People Have Dominion Over the Earth

Last updated on: October 10, 2025 at 3:18 pm by Dorian Scott Cole

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People Have Dominion Over the Earth 2025-10-10T15:18:37-06:00 Dorian Scott Cole

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How to Create Change series

We can keep the world a livable place for our children if we act now. And we can do it!

Our choice: Lose it or save it. Earth on Fire and Flooding image by VO3.

Our choice: Lose it or save it. Earth on Fire and Flooding images by VO3.

We’re responsible for the Earth

“And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”

”God said through the prophet in Leviticus 25:23: ‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me. Thus for every piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land.’”

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”

What does “rule over” mean?

The Hebrew word for “dominion” in Genesis 1:26-28 is radah. It carries the meaning of ruling, subduing, or having authority over creation, though its interpretation can range from a forceful, dominating rule to a more responsible stewardship under God. The related word kabash, used in verse 28, also means to “subdue” and can have an overtone of taming the chaos of nature.

Radah is the primary verb translated as “have dominion.” While it can imply ruling, it also carries the idea of responsible stewardship or management. It’s unlikely it means to ravage and pillage, which is what we do.

We’re the management agency that takes care of God’s creation. We’re fired! Well, maybe not if we turn this ship around.

The US is the world’s largest historical polluter and has one of the highest per capita emission rates. If we don’t clean up the mess we’ve made, we’ll become a footnote in history as nature removes the infection.

It’s time to clean up the mess

I recently created a Climate Countdown Clock that shows what we can do to stop or reverse climate change. Much of what we can do creates new, high-paying jobs which we will likely need. The clock is simple, not scary, and very positive. Most of it is making sure our members of Congress know what we want.

You can explore these solutions on Dorian’s new Climate Countdown Clock.

Conclusion

It’s all up to us. We have to decide now or lose it.

How long do we have? A landmark 2018 IPCC report, and many climate scientists, indicate that humanity has less than a decade to limit warming to 1.5∘C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) to avoid catastrophic consequences, warning that consequences become baked into the planet’s systems without urgent, unprecedented changes. We are close to the tipping point where there is no return, only increasing damage.

We need to put ourselves on a WWII footing and become a great generation, conquering these challenges immediately.