Ecological Stewardship: Respecting God’s Purposes for Creation

I examine two currents of thought that reject the notion of "stewardship of creation." The first does so because it regards the notion that humans are superior to other earthly creatures to be false and to be at the root of environmental devastation. A second current, which affirms our superiority as "imago Dei," looks askance at any form of environmentalism, regarding it to be underwritten by population control and other views antithetical to Christian teaching. Relying on Augustine, Aquinas, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I show how each of these views misses the mark.