Governance through the Lenses of Genesis Chapters 1-3

Abstract

Lessons for Governance from Genesis (1-3). The first three chapters of Genesis create an important theological context for governance through charting out the nature of authority (divine authority), accountability (human accountability), and fallen grace (sin) (Gonzalez, 2018). The book analyzes governance at theological, moral, and operational levels and shows how Genesis speaks to current controversies regarding political leaders, environmental sustainability, and institutional ethics. These can be identified as divine kingship as the pattern for just reign (Gn 1), entrustment with creation and the Imago Dei commission (1:26-28; 2:15), and the breakdown of moral oversight with its cyclical consequences (3). Based on new scholarship (2020-2025), this study contends that Genesis is surprisingly relevant to contemporary issues of governance such as climate change, corporate responsibility and restorative justice. This study begins with a rigorous textual analysis of Genesis 1-3, employing exegetical methods to uncover the foundational governance principles within the biblical narrative, it will also include two case studies, "Patagonia’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Practices" and the European Green Deal (EGD) at the crossroads of climate adaptation and agricultural sustainability, test the real-life applicability of Genesis' governance model; It will include a Comparative Theoretical Analysis between Genesis tenets, Universal theories of governance that are likened to secular state philosophies, and identifies areas of convergence as well as divergence. The study will use PESTLECT framework Model to evaluate the external forces unique to sustainable Governance.