HAVING DOMINION ASSIGNMENT 1

Having Dominion Assignment

Whitney Smith

Toccoa Falls College

Author Note

This paper was prepared for ECO213, Section 1A, taught by Doctor Burnham.

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The Bible, states, “Then God said, “‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,

so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all

the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”So God created

mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created

them. God blessed them and said to them, “‘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”(Gen 1:26-28). This is talking about how God created us in his image and

commanded us to have dominion over living things. Back in the day, people thought that this

meant we were the only important thing however, that is not the case. Genesis 1:26-28 tells us

that we were created for a reason and Christians have a special purpose to fulfill. In “Genesis

1:26-28 and Environmental Rights,” Liz Jakimow states, “One interpretation of how human

beings bear the image of God (and the most popular view among Old Testament scholars today)

says that human beings are like God because they perform the functions of God and are God’s

representatives. As God’s representatives, Genesis 1:26-28 indicates more of a caretaking or

stewardship role” (Jakimow, 2013). This means that we as Christians are supposed to nurture and

lead others in the right direction, not that we are to rule over everything.

Recent commentators on these verses do agree that this is a pro-economic growth

passage. Hugh Whelchel states, “ We do not believe that the Bible explicitly endorses capitalism

or any other economic system. Yet the Bible has much to say about economic principles, and as

Christians, we should embrace its wisdom as we make economic choices in our everyday lives”

(Whelchel, 2016). This shows how others think that this is a pro-economic passage because they

agree that the Bible talks about economic principles. Whelchel then goes on to state,“ As God’s

stewards, we do not own anything outright — everything belongs to God. Yet as his image-

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bearers, we possess subordinate ownership” (Whelchel, 2016). This shows where he also talks

about the stewardship that God grants us as Christians in this passage. This means that we,

Christians are God's chosen, people. He chose us to be the ones to guide others.

The Bible states, “ To Adam he said, “‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit

from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it’. Cursed is the ground

because of you; through painful toil, you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will

produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your

brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust

you are and to dust you will return”(Gen 3:17-19). Since God asked Adam not to eat of the tree

and he did anyway then Adam had to reap the consequences of his actions. The consequences of

his actions were that He would eat it until the day when he returned to what he came from. Since

Adam disobeyed God there was also scarcity because of a result of his disobedience. The Bible

states, “The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated

the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its

inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men

are left” (Isi 24:5-6). This is telling how the disobedience of the world results in hardships for us.

Genesis 1:26-28, should justify our current economic policies, however it does not. God

intends for us to have dominion over everything that's living. That being said, through our

government and current economic policies the leadership in place in the United States of

America limits our input on this matter. That brings us to the point of having Christianity in our

leadership, which currently is non-existent in the leadership of our country. This is not the way

that God intended it to be, as stated in Genesis 1:26-28. For example, Christian leadership has

been removed from the United States of America schools, and prayer is not seen in education

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settings any longer. Another example is Joe Biden and the democratic views of the world in our

current times.

Joe Biden got into office through false media. This is shown because deceased people

were voting. How can one vote in an election if they are deceased? They can't, the definition of

being deceased is “without life; lifeless”. This shows, that if one is “deceased”, they wouldn't

have any life in them to be able to vote. We as Christians did not have a single say in this matter.

Another example is if the government wants to make certain laws or new decisions about our

economy or just in general we get no vote. When the government makes a new decision, do they

consult us Christians of America and ask how we feel about it? They don't, plain and simple,

they simply do not ask. How can one know what we want if they don't ask? They can't, this

brings us back to the point of rational ignorance. Rational ignorance is when one has all of the

resources they need to gain knowledge on a topic, but they don't because the possible outcome of

the knowledge doesnt compare to the time it will take to gain the said “knowledge”. This shows

that our current government is being rationally ignorant, they aren't taking into account what

Christians and the citizens of their country need and want.

The Bible tells us that growth happens when God is reflected through everything,

including our government. Albert Mohler states, “Further, creation testifies that God is a God of

abundance, which ought to influence how we think about abundance and wealth. In other words,

God did not create a world with a scarcity of resources, but with an abundance of resources”

(Mohler, n.d.). God is not being reflected through our government in our current times, so that

being said our country will not flourish and develop like God intends for it to do. That being

said, commentators on this verse do not agree on the current economic policies that should be in

place. When God is reflected through the policies of the government, the country's economy

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flourishes. For example, when Donald Trump was elected and throughout his term, he followed

the will of God in his economic and governmental decisions. We see that as a result, when

Donald Trump was in office, the economy was thriving. Think about it this way, when Trump

was in office were our gas prices and grocery prices what they are now? No, since Biden took

over, the prices of resources have inflated. This is a direct result of the leadership that is in place

in our country right now.

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Works Cited

Jakimow, L. (2013, February 22). Genesis 1:26-28 and Environmental Rights - Right

Now. Human rights in Australia. Retrieved February 10, 2024, from

https://rightnow.org.au/opinion/genesis-126-28-and-environmental-rights/

Mohler, A. (n.d.). Economics and the Christian Worldview: 12 Theses — Southern Equip.

Southern Equip. Retrieved February 10, 2024, from

https://equip.sbts.edu/publications/journals/journal-of-theology/economics-and-the-

christian-worldview-12-theses/

Whelchel, H. (2016, October 6). Are there economic implications in the Creation story?

Washington Times. Retrieved February 10, 2024, from

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/6/are-there-economic-implications-in-

the-creation-st/

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