THE ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF FORESTS: THE BIBLICAL ROLE ANDCHURCH RESPONSEIN FORESTS CONSERVATION

Abstract

The great danger that stares man in the face consequent upon forest destruction can better be imagined than felt in the real sense of the word. Forest and forest products provide so much for the benefit of humanity and yet all that man does is to destroy this natural resource freely given to him by his creator. Today in Nigeria and most countries of the Africa and the world, the vegetation cover and forests have been deeply depleted posing serious climate conditions on the people. Two key words in the Hebraic Genesis account; רָ דָ הradah, raw-daw, Gen 1:26 is rendered “to rule, have dominion, and ,כָּבַ שׁkabash, meaning: to subject, subdue, in Gen 1:28 have either been read out of context or may not been understood and therefore misinterpreted and misapplied by humanity to warrant the destruction of forests and forests products. It is in regard to this wrong notion and conception that this work seeks to closelyexamineto find out what God really meant when he said that man should rule over his created world and source from “every tree that has fruit with seed in it, his for food” (NIV,Gen 1:29).