Year 7: The Biblical Concept of Stewardship

You are going to watch a clip from Wall-E.

The earth has become so polluted that everyone has either died or left on long space holidays while
millions of robots clean up the planet. Unfortunately, most of these robots have broken down, leaving
only one robot – WALL-E – to continue the clean up. Humans have been absent from Earth for 700
years, with the space cruises continuing indefinitely with the descendants of the original passengers.

Once you have watched the clip, please answer the following questions:

1. Do you think that the scenario in the film is a plausible one? Give reasons for your
concern or skepticism.
I think that the scenario in the film is a believable one because if the current humans living on
Earth don’t recycle and take care of the planet, we will end up with a mammoth accumulation
of rubbish that we can’t dump anywhere else. If we don’t recycle, we can’t put the rubbish in
space as large quantities of garbage could end up catastrophically destroying all of the other
celestial bodies in the Solar System.

2. What reasons can you think of for taking care of the environment?
Some reasons for taking care of the environment include preserving it for future generations
so that ty can enjoy its beauty and preserve it and the cycle continues to go on until the sun
dies and swallows up Earth. Another reason for taking care of the environment id that it is
better for your health not to breathe in pollution and to have the air quality better for breathing
in. The final reason for taking care of the environment is world peace because most of the
world’s disputes are about natural resources and if we all take care of our finite resources and
use what we each are entitled to, then these wars will not start.

3. Download the worksheet The Bible and the Environment from the My Space area and
work through the questions: Examine the Bible verses and consider how Christians
should respond to environmental issues in light of what the Bible says. What other
reasons for looking after the environment might Christians add to your original list
(reasons that are specifically derived from a Christian worldview)? Please note that
some may argue that phrases like 'rule over' and 'subdue' imply a free hand for
humans to do what they want with the rest of God's creation. This is not what most
Christians understand the verses to mean; they believe we have a responsibility to
take care of the planet.
Other reasons that Christians could care for the environment include preserving what God
has made and taking care of his land that came from the Old Testament and making sure that
it is as close as possible to its original form. Christians also believe that God chose to create
humans and therefore gave us the responsibility of looking after his creation as he chose to
create us before all of the animals.