THEANTHROPOCOSMIC VISION OF THE HOLY BIBLE
An Alternative to the Cosmocentric and Anthropocentric Visions
Keywords:
Ādām, Adāmāh, Anthropocentric, Cosmocentric, Creation, God, LandLand, TheanthropocosmicAbstract
The biblical creation accounts provide an alternative to the anthropocentric and cosmocentric visions prevalent in the ecological discourses because according to the Bible the cosmos and the humankind have their meaning and purpose because of God’s plan for them. According to the Priestly account the creation is internally structured, ordered and reflects God’s power, wisdom, goodness, and purpose in creating a world. By acknowledging and proclaiming goodness of creation the Priestly account attributes value to creation and views the creation in its harmonious integrity. This harmony of God-Human-Earth is complemented by the creation account of the Yahwist tradition. In God’s plan, ’Ādām gets fundamental meaning and significance in his relation to ’adāmāh; ’Ādām is created out of ’adāmāh, nourished by ’adāmāh and at death returns to ’adāmāh. The vocation of ’Ādām is to take care of ’adāmāh. The earth and the human, material and spiritual, secular and the sacred, nature and culture are interwoven in the Theanthropocosmic vision of the Bible.
References
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