326
L. Rydén
was that stewardship was not only referring to the congregation but a much wider
context, nature and, in the end, the whole of creation.
In the years which followed up to the Canberra General Assembly it was clear that,
as mentioned, the divide between western and eastern churches remained. Stewardship stayed an important part of the western churches approach, and was thus rather
action-oriented. The concept became, however, more inclusive and referred to as the
responsibility of wise management of the environment (Brander 2002).
An important part of the debate was about the difference between “rule or govern”
the environment versus “manage or administer” the environment. The first approach
could easily develop into exploitation while the second more to taking care of or
supporting. The origin of this divide can be traced back to at least Francis Bacon of
seventeenth Century England. His main opus Novum Organum (Bacon 1620) introduced the understanding of science as a systematic means to control and dominate
the resources which Nature provides. Many of his recommendations were sound,
such as collecting and systematising the results of scientific work, and was a crucial
contribution to the establishment of academies of sciences, the Royal Society in London being the first. But it changed dramatically the approach to Nature. From having
been divine it became a resource. From having been the creation with an integrity,
it became a resource to be used. Thereby the integrity of creation could be violated.
One may compare to a human whose integrity is violated if the person is only seen
as a resource to be used—in the extreme slavery—that is, an operational attitude,
rather than an individual with a value in itself, a person to be respected. The respect,
nota bene, does not hinder the person from contributing to the society and others and
thus being operational. In the same way the environment or Nature may contribute
to society and others, that is, being harvested, even if it is respected for its own sake.
6 The Environmental Movement—The International
Union for the Conservation of Nature
Through its participation in the 1972 Stockholm conference the environmental movement had from the beginning been part of the process that led up to the establishment
of sustainable development as a global concern. It was in particular fuelled by Rachel
Carson’s Silent Spring (Carson 1962) and what followed from this. It took a long
period, however, before the environmentalist in general were prepared to include a
wider perspective and see its concern for the environment as part of the general development process. A reason is that environmentalists most often focused on pollution;
the protection of nature and biodiversity, even if part of it, was not in the centre. It is
perhaps best illustrated by the process which took place in the International Union
for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN,
11 founded by
UNESCO in 1946–48, is an organisation with several hundred member organisations,
11 International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN. https://www.iucn.org/.
L. Rydén
was that stewardship was not only referring to the congregation but a much wider
context, nature and, in the end, the whole of creation.
In the years which followed up to the Canberra General Assembly it was clear that,
as mentioned, the divide between western and eastern churches remained. Stewardship stayed an important part of the western churches approach, and was thus rather
action-oriented. The concept became, however, more inclusive and referred to as the
responsibility of wise management of the environment (Brander 2002).
An important part of the debate was about the difference between “rule or govern”
the environment versus “manage or administer” the environment. The first approach
could easily develop into exploitation while the second more to taking care of or
supporting. The origin of this divide can be traced back to at least Francis Bacon of
seventeenth Century England. His main opus Novum Organum (Bacon 1620) introduced the understanding of science as a systematic means to control and dominate
the resources which Nature provides. Many of his recommendations were sound,
such as collecting and systematising the results of scientific work, and was a crucial
contribution to the establishment of academies of sciences, the Royal Society in London being the first. But it changed dramatically the approach to Nature. From having
been divine it became a resource. From having been the creation with an integrity,
it became a resource to be used. Thereby the integrity of creation could be violated.
One may compare to a human whose integrity is violated if the person is only seen
as a resource to be used—in the extreme slavery—that is, an operational attitude,
rather than an individual with a value in itself, a person to be respected. The respect,
nota bene, does not hinder the person from contributing to the society and others and
thus being operational. In the same way the environment or Nature may contribute
to society and others, that is, being harvested, even if it is respected for its own sake.
6 The Environmental Movement—The International
Union for the Conservation of Nature
Through its participation in the 1972 Stockholm conference the environmental movement had from the beginning been part of the process that led up to the establishment
of sustainable development as a global concern. It was in particular fuelled by Rachel
Carson’s Silent Spring (Carson 1962) and what followed from this. It took a long
period, however, before the environmentalist in general were prepared to include a
wider perspective and see its concern for the environment as part of the general development process. A reason is that environmentalists most often focused on pollution;
the protection of nature and biodiversity, even if part of it, was not in the centre. It is
perhaps best illustrated by the process which took place in the International Union
for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN,
11 founded by
UNESCO in 1946–48, is an organisation with several hundred member organisations,
11 International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN. https://www.iucn.org/.