Environmental Ethics

Author(s): S M Jain
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

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Invention of God the Almighty :
Initially it was natural forces the sun, wind, water, fire, earth and its forests, rivers, mountains which were venerated, paid obeisance and worshiped as these were obviously considered important for welfare and existence. But as agriculture developed and extended and humans changed to more and more predatory and exploitative ways from earlier symbiotic relationships with nature, the problems increased. The same elements of nature water, wind, fire, rivers became harmful also. As more and more forests were cut from catchments of rivers the intensity of floods increased. In absence of extensive shelterbelts the devastating storms became more and more frequent. Droughts and famines followed. In desperation some supreme power was invented and all good and bad were attributed to him, the almighty god, though these were result of greedy, exploitative actions of human beings themselves. This concept gradually got so much entrenched in the psyche of people and was deliberately strengthened by selfstyled agents of God, that everything was left to will of the almighty. The various religious texts which were, as a matter of fact, result of human experience in particular circumstances were proclaimed as revelations by God to chosen ones. Surprisingly God needed help of some designated spirits to communicate as almighty God was incapable of communicating directly. Obviously God is just an alibi to answer questions and problems in a particular time or event. If God is almighty, creator and controller of all then he should be able to change minds to set things right. But he does not do that and so he does not exist.
Most of the religions preach hatred for other faiths, arrogating all truth to themselves, claiming that only their scriptures are true and of all others false. This is narcisstic solipsism and not religion. Even the most revered apostles of love and compassion threatened their non-followers with dire consequences of pangs of eternal fire in hell. They promise awards and pleasures of heavens only to their followers. The
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