Evangelisation of all Creation: An Analysis of the Neglected Target Group of Mark 16:15
It is a glaring fact that the environment has constantly been subjected to deforestation, air and atmospheric pollution, and many other related factors that threaten both human and animal life. Individuals, governments, churches, etc. have long identified the pressure on the ecology and have address...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Noyam Journals
2024-03-01
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| Series: | E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ERATS20241033.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827293503356403712 |
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| author | Eric Owusu |
| author_facet | Eric Owusu |
| author_sort | Eric Owusu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is a glaring fact that the environment has constantly been subjected to deforestation, air and atmospheric pollution, and many other related factors that threaten both human and animal life. Individuals, governments, churches, etc. have long identified the pressure on the ecology and have addressed it from different perspectives. This paper thus sought to address this environmental problem from a religious or Christian point of view. Since the paper involved the analysis of a text (Mark 16:15), text critical method was applied. This method studies and compares ancient manuscripts of texts like biblical passages to find out which texts were originally written by the author and can thus be proved authentic. It was found out in the analysis that though Mark 16:15 was not written by the original author of Mark’s gospel, the text laid bare the fact that Christians especially, must have a strong sense of responsibility towards nature. Enshrined in Jesus’s mandate to his disciples in Mark 16:15 is the Christian responsibility to care for created things. It appears, however, that in their evangelisation plans, Christians concentrate more on the salvation of human beings than the survival of the ecology which suffers from the handiworks of humans. Christians are, therefore, encouraged to value nature and take necessary measures to ensure its survival. This paper contributes to the debate on how sacred texts can positively influence humanity’s attitudes towards the ecosystem. It creates the awareness that nature is God’s greatest gift to humanity and must be properly cared for. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:36:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-018fc81968214df384ed365054193b6e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2458-7338 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:36:08Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Noyam Journals |
| record_format | Article |
| series | E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-018fc81968214df384ed365054193b6e2024-04-04T09:21:00ZengNoyam JournalsE-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies2458-73382024-03-011035665https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20241033Evangelisation of all Creation: An Analysis of the Neglected Target Group of Mark 16:15Eric Owusu0https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8748-4477Department of Religious Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi GhanaIt is a glaring fact that the environment has constantly been subjected to deforestation, air and atmospheric pollution, and many other related factors that threaten both human and animal life. Individuals, governments, churches, etc. have long identified the pressure on the ecology and have addressed it from different perspectives. This paper thus sought to address this environmental problem from a religious or Christian point of view. Since the paper involved the analysis of a text (Mark 16:15), text critical method was applied. This method studies and compares ancient manuscripts of texts like biblical passages to find out which texts were originally written by the author and can thus be proved authentic. It was found out in the analysis that though Mark 16:15 was not written by the original author of Mark’s gospel, the text laid bare the fact that Christians especially, must have a strong sense of responsibility towards nature. Enshrined in Jesus’s mandate to his disciples in Mark 16:15 is the Christian responsibility to care for created things. It appears, however, that in their evangelisation plans, Christians concentrate more on the salvation of human beings than the survival of the ecology which suffers from the handiworks of humans. Christians are, therefore, encouraged to value nature and take necessary measures to ensure its survival. This paper contributes to the debate on how sacred texts can positively influence humanity’s attitudes towards the ecosystem. It creates the awareness that nature is God’s greatest gift to humanity and must be properly cared for.https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ERATS20241033.pdfevangelisationcreationenvironmental crisisthe gospel of mark |
| spellingShingle | Eric Owusu Evangelisation of all Creation: An Analysis of the Neglected Target Group of Mark 16:15 E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies evangelisation creation environmental crisis the gospel of mark |
| title | Evangelisation of all Creation: An Analysis of the Neglected Target Group of Mark 16:15 |
| title_full | Evangelisation of all Creation: An Analysis of the Neglected Target Group of Mark 16:15 |
| title_fullStr | Evangelisation of all Creation: An Analysis of the Neglected Target Group of Mark 16:15 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evangelisation of all Creation: An Analysis of the Neglected Target Group of Mark 16:15 |
| title_short | Evangelisation of all Creation: An Analysis of the Neglected Target Group of Mark 16:15 |
| title_sort | evangelisation of all creation an analysis of the neglected target group of mark 16 15 |
| topic | evangelisation creation environmental crisis the gospel of mark |
| url | https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ERATS20241033.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ericowusu evangelisationofallcreationananalysisoftheneglectedtargetgroupofmark1615 |