Religious Philosophy ~ Rev. Murman

Lesson 20 ~ Religious Philosophy ~ East is East and West is West ~ Essay

By:  Rev. Trent Murman, OSM, OSF

 

What does "dominion" mean to you? Does it entitle you to kill anything you want? For food? For sport? What about non-living natural resources? Does dominion give you the right to take whatever you want or need, and not worry about the long term impact?

The topic of dominion can be quite controversy to many people.  However, I feel in my personal opinion, there is proprietary dominion and civil dominion.  Proprietary dominion would encase your personal possessions where on the other hand civil dominion would encase anything outside of your personal possession.  In the years when this great nation of ours was just being formed the settlers entitled to kill game for means of survival.  The American Indians killed game for food, clothing and housing.  In these circumstances I believe even by today's standards it would be permissible to kill what you needed for man's survival.  As for killing for sport….I personally do not believe in this.  However, there are family members that do this every year when hunting season comes about….but, they know how I feel about this.  I do not believe dominion gives anyone the right to take what you want or need from others that have attempted to provide for their families and if we were back in the settlers days you might be jailed, hung or shot for stealing.  This would also be termed as breaking one of the Ten Commandments.  Ignorance of the civil law or God's law would be no excuse for these people.

The Chinese invented paper, gun powder, wine, and numerous other things that we now take for granted. And yet, it was the West that developed the "scientific method", and the West that created the entire "field" of science. Since China was clearly capable of brilliant individual inventions, why do you suppose the organic development of science happened in the West rather than in China?

I think perhaps China was more into the developing things of personal needs and to survive on a one-to-one basis.  They invented things of need.  They even came to America as sometime forced labor when we were settling the west.  We used their explosives to blast away or forge onward through the mountains and mining etc.  Unfortunately, they were greatly misused and pushed around as were the American Indians, but I am inclined to believe our fore fathers were using them as they thought was acceptable in those days.  As for the west developing the "scientific method", perhaps the west was a bit more socially developed at that time.   Go In Peace