What do you know about these issues? What problems do they cause ?

1. GM (Genetically Modified) crops, 2. Intensive fishing technologies3. Pesticides and fertilisers4. Nuclear energy reactors5. Wind farms6. Plastics7. Biofuels

Religion and Use of the Environment

To identify issues where science threatens the environment

To explain how and why Christians respond to environmental issues (Level 6)

To evaluate your own views about human responsibility for the environment (Level 7)

Wind farms: noise pollution, not very efficient

List these Scientific/ technological developments in order from most

threat/ most safe

1. Choose 2 issues. Explain how science has created a situation where human and animal life is threatened because of damage to the environment.

2. Why Christians should oppose some of these developments ? (What bible evidence from the last lesson could you use ?)Biofuels: new

technology that makes petrol from corn. So companies are buying up and using land in 3rd world to grow corn for petrol, not for food: poor people starve.

GM (Genetically Modified) crops modified crops eg wheat to grow better in poor soils/ drought etc: but virus genes from mutant crops can enter human & animal cells -> disease/ death. Making genetic changes in one species can have unpredictable knock-on effects.

Intensive fishing technologies: over-fishing means collapsing fish stocks: no fish by 2050

Pesticides and fertilisers: wash into rivers, killing river life, poisoning animals and even humans.

Nuclear energy reactors: nuclear waste, lasting 100’s of years. Nuclear accidents causing disease and handicap in offspring.

Plastics: waste that takes 10’s of years to decompose

St Francis – Canticle of Praise to the Creator

St Francis was the son of rich parents, who heard Christ saying to him from the cross, “Go and repair my house, Francis, which you can see is falling in ruins”. He gave up all his wealth, even the rich clothes he stood up in, and became “the Poor Man of Christ”.

St Francis saw Christ reflected in all of creation, and praised God through it. In this way, he cared for and loved Creation, because it is God’s.

Read his canticle, and write your own additional 3 verses.

How could you describe St Francis relationship with Creation? Was it religious, or was he just a

soppy romantic ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwNVhldmM0g&feature=related

7.00 to end

Part 2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTuxjrpdYaA

Part 3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_BAnSGBdto