Bible's advice on using land has damaged Earth

The flood events of July 24 got me to thinking about man's effect on the environment. The Bible implores us to “Be fruitful and multiply. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every living creature that moves on the ground.” Implied within the covers of the Holy Book is full permission to use the earth for our pleasures and gains.

This has lead to a great paradox. We have followed the directive to use the land however we choose. We enjoy having our homes and roads near the water. Once, we could use the interior rivers for drinking and transportation.

Today, as the result of our selfishness and thoughtlessness (and perhaps the Bible itself), the rivers are too silted-in to use for commerce and too polluted to drink.

We have drained the wetlands and used this land to build houses and to plant row crops. Now wetlands no longer exist in numbers sufficient to help manage the rivers when they occasionally surge.

We have dammed the current and erected levees and dikes to keep rivers within their banks instead of allowing water to seek natural pooling-out areas. The results are catastrophic. Without safety valves, rivers will continue to taunt us and ruin our material lives.

The paradox I spoke of earlier: Since we have been given permission to use Earth as we see fit ... Earth is a lot less fit for us than it ever has been.

Richard Stout

Anamosa