Abstract
Stewardship of the land often is used as a metaphor for environment ethics. However the term is problematic because of its origin in hierarchical social structure implying a master-servant relationship. Read from historical conditions of empire and technological prowess stewardship can lend itself to environmental exploitation. In contrast, read from the ancient Adam and Eve Hebrew myth and Sabbath tradition and non-Western peasant cultures such as the Aymara of Bolivia, stewardship signifies restraint, mutuality, and advocacy for the Earth.
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Notes
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Frequently Gn 1:1–2:4, the creation myth of 7 days, where “dominion” over the earth is granted to humanity, is cited as the model for Judeo-Christian stewardship. However this text is not properly about stewardship but rather about “public administration,” although it introduces the key idea of Sabbath. Other possibly pertinent texts include Psalms 8 and, for contrasting anthropologies, Psalms 90, 103:14–16 and 144:3–4; Job 38–41 reflects another creation and anthropological tradition. The specifically Christian corpus includes Mt 25:45–51; 25:14–31 and twin texts in Luke, among others, that might be considered pertinent. A discussion of these texts requires more space than is available in this article.
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For a discussion of human uniqueness in relationship to other animals, see Van Huyssteen 2006.
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May, R.H. (2015). Andean Llamas and Earth Stewardship. In: Rozzi, R., et al. Earth Stewardship. Ecology and Ethics, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12133-8_7
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