The role of humans in the world – stewardship and dominion

Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion … over all the earth.’ Genesis 1:26

This verse from the Bible is further evidence that humans are special. They are different from the rest of creation because they were made in God’s image, which means they were made to be like God.

Many Christians also see this verse as evidence that God gave humans the power to rule over the rest of his creation, which is known as dominion. However, this does not mean that humanity should exploit the Earth’s natural resources. Most Christians believe that humans have a role as caretakers or ‘stewards’ of creation, because creation belongs to God. This is known as stewardship.

The first humans – Adam and Eve

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve, the first humans God created, disobey God by eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. This is known as original sin. Christians believe that because of God’s gift of free will, humans have the ability to choose to sin. In this way, humans bring sin into creation. Many Christians believe that humans are born with the taint of original sin as a result of being the descendants of Adam and Eve.

Interpretations of the creation story

There are various interpretations of the biblical creation story. Different Christians have different beliefs, depending on their denomination and on their personal beliefs:

Literal – Some Christians interpret the creation stories in Genesis literally. For these Christians, God dictated the Bible and the events it describes happened exactly as written.
- Inspirational – Other Christians believe that the Bible was inspired by God but that the text was created by people. Because people make mistakes, there could be human errors in the text of the Bible. Therefore, its stories can be interpreted in many ways. For example, these Christians might question the duration of a ‘day’ in Genesis. In this context, the word ‘day’ could actually mean an era.
- Metaphorical – Some Christians believe that the stories are metaphors or symbolic descriptions. These Christians accept scientific theories about the origins of the universe, such as the Big Bang theory.

Question

What did God create first, according to Genesis?

Evil and suffering

In Christianity, evil is anything that causes suffering. There are two different types of evil:

moral evil – immoral or wicked actions that people choose to do, using their free will, for example: murder, theft and dishonesty
natural evil – anything beyond human control that results in suffering, for example: earthquakes, floods and tsunamis

Evil and suffering present a problem for believing in an all-loving and all-powerful God. If God has these characteristics, why do evil and suffering exist in the world?

The problem of evil

The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341–270BC) wrote about the contradictions between the characteristics of God and the presence of evil and suffering. He described God as malevolent, meaning ‘cruel’:

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

Christians also believe that God is omniscient, which means that he is aware of all the suffering happening in the world.

Christian solutions to the problem of evil

Christians have various solutions to the problem of evil and suffering in the world:

God gave humans free will. Therefore, although he exists, he cannot interfere in any suffering that results from choices people have made.
Suffering is not God’s fault. Sin entered God’s perfect world when the first humans, Adam and Eve, used their free will to turn away from God.
Experiencing bad things is all part of God’s plan and humans should respond positively.
Many Christians believe that balance is important – humans need evil to appreciate goodness.
God is fair – people may suffer in their lives on Earth, but good people will be rewarded in Heaven.

The gift of free will comes with guidance from God about how to be good, such as the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus. But, in the end, it is up to each person to choose whether or not they want to follow God’s instructions.

Suffering as a test – the Book of Job (Job 1:8–12, 42:1–6)

In the Bible, the faith of a man called Job is tested through his suffering on many occasions. However, he keeps his faith in God and in the end is rewarded. He comes to learn that suffering is part of God’s plan, which is beyond human understanding.

The Bible describes Job as a good man who loves God. The Devil argues to God that Job is only good because he has a happy life.

God allows the Devil to put Job’s faith to the test by causing him to suffer the deaths of his livestock, servants and all of his children. Then the Devil inflicts painful sores all over Job’s body. Despite discouragement from his friends and his wife, Job remains faithful to God, but he begins to question God’s fairness – why do wicked people flourish while good people suffer?

God appears to Job. He asks Job impossible questions, through which Job comes to appreciate that God’s ways cannot be fully understood by human beings. God rewards Job by restoring his health, giving him more children and a very long and prosperous life.

Question

In the Book of Job, why does God present Job with impossible questions?