(a) Highlight the steps taken by God to change a formless earth to a place of life and activity (b) ldentify four ways human beings are destroying God's cre...

Answer Details

(a) How God changed a formless earth into a place of life and activity (Genesis 1:1–2:3)

1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
2. The earth was without form and void, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while the Spirit of God moved over the waters.
3. God commanded light to appear, saying, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4. He separated the light from the darkness, calling the light Day and the darkness Night.
5. God made the firmament or expanse to separate the waters above from the waters below, and called it Heaven or Sky.
6. He gathered the waters under the sky into one place so that dry land appeared.
7. God called the dry land Earth and the gathered waters Seas.
8. He commanded the earth to bring forth vegetation, including grass, herbs bearing seeds, and fruit trees yielding fruits according to their kinds.
9. God made the lights in the sky to separate day from night and to mark seasons, days and years.
10. He made the greater light, the sun, to rule the day and the lesser light, the moon, to rule the night; He also made the stars.
11. God created the living creatures in the waters, including the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves in the sea.
12. He also created every kind of winged bird to fly in the sky.
13. God blessed the creatures of the sea and the birds and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply.
14. He created livestock, wild animals and creeping things according to their kinds.
15. God created man, male and female, in His own image and likeness, and gave them dominion over the fish, birds and all other creatures.
16. He blessed human beings, commanded them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and gave them plants and fruits for food.
17. On the seventh day, God finished His work, rested, and blessed and sanctified the seventh day. He saw that everything He had made was very good.

(b) Four ways human beings are destroying God’s creation

1. Deforestation: Indiscriminate cutting down of trees destroys forests, causes soil erosion and removes the natural habitats of animals.
2. Pollution: Human beings pollute the air, water and land through smoke, chemicals, sewage, industrial waste, oil spillage and careless dumping of refuse.
3. Illegal mining and sand winning: Activities such as galamsey and uncontrolled sand mining destroy farmlands, pollute rivers and degrade the land.
4. Overexploitation of natural resources: Overfishing, overhunting, poaching and killing wildlife can lead to the extinction of plants and animals.