Plantinga Ch.2

Neil Plantinga writes in his second chapter of "Engaging God's World" about Creation. In it he talks about many aspects of creation: the wonders of God's creation of humans, animals, and nature, and the responsibility of being created. God's creation is wonderful, it is perfect, and as so, is vast, complex, and unimaginable. Oftentimes I wonder how people can hold to the belief in complete evolution, when creation is so complex, beautiful, and amazing that random sequences have led to us evolving into what we are today. Plantinga mentions the half-million varieties of insects, the quarter-million species of plants, and it got me thinking of the wonders and complexities of God's creation. It is incredible and worthy of praise.

God also created humans, and we are blessed enough to be created in the image of God. This is truly a blessing that far too often goes unrealized; we humans are above all other creation since we have been made in the image of God. It is truly a privilege. However, with privilege comes responsibility and God did give us a task. He gave us the charge of having dominion over creation. We are in control, we are meant to be stewards of God's creation. This started from the time Adam named the animals, to the present. However, we have fallen far short of this mandate. Plantinga talks about texts that use the term conquest in regards to nature. While this was many years ago, our conquest continues to the present, if not in word then in deed. In our quest for a modern, civilized society, we have destroyed many beauties of nature. Woods are toppled so that the wealthy can live materialistically in suburban mansions, wetlands are covered over for the parking lot of yet another shopping mall, and other atrocities. We also pollute our air with power plants that burn coal, when we could use renewable energy like the wind. All of these examples show how inconsiderate we are, especially with respects to God's planet, of which we have been given stewardship. But stewardship is not what we are currently doing with our planet, and if we continue down the road we are now on, we will soon destroy all the beauties and complexities that life in this world give. Let us all work together to change this pattern, not in the name of pompous politicians who use this idea for the benefit of their earth-sized egos, but for God, whose creation we do not always faithfully steward.