Explain the difference between stewardship and dominion (6 marks)

Stewardship refers to a view held by some Christians that, as the name implies, they have to act as 'stewards' over the animals. This means that they have a God-given duty to protect the animals from harm and preserve them from danger. They may cite Noah's Ark as an example of humans exercising this God-given duty. Other Christians have the alterate view of dominion. Whilst both sides can agree that God gave them power over the animals, those who follow dominion argue that this power does not neccessarily amount to responsibilty. Their justification for this usually lies in a literal interpretation of God's command to Adam to 'rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air'.