Ian McHarg, Christianity, urban and landscape planning

Ian McHarg, though the son of a lay Presbyterian minister, believed the Judeo-Christian tradition led to man's wrecking of the environment. His solution to the problem was that landscape architects should learn to Design with Nature when working on urban design and landscape planning projects. McHarg was inspired by Lynn Townsend White, an American historian and professor of medieval history at Princeton.

[@ShoelessMeg]

Thanks, Tom. I do think there's been a sense that dominion and subduing means to conquer and abuse. But, of course, a truly Biblical view of nature would recognize that the very first commandment to mankind was to care for the garden. And that Jesus was a living example of dominion through service and self-sacrifice.
What cracks me up the most about the video is the White man pontificating to silent Indigenous man. And there's no sense at all that the authors get the irony in that.

[@LandscapeArchitecture]

The expansion of the world's population from perhaps 300m when the Bible was written to approaching 8,000m today changes the relation between man and environment. Dominion over a small part of the planet was not a problem then but it is now. I admire the Buddha for telling his followers that future generations would discover things that he did not know. This is sure true and belief systems need to evolve as knowledge accumulates.

[@ShoelessMeg]

"Although it is true that we Christians have at times incorrectly interpreted the Scriptures, nowadays we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God’s image and given dominion over the Earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures. The biblical texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate hermeneutic, recognizing that they tell us to ‘till and keep’ the garden of the world (cf. Gen 2:15). ‘Tilling’ refers to cultivating, ploughing or working, while ‘keeping’ means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving. This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature." - Pope Francis.

[@LandscapeArchitecture]

@@ShoelessMeg Good for Pope Francis: but may I be permitted to think of him as revisionist? I once spent a few days reading interpretations of Genesis. There are so many of them that a lifetime would not be enough to read them all.