Permaculture through
a Biblical Lens
Permaculture is a holistic design system that emphasizes sustainable and regenerative practices. It involves observing and mimicking natural ecosystems, utilizing diverse plant and animal species, and creating integrated, self-sustaining systems (God-sustaining systems is our view). The focus is on designing with nature rather than against it.
The core principles of permaculture are often summarized by three ethics and twelve design principles. The three-permaculture ethics are care for people, care for earth, and fair share. When examining permaculture through a biblical lens (as we do), you can find connections between permaculture principles and values or teachings present in the Bible.
1. Care for People: Permaculture advocates for the fair and compassionate treatment of people and emphasizes the need to meet human needs while respecting the well-being of individuals and communities.
From a Biblical Perspective:
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Galatians 6:2 (ESV): "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
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Proverbs 19:17 (ESV): “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed."
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Matthew 25:35-40 (ESV): "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
2. Care for the Earth: Permaculture emphasizes responsible and sustainable environmental stewardship, encouraging careful management of natural resources and the creation of systems that benefit both the environment and people.
From a Biblical Perspective:
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Genesis 1:11-12 (ESV): "11 And God said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.' And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
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Genesis 2:15 (NKJV): "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it."
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Ecclesiastes 3:1-3 (ESV): "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;"
3. Fair Share or Return of Surplus: Permaculture encourages individuals to reinvest surplus resources back into the ecosystem or share them with others, fostering a sense of equity and abundance.
From a Biblical Perspective:
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Matthew 22:39 (NKJV): "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
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1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (ESV): "12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."
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2 Corinthians 8:14 (ESV): "Your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness."