Looking at the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament, God created the heavens and the earth, separated light from darkness, made day and night, plants and animals, as well as seasons and days, and blessed them with the words, "Be fruitful." It tells the story of the creation of humans on the last day of creation and the creation of plants and fruit trees that humans can eat (Genesis 1:1-31). This is the creation of a 'system'—a collection of components, living creatures, and inorganic substances to achieve the purpose of creation.
What is important here is the message of 'fruitfulness.' To be fruitful means that living things increase. How do they increase? It can be seen that when food is abundant, they multiply. Farmers, when growing crops, generously apply compost or fertilizer so that the crops grow well and bear much fruit. If there are many plants, the number of herbivorous animals increases, and as the number of herbivores increases, so does the number of carnivores and simultaneously the human population.
From a scientific perspective, starting from the most basic plants and moving towards animals and humans, 'energy transfer', defined as 'organic matter', 'grassland', and 'food', occurs along the food chain, leading to fruitfulness. This energy movement is a 'movement of heat' that moves in only one direction, forming an energy pyramid—heat moving to places with lower temperatures. Ultimately, the number of consumers is naturally adjusted by the number of subordinate producers and consumers to achieve equilibrium. However, humans are an exception, which has a huge impact on the balance of the ecosystem.
The environment suitable for life on Earth lies in the operation of the Earth's magnetic field and its revolution and rotation. The Earth's magnetic field, the ozone layer of the atmosphere, protects life on Earth from radiation and solar winds from space. The Earth's rotation and revolution operate as a 'mechanism' to keep the average temperature of the entire Earth constant. What is the source of these mechanisms?
Werner Heisenberg famously said that drinking the first cup of science leads to atheism, but after drinking the cup, God is waiting at the bottom. Pope Francis said that when God created all things, he allowed them to develop according to internal laws given to each of them. Ultimately, it can be seen that when God created the world, he created a system and a mechanism containing these internal laws. Nevertheless, we must deeply reflect on the fact that humans, the last created by God, are disrupting and collapsing the mechanism created by God.
The Apostle Paul in his 'Hymn to Christ' confessed that the Lord was with God before creation and that all things were created in him (Col 1:16-17). He also learned how to be content in any situation and lived a humble life. He knew how to live (Philippians 4:11-12). The solution to the climate problem caused by human excessive greed will be determined by the kind of life we live.
However, the climate policy of the 22nd Korean National Assembly members, on climate issues, is not visible, and the collapse of the mechanism that maintains God's creation continues. How should we accept this reality in which 'economic abundance' appears as a new 'god' and replaces God?
