ABSTRACT

According to the Bible, it was God's intention that man should be master of nature. This implies that man may avail himself for his own purposes of all that nature provides; and the fact that God granted us permission to feed upon animals as well as plants clearly confirms this intention. Nature alone, considered apart from the human costs and benefits of its preservation, deserves no respect. Respect for nature as a thing of value in itself is not deeply rooted in religions of biblical provenance; it is an element that can be dispensed with. It is present more strongly in Oriental religions, which proclaim the unity of all life on earth. It is sometimes said that nature's very variety is a good thing from the human point of view, since scientists are constantly discovering new and unexpected benefits from various species of plants and animals.