Christian Impact News

"The issue of environment is a challenge for the three monotheistic religions because they have all put man in the center," said to Jerusalem & Religion Rabbi Shaul David Judelman which offers a course about "Torah and Ecology” in a yeshiva in Jerusalem. However, he immediately adds that Judaism teaches man to be conscious of the impact of its actions on his surroundings. Jewish sources (Mishnah) indicate that "human being is responsible for everything that happens on earth because he has a conscience. Thus, the text states man must be careful how he cultivates his land in order not to affect the harvest of his neighbor, "explains Judelman. "The words of the Bible and Talmud are not those of today, but these texts refer to the notion of human responsibility in relation to creation. "

"The Sabbath reminds me that the world is not mine"

The Shabbat, the seventh day set as a day of complete rest when man does not create neither act on the nature nor travel and nor light a fire ... "has a clear ecological value," said Rabbi Yedidiah Sinclair, one of the founders of the movement of Jewish Climate Initiative (http://www.jewishclimateinitiative....) launched almost two years ago. Judelman adds: "One day a week, the Sabbath reminds me that the world is not mine but that it has been given to me. As a man, I am part of this world but certainly not its owner nor even its manager. "
In addition to the Shabbat, the Jewish calendar has also a new year of trees: Tou Bishvat which falls depending on the year in January or February and which requires planting new trees in Israel - the only country in the world where forest areas have increased over the past century.
And then, another regular scorer of respect for nature: the Shmita which every seven years imposes a rest on the cultivated land. However, in reality, Israel where these precepts and many other ones could be applied is far from being an ecological model. Still, it is nice to walk on Shabbat in Jerusalem or in other cities practicing the Jewish Sabbath rest; cars there are few, the air pollution is much less and noise is significantly reduced.

The Christian theology is not much concerned about the ecological dimension

Christianity, on the other hand, has not developed a "green" thinking and neither an ecological praxis as did Judaism. “Based first and foremost on a theology of redemption, Christianity has very little reflection on the meaning of creation except for drawing moral attitudes among men. The relationship between man and the earth has not aroused a specific interest among theologians, perhaps because Christianity sees itself as universal and not tied to a particular land", explains to Jerusalem & Religions a Catholic priest from the Holy Land concerned about his anonymity.
However, "the Western Christian world has its "ecological Saint" in the person of Saint Francis who is famous for his love for nature, animals and plants and his contemplative wonder for God’s creation." Besides, in recent years, the environmental issue arouses interest in some Christian circles where it is perceived as an "ethical problem" according to the words of Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, prefect of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Islam and the sustainable development

For its part, the Koran has taken into account the daily environmental dimension. "In Islam, there is no day or festival dedicated to nature as there is in Judaism, but for us, Muslims, respect for the environment is rather a daily way of life", says Muhammad Rabah Aghbarieh to Jerusalem & Religion. Director of the Department of Environmental Quality in the region of Wadi Ara and one of the organizers of the conference "Islam and Environmental Protection" organized in August 2008 in the Israeli Arab town of Um el Fahm, Aghbarieh gives several examples of this theoretically environment- friendly lifestyle.
Thus, according to the Koran, Muslims cannot pray without first being washed and must be careful to respect the water ressources. The Sura 55 (Ar-Rahman) is certainly one of the fundamentals on the subject. It says that man must take care of water, air, energy and land. "In Arabic, the text uses the word al misan which translatation could be in that case "sustainable development ". In this Surah, it is said that God has established a balance, a balance of resources, and that we must take care of it and do not "distort its weight" that is to say not to damage it ", explains Aghbarieh (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsk5...).

Spiritual and environment: two facets of relationship with God

Another example, the attention paid by Islam to plants. "And yet plants are producers of oxygen, an essential gas for men to breathe. In a hadith (Editor’s note: oral communication of the Prophet), the prophet Mohammed said that even the Judgment day, a very difficult day, man must take time to plant a young tree if he has one. In other words, men have to plant as much as they can, including the Judgment day, and they cannot destroy trees even in wartime. Trees are almost of same value as human beings“, souligne Aghbarieh.
One last practical example, all Muslims who are going on a pilgrimage to Mecca or Medina must make sure not to damage the land on their way and to respect the environment all the way long towards the holy cities. Nevertheless, among Muslims as it is among the Jews, there is a large gap from theory to practice so that Aghbarieh deplores a profound lack of respect among Muslims. He thinks just like Judelman that the indifference of our societies towards nature for many years is the result of a spiritual disconnection of the populations.
And according to Judelman, the recent awareness for environmental protection is partly due to a reawakening of the spiritual. "There is a link between these two phenomena: both constitute recognition of a special relationship between us humans and what is the source of life and the world. » God, without mentioning any name.