What is your faith's position on the environment?

We consider the environment, or in more basic terms, the world that God bequeathed to us, as a sacred trust that we must appreciate, venerate, and preserve to the best of our abilities.

To that end, there are basic regulations articulated in the Bible (Torah) that deal head-on with the environment. One basic regulation is that destroying fruit bearing trees is absolutely forbidden. Another is the Sabbatical protocol, which allows for cultivating fields for six years, and which forbids planting, harvesting, fertilizing, and any other activity in the fields on the seventh year, what has come to be known as the Sabbatical year.

The more universal principle at work in this Sabbatical regulation is that we dare not look at the land we might own as giving us licence to do with it whatever we want, whenever we want. We must give the land a "rest" of sorts, a most tangible way of avoiding "land abuse," land abuse being the very antithesis of environmental protection.

The Bible contains other environmental rules. We are not allowed to create new mixtures, whether they be of fruit, vegetables, or animals. We are warned off trying to improve on the world that God has bequeathed to us. We are commanded to avoid placing inordinate burdens on those who are helping us, including donkeys, horses, and yes, other human beings. Abiding respect for everything God placed in this world must be the ultimate foundation of all matters environmental.

Admittedly, the world today looks much different than a few thousand years ago. Global pollution was certainly not a concern then, but pollution of the immediate environment was a concern, and strict rules were formulated to protect the environment, including cleanliness procedures addressing smoke emissions and just plain dirt. What is true locally is likewise true globally. What is spelled out herein are guiding principles that should govern the way we care for the environment. We are custodians, not owners. The land belongs to God, and it our sacred obligation to protect that land, which includes the oceans and the skies. We owe this to ourselves, to future generations, and ultimately, to God.

Originally published in the Ottawa Citizen on February 5, 2012