Christianity and Ecology: Re-Enchanting Nature

The Program

• To re-enchant Nature
• The Consequences of the Enlightenment de-mythologized nature
• with a lot of help from Christianity and in particular the Reformation
• Nature became just a thing to use
• God in and through Nature was narrowed to the defined sacraments (of which there are 2 in Protestantism)
• The Spirit of Nature was denied
• Resulting in the utilitarism and instrumentism of Nature, abusing it broadly
• We need to re-discover the Spirit of Nature as Christians (and Jews and Moslems)

Session Notes

1. God and Creation
   • Islam also concerned for ecology
   • Questions:
     • Both religion (Christianity in this case) and science are sources for answers
     • Is God creation (or is creation God)?
     • Is God in or out -side of creation?
     • What is God's opinion of creation?
     • What is God's purpose for creation?
     • Is creation sacred?
   • scientific notions
     1. "before" the Big Bang: mathematics breaks down
        • science can only speculate about what is/was/will be happening outside of space-time
        • current cosmological theory postulates a beginning and possibly an ending
        • some cosmologists are looking for ways to see the cosmos as self-generating
        • where is God here?
        • Assumption of Murphy and Ellis: universe created to allow development of moral (intelligent) life, i.e., purpose of universe is to make possible an uncoerced, moral response to the Creator
          • lawlike character of the universe
          • anthropic universe and free will
          • undetermined actions must be permitted (to exercise free will)
          • provident universe
          • hidden nature of ultimate reality
     2. Quantuum randomness: God interacting with the creation without violating the laws of nature
        • uncertainity and incompleteness is intrinsic to nature
        • you cannot be sure of everything
        • you cannot define everything
        • where is God here?
        • QM and noncoerciveness [Murphy and Ellis]
          • noncoercive divine action at the q level permitted; God need not violate the laws of science to act (noninterventionist)
          • q indeterminacy allows revelation: visions of ultimate reality to those open to them
            at the q level within the human nervous system, the divine can make itself known
     3. Evolutionary chance: God interacting with life without violating the laws of nature
        • evolutionary theory postulates the power of random chance as an instrument in shaping creation
        • is this element of randomness an opportunity for God's hidden intrusion?
        • intrinsic to nature is redemptive suffering [Murphy and Ellis]
          • central feature of biological life is the recycling of materials through many generations.
          • we are only lent the materials of our body to use for a while and then to return them to nature
          • similarly for the stars
          • great chain of being
          • death, therefore, necessary
          • giving of one's life is, therefore, redemptive
     4. Emergence and consilience
        • the whole is greater than the parts
        • something new or novel occurs that cannot be found in the parts
        • widely desparate events and conditions seem to converge
        • the unreasonable reasonableness of mathematics
        • the non-linearity of reality
     5. Faith and Healing
        • religious commitment and community has a positive effect on healing
        • we seemed to be hard-wired for God
   • the creation is an important part of our spirituality
     1. Nature of Jesus
        • Jesus is both fully human and fully divine
        • the material is infused with the Spirit
        • the Incarnation is God's affirmation of Creation
        • It is Good!
        • God became human so that we -- creation -- could relate to God
        • the Incarnation deified our flesh (the material): fully created and fully uncreated!
        • God's life comes through the creation
     2. Nature in Jesus' life: nature intimately part of our spiritual lives
        • Jesus' baptism in Matthew 3:13-17: sees the heavens open
        • the wilderness a place of purification
        • parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:26-29)
        • Jesus calms a storm (Mark 4:35ff; Matthew 8:23-27; Luke 8:22-25
        • many healings
        • the wine of Jesus' blood; the bread of Jesus' flesh
        • earthquakes and the rising of the dead at Jesus' death (Matthew 27:50-53)
     3. Nature is in relationship with God
        • s. Psalm 19:1-6: Nature praises God
        • biblically nature is included in our response to God:
        • St. Paul: all nature is groaning (Romans 8:19-22)
        • The responses of nature in Revelations
          1. 6th seal: earthquake, eclipse, meteorites (6:12-13)
          2. 1st trumpet: hail and fire (8:7)
          3. 2nd-3rd trumpets: killer meteors (8:8-10)
          4. 4th trumpet: the sun, moon, and stars snuffed out (8:12)
        • The Exodus: opening of the Red Sea; the Plagues
        • Isaiah: the Peaceable Kingdom: lion and lamb will lie together
   • Wink: Angels
     • the inner spirit of things
     • Nature Angels: the inner spirit of nature
     • s. Process Theology: even the rocks have joy
   • enchanting nature
     1. Trinity
        • God in relationship
        • The Second Person = the Incarnation
        • God in relationship with the creation
        • expression of the Trinity in nature
        • trinitarian images in nature (such as the iris) are ways to see the sacred in nature
     2. fairies
        • a metaphor for the inner spirit of nature
        • not some independent creature
        • but the manifestation of God's spirit
        • s. Queen Mab adjacent at the right
     3. sacred places: places that humans particularly feel the presence of God
        • sacred wells
        • fairy circles
        • more ...
     4. icons [Chryssavgis]
        • the inner vision of the world
        • undermines the separation of material and spiritual
        • is the spiritual in the material; the material in the spiritual
        • the Spirit is the "air" we all breath; the creation is the "ground" on which we all stand
        • all of nature is a sacrament
        • brings heaven and earth together
     5. Pneumatology [Wallace]
        • HS is a healing life-force engendering Nature's (including humans) well-being
        • HS is a subversive life-form: water, light, dove, mother, fire, breath, wind that animates and maintains the whole nature order
        • wholly other and wholly enfleshed within creation
        • wind in Gen.; dove in Gospels; flames in Acts
          1. vivifying breath: Gen 1:2; Ps 104:29-30
          2. healing wind: Judg 6:34; Jn 3:6; Acts 2:1-4
          3. living water: Jn 4:14; 7:37-38
          4. purgative fire: Acts 2:1-4; Mt 3:11-12
          5. divine dove: Gen 8:11; Mt 3:16; Jn 1:32
        • labors to create, sustain, and renew humans in solidarity with all of creation
        • "nature is the enfleshment of God's sustaining love"
        • the historic incarnation is recapitualted now in nature as the enfleshment of God
        • HS as animating spirit has a teleos: peaceable relationship
        • Spirit and Earth inseparable
        • earth is the body of the Spirit
        • that Spirit and Earth indwell each other => Spirit can be traumatized by Earth's abuse
        • ecocide can lead to deicide: environmental havoc can lead to irreparble damage to the Love and Mercy of God
        • environmental trauma => crucifying God
2. Humans and Creation
   • Questions:
     • Are we in or out -side of creation (do we have a special status)? Are we separate or interconnected?
     • Is creation for us (i.e., belongs to us)?
     • Are we the only createds with a soul or does others in creation have a soul?
     • What is the role of science? of religion?
   • scientific notions
     1. the Enlightenment
        • saw nature mechanically
        • humans had a God-givenness that allowed them to observe and command nature
        • an implied separation of the human from the rest of Nature
        • Nature was a pot of resources to be used by us and to be studied for new uses
     2. evolution:
        • we evolved from the star dust and are members of the family of creation
        • there is a continuum from that star dust to ourselves
        • no objective uniqueness has been identified associated with humans
        • even language and war occur elsewhere
        • we are intimately interconnected with all of creation
          1. we are all brothers and sisters to each other and to all of nature
          2. we are part of the ecosystem, yet have evolved to self-reflection and the ability to manipulate the system
     3. what of self-reflection? does this transcend us above the rest of creation?
        • no scientific theory on the evolution of self-reflection exists, but ...
        • may be the "product" of emergence: the whole (self-reflection) is greater than the parts
        • but we cannot absolutely say that other animals (such as chimps and cats) do not have an interior life
        • some studies have been done s. Why God Won't Go Away: The Biology of Belief
   • religious notions
     1. The soul:
        • questions
          1. of all of creation, do only humans have souls?
          2. or do animals (and plants and rocks, etc.) have souls?
          3. do we all partake of a world soul?
          4. is the soul the same as (self-)consciousness?
          5. where does the soul come from?
        • soul == the free will response of life to God
        • soul == the transcendance of life beyond the material
        • soul == the inner reality of life
        • if the soul == (self-)consciousness, does a child born without a mind have a soul?
        • process: soul == stream of experience
          • consciousness is NOT required for experience
          • creation is in process, growing, becoming, decaying
          • two processes: time and concrescence
          • time: infintesimal actuality to actuality; frame to frame
          • concrescence: an actuality becoming-perishing, the eternal now
          • upon concrescence an actuality "enjoys" "subjective immediacy"
          • "enjoyment" is not necessarily pleasure or conscious
          • to experience is to enjoy
          • consciousness is not required to experience: therefore rocks enjoy
          • actualities are occasions of experience and do not endure
          • the soul -- stream of experience -- is composed of distinct occasions of experience (p 19)
          • relations are primary: an actuality becomes individual out of the multiplicity of relations
          • present occasion receives as inputs: previous occasions (efficient causation); self-creation (free will); God's lure (initial aim); God as potentialities or novelty
          • essential interdependent -- ontological
        • answers from process
          1. of all of creation, do only humans have souls?
          2. NO; anything in process has a soul
          3. or do animals (and plants and rocks, etc.) have souls?
          4. YES; anything in process has a soul
          5. do we all partake of a world soul?
          6. Everything in process is interdependent partaking of each other's experiences
          7. Each actuality is influenced by all other actualities
          8. If a soul is a stream of experience and we are all interdependent, we can construe the whole is greater than the partake and understand a world soul
          9. is the soul the same as (self-)consciousness?
          10. NO
          11. where does the soul come from?
          12. It emerges from our experience
          13. The World Soul is constantly in process as each actuality increases in experience
     2. Nature of Jesus
        • Jesus was wholly divine and wholly human
        • the Incarnation re-affirmed the holiness/sacredness of the body, of Nature
        • Jesus, being human, does not limit the Incarnation to humans.
        • Jesus as the Incarnate God of all of Creation, is enfleshed for all of creation
     3. Jesus' teachings/acts re. agriculture
        • Jesus used nature frequently to teach us
        • nature is rich with God's will and way
        • Good and bad fruit [Lk 6:43-45; Mt 7:15-20]
        • houses on rock and sand [Lk 6:46-49; Mt 7:21-29]
        • the parable of the four soils [Lk 8:4-8; Mt 13:1-9; Mk 4:1-9]
        • calming the storm [Lk 8:22-25; Mt 8:23-27; Mk 4:35-41]
        • demons into a herd of pigs [Lk 8:2639; Mt 8:28-9:1; Mk 5:1-20]
        • parable of the lost sheep [Lk 15:1-7]
     4. Nature effected by our sin
        • At the crucifixion, darkness fell on the land [Lk 23:45; Mt 27:45; Mk 15:33; Jn 19:28]
        • ... and earthquake [Mt 27:51]
        • All of creation is groaning ... [Rom 8:18-25]
        • Revelations!
     5. Gen. 2 agrarian vision [Hiebert]
        • Gen 2:4b-3:24
        • humans and animals alike are "living beings" (nepeš hayyâ);
        • translators distingish where there is not distinction
        • archetypal human is a farmer
        • like the animals, humans are made from the arable soil
        • as opposed to the priestly account of the humans as distinct from creation
        • human as servant and dependent
        • as opposed to the priestly account of humans as masters of creation
        • humans are connected to the rest of creation; a member of the ecosystem
        • we share a common origin and destiny with the rest of creation
3. The Stewardship of Creation [s. State of the World: 2003]
   • A case study 1998 [Johnson]
     • re. River of Life Christian Fellowship hurch in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana
     • Shell Oil's megalopolis of steaming smokestacks, scaffolding, etc. posted with signs warning of toxins
     • One of 27 oil refineries and chemical plants next to communities along the Mississippi.
     • churches challenging environmental racism in the New Orleans - Baton Rouge corridor: Cancer Alley
     • low-income, minority communities
     • toxic accidents most frequent here than anywhere else in USA: 1 every 7 days
     • folks have to stay inside at night when the aerial toxic emissions are high
     • cancer, respiratory disease, burningeyes, chronic skin problems prevalent
     • playgrounds are deadly
   • Another case study: Chester PA [Wallace]
     • just outside of Philadelphia
     • chemical and waste processing plants interspersed among the homes, churches, and businesses
     • plants in a residential area: injustice
     • the waste management industry offers a quick-fix to chronic poverty and instability in declining neighborhoods
     • Chester has the highest infant morality rate andthe highest percentage of low-weight births in the state
     • three waste and treatment plants recently built on a single square-mile surrounded by homes and parts
     • these made worse the high rate of asthma and other respiratory and health problems
     • brought about an infestation of rodents
     • 500 trucks around the clock
     • EPA found lead-poisoning signifant among Chester's children
     • fish in Chester's waters contaminated with PCBs
     • environmental racism: a "local sacrifice zone"
     • promise of environmental revitalization has never materialized
   • some background
     • Native Americans have held that the land is sacred along with its animate and inanimate beings
     • religious fervor in the 19th century inspired the conservation movement
     • historian Lynn White in 1967 condemned the Judeo-Christian religion as giving the mandate to subdue the earth resulting in environmental destruction
     • an incomplete reading of this essay (White also said religion was part of the solution) widen the breach
   • Cooperative efforts
     • the environmental movement needs to based on ethical and moral values: hence religion
     • religious communities, Protestant, Jewish, Catholic gathering to fight environmental racism
     • National Council of Churches have taken pro-ecological stands supporting the Kyoto Protocol
     • The Central Conference of American Rabbis have called on Congress to pass the Endangered Species Recovery Act
     • A coalition of evangelical Christians prevented Congress from throttling the Endangered Species Act in 1996
     • Sierra Club and the National Council of Churches: against drilling for oil in Alaska's Artic National Wildlife Refuge; 2002
     • International Seminar on Religion, Culture, and Environment, Tehran, Iran, June 2001: sponsored by the UN Environment Programme and the Islamic Republic to fight environmental degradation
     • Sacred Gifts for a LIving Planet conference, Nepal, 2000: Organized by World Wildlife Fund and ARC, 11 major religions offered 26 conservation gifts to help improve the environment
     • Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious an dSpiritual Leaders, August 2000: More than 1,000 religious leaders meant at the UN; the environment was a major topic
     • Religion, Science and Evironment Symposia, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2002: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew convened a series of shipboard symposia focusing on regional water-related environemntal issues.
   • The Environment as Sacred Ground: sustainability
     1. ritual was central in regulating the use of trees, rivers, and other resources among indigenous peoples
        1. The Tsembaga people of New Guinea use rigutal to allocate scarce protein in a way that does not cause irreversible damage to the land
        2. The Tukano of the Northwest Amazon use myth and ritual to prevent overhunting and overfishing
        3. The Hopi Village of Oraibi (the longest continually inhabited village in the USA) spend up to half of their time in ritual activity during certain times of the year
        4. In Giew Muang, Thailand, buddhist monk Prhaku Pitak used ritual (ordaining a tree) to cement peoples support forest conversation
     2. environmental protection one of 5 points of the Dalai Lama's peace plan for Tibet
     3. water-related environmental issues promoted by Patriarch Bartholomew
     4. Pope John Paul II issued major environmental statements in 1990 and 2001 and a joint stmt with Bartholomew in June 2002
     5. The 1997 RSE Symposium on the Black Sea (Bartholomew) effective:
        • the World Bank increased funding for a Black Sea program
        • UN Environment Programme and the WCC plans a educational and environmental remediation compaign for the Black Sea
   • Ethical Consumption
     • living simply frees up resources for those in need and frees the human spirit to cultivate relationships with neighbors, the world and God
     • Sri Lanka, grassroots development effort since 1958: Savodaya Shramadana
       • promotes village-based development programs
       • explicitly integrates material and spiritual development
       • 10 human needs addressed
         1. a clean and beautiful environment
         2. a clean and adequate supply of water
         3. basic clothing
         4. a balanced diet
         5. a simple house to live in
         6. basic health care
         7. simple communications facilities
         8. basic energy reqluirements
         9. well-rounded education
         10. cultural and spiritual sustenanc
       • social justice is part of this also
         1. one purpose of the 10 principles is to provide for the needs of the weakest
         2. no poverty, no affluence society
     • Regeneration Project in CA: Episcopal Church
       1. Episcopal Power and Light (EP&L): green energy and energy efficiency
       2. energy generated by renwable sources, such as wind, geothermal, and biomass
       3. energy audit of parish buildings
       4. also California Interfaith Power and Light: an advocacy ministry
       5. spread to 7 states
     • Interfaith Coffee program by Equal Exchange
       1. a for-profit company
       2. sells only coffet that is "fair-traded" = participating farmers are guanranteed a min price for their harvest, no matter what market conditions prevail
       3. committed to helping farmers secure credit at affordable rates and to encouraging ecologically sustainable farming
       4. encourages individuals and congregations to switch to fair-traded coffee
       5. coffee is the second most widely consumed beverage in the USA
       6. educational: terms of trade in international commerce, value of co-ops and organic farming
     • social responsible investment: working assets
   • What justice issues must be addressed?
     • environmental racism
     • waste [Ezekiel]
     • consumption: our consuming helps the very people we send charity to via unfair trade agreements, etc
   • What faith issues must be addressed?
     • science unrestrained by ethics helped to deliver the most environmentally damaging century (the 20th) ever
     • religion can bring to the environmental movement as a strong change agent:[Gardner]
       1. capacity to shape cosmologies (worldviews
       2. moral authority
       3. a alarge base of adherents
       4. significant material resources
       5. community building capacity
     • God shines through all of creation: damaging creation is damaging God
     • the wounded spirit [Wallace]
       1. Many see the local sacrifice zones as inevitable in a technological society
       2. someone has to be sacrificed if we are to progress
       3. but not in my backyard!
       4. the Wounded Spirit challenges this self-centered attitude
       5. all persons are fundamentally equal
       6. everyone has a right to family stability and meaningful work in a healthy environment
       7. common interdependence of all creation
     • Water as life giving
     • Consumption: living the simpler life
   • Taking action:
     1. What can we do?
     2. EcoNet
     3. Grist Magazine
     4. National Religious Partnership for the Environment
     5. the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)

References

1. Chryssavgis, John; The World of the Icon and Creation: An Orthodox Perspective on Ecology and Pneumatology; Christianity and Ecology
2. Cobb, John B. and David Ray Griffin; Process Theology: an Introductory Exposition; The Westminster Press. Philadelphia ©1976.
3. Dieter T. Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether, eds.; Christianity and Ecology; ©2000 The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
4. Gardner, Gary; Engaging Religion in the Quest for a Sustainable World; State of the World 2003; The Worldwatch Institute ©2003.
5. Hiebert, Theodore; The Human Vocation: Origins and Transformations in Christian Traditions; Christianity and Ecology
6. Johnson, Trebbe; The Second Creation Story: Redefining the bond between religon and ecology; Sierra; November/December 1998.
7. Murphy, Nancey and George F. R. Ellis; On the Moral Nature of the Universe: Theology, Cosmology, and Ethics; Fortress Press ©1996.
8. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein; Science and Civilization In Islam; ABC International Group, Inc ©2001.
9. Sharpe, Kevin; Frogs and God; http://www.ksharp.com; ©2003.
10. Wallace, Mark I.; The Wounded Spirit as the Basis for Hope in an Age of Radical Ecology; Christianity and Ecology
11. Wink, Walter; Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination; ©1992 Augsburg Fortress.