On Wed, 13 Dec 2000 16:04:14 -0700 (MST) gordon brown
<gbrown@euclid.colorado.edu> writes:
>
>
> On Fri, 8 Dec 2000 PHSEELY@aol.com wrote:
>
> > There is something very interesting about the dominion mandate in
> Gen
> > 1:26-28. It is addressed to all human beings and is paired with
> the
> > reproduction mandate. Although it is seemingly restricted to this
> earth, the
> > exploration of other planets was not part of the Weltbild; so,
> cannot, it
> > seems to me, be excluded. But, my point about its being paired
> with the
> > reproduction mandate is that reproduction is built into human
> beings in such
> > a way that it was bound to be fulfilled. It could not be stopped.
> I think the
> > dominion mandate is the same. Curiosity is built into humans. It
> also cannot
> > be stopped. This leaves ethical questions of how space exploration
> should be
> > conducted (which I do not know enought about to answer); but, it
> seems to me
> > that God intended for the dominion mandate to be fulfilled until
> the end of
> > the age; and that would include space exploration and dominion for
> as far out
> > into space as curiosity takes us.
> >
> > Paul
> >
>
> I think you make great points here, and I think they would sound
> even
> stronger if instead of using the word `mandate', you used the term
> that the Bible uses, i.e. blessing. In Gen. 1:22 a reproduction
> blessing
> very similar to the one later given to man is pronounced on marine
> animals
> and flying creatures.
>
> By the time that Genesis was written it was apparent that man had
> been
> very fruitful in a reproductive sense and had dominion over the
> other
> creatures just because of the way he was created. Genesis tells us
> that
> these are blessings, which does not imply that we have carte blanche
> to
> misuse them. I assume that similar reasoning applies to abilities
> that we
> have discovered that we have subsequent to the writing of Genesis.
>
> Gordon Brown
> Department of Mathematics
> University of Colorado
> Boulder, CO 80309-0395
>
>
Gordon,
There is a small problem with your statement about God's blessing, for
the verbs of those blessings are imperatives, commands, mandates, orders.
Also, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament says that "to bless"
means "to endue with power for . . ." We think of blessings as benefits,
not empowerments. Paul is correct in calling them mandates.
Dave
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