The Dominion Mandate

In Genesis 1.26 and 28, God gives man dominion over the entire earth and everything that lives therein.  Dominion is simply another word for “authority,” so to say that God gives man dominion is simply to say that God gives man authority.    Man does not inherently have dominion over the earth.  Rather, God alone has authority over the earth because he is its Creator.  Thus, he has dominion and authority over his creation by default.  Any dominion that man has over the creation must be given to him by God.  In the Dominion Mandate, God gives man authority over the entire world, to use it and care for it.  Man is over and above every other creature on earth, and has been given authority and power by God to rule over it (see Psalm 8). 

Just think about it: the whole earth has been given to you by God to use, enjoy, and care for.  There are more than 1.2 trillion trees on the earth, and God gives them all to you to use and enjoy, and to flourish by using them.  There are 2.16 million species of animals on the earth (although about half of them are insects!), and they’re all yours for you to use, enjoy, and flourish.  There are more than 33,000 species of fish to use and enjoy.  There are 117 million lakes on the earth that are for your enjoyment.  All of it is yours, given to you by a creator God who made you to be like him, and to rule over his creation with his own authority.

Hunting and fishing are opportunities to exercise the muscle of dominion.  In fact, the primary reason I hunt, fish and love the outdoors is that it affords me a hands-on opportunity to take dominion.  I hunt the animals because God gave the animals to me; I work the land and spend time in the woods because God created them for me to enjoy, and for the animals to make their homes, and for me to harvest them in order to flourish. 

Our relationship with, and use of animals cannot be understood outside of the dominion mandate.  In fact, the dominion mandate is the foundation for all hunting and fishing.   If human beings are merely more highly evolved animals, then there are serious moral conundrums associated with taking the lives of other animals.  However, if we are not merely animals, but special creations of God made in his image, created to be like him in certain ways and to represent him to the rest of creation – including animals – and to use those animals for our flourishing, then our relationship with animal life makes a lot more sense. 

There are other valid reasons that people (including me) hunt and fish, such as for sport, domestication of animals, for camaraderie and community building among other hunters and fishermen, population control and ecological stability, and even for trophies, just to name a few.  All of these are valid reasons to participate in outdoor sports, however, they are all clearly secondary.  It can’t be denied that the most basic reason for these activities is to procure sustenance for ourselves and our families. 

If you are a human being, God commands you to take dominion over the earth, even if it’s just a very small corner of it.  We should all look for ways to take what God has made and use it for our enjoyment and flourishing.  You might not be a farmer or land-owner, or even a hunter or a fisherman, but there is still a myriad of ways for you to take dominion.  Make your bed, organize a room, clean up a mess, mow the lawn, plant a garden, get a bird feeder, create art, or even just go for a walk.  Whenever you bring order from disorder in this world, you are taking dominion over it.  You are demonstrating that you have authority over the earth, not the other way around.  Whenever you use the world that God has made to create something good, you are taking dominion over it. 

For more on what it means to take dominion over the earth, and especially through hunting and fishing, purchase a print, e-book, or audio copy of "A Glorious Arrangement: Christian thoughts on hunting, fishing, and creation".