then nature and the world inexorably involves people surround as Douglas Moo J says, "It is impossible truly to love others without caring the for environment in which they live." In other words, to treat nature well is also a clear way to love our fellow neighbor. 

As In Hinduism, nature is revered, incorporated to the body of divinity for all reality is one, Brahman. No division between God and nature. Vandana Shiva mention the example on how Tulsi, a little herb that is planted in home worshiped daily because once again, nature is sacred and revered as divine. However, the idea of worshiping the nature does not somehow help to conserve the world and nature for the divine being himself  is destroying the nature, Shiva as the most popular God in India is known as the destroyer. Things he destroy he also renew. His movement is complex and not easy to follow. If Human are ought to follow, there will be a huge problem for Human can easily destroy but are difficult to renew. Bringing human tendency to make things worst, the strong divine commandments to conserve the nature is much more needed than merely knowing the fact of the identity of nature as part of the divine. Yet, we cannot deny that Hinduism can also contribute and have a potential role in conserving nature in general. And Indeed, most of major religion does in the implication of their work-ethics.

Apparently today, the awareness of human conserving the nature is really urgent call. In the first his book of Wells book shockingly wrote, "Its worse, much worse, than you think". Many people think all the stories of Artic sea that will bring catastrophic end is kind of a fairy-tale, like Atlantis story, mentioned by Plato in his writing. The story of the end of the world through natural disaster is terrifying, some say gripping and uncanny. In his book, Wells show how actually the speed of change is real, and if we are not do something about it, the world will be in a serious danger and it is inexorably happened in no time The element of chaos are more than one, heat, wildfire, climate conflict and so on as Wells presented in his book. This catastrophic events are not new. Allan Watts in 1970 video entitled, what's wrong with the world already mention about the problem of our biosphere, pollution, over population and the thereat of nuclear fallout. Thus, human need to do something because earth is our only home. Some scientists and futurist have tried to think about the alternatives on how to transform Mars, for instance to be like Earth. The critical question, why don't we use the effort to transform earth to be earth again rather than to transform Mars to be like-earth? The idea of Terraforming make something simple even more complicated. Besides the seemingly good intention to save humanity for the destruction, the idea behind terraforming is that Human desire to be God-like as Steward Brand's infamous word say, we need a "God-like" powers to transform the Mars to be livable.