“You shall not Steal”:
Theological Reflections on the Ownership of Nature
(A Brief Response to “Who shall be Praised? An Offensive Response to
the Documentary Film, Home” by Dr. Immanuel Chih-Ming Ke)
Prisca Ya-Chi Chiu
You shall not steal. (Exodus 20.15)
What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift? Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Quite apart from us you have become kings! Indeed, I wish that you had become kings, so that we might be kings with you! (Corinthians 4.7-8)
e have experienced the wonderment of Earth and watched the Earth’s most amazing landscapes through the stunning visual portrayal of Earth, Home; however, “who shall be praised?” Dr. Immanuel Chih-Ming Ke asked. Dr. Ke paid attention to the subtitle of the book, Home: “a hymn to planet and humanity,” which seems to lay emphasis on an optimistic belief in human ability to change environmental crisis of present time; that is, according to Dr. Ke, human “wisdom and virtue to solve environmental problems brought by humans.”
Is it true that humans are capable of solving the problems? Is it true that humans shall be praised?
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First of all, let us just ask several questions: How did the world come into existence out of nothing? What are the reasons for such a creation? Why are there full of living creatures? Why are there tress bearing plentiful fruits? How do we understand the fertile land which grows varieties of fruits? How do we understand rich and colorful creatures in the ocean? Everything exists in this world does seem to us a profoundest awe.