1.
Environmental Awareness: Respect for Nature
There is a growing awareness that world peace is threatened not only by
the arms race, regional conflicts and continued injustices among peoples and
nations, but also by a lack of due respect for nature, by the plundering of
natural resources and by a progressive decline in the quality of life. The
sense of precariousness and insecurity that such a situation engenders is a
seedbed for collective selfishness, disregard for others and dishonesty.
Faced with the
widespread destruction of the environment, people everywhere are coming to
understand that we cannot continue to use the goods of the earth as we have in
the past. The public in general, as well as political leaders are concerned
about this problem, and experts from a wide range of disciplines are studying
its causes. Moreover, a new Environmental awareness is beginning to emerge
which, rather than being downplayed, ought to be encouraged to develop into
concrete programs and initiatives.
Many ethical values, fundamental to the development of a peaceful society, are particularly relevant to the ecological question. The fact that many challenges facing the world today are interdependent confirms the need for carefully coordinated solutions based on a morally coherent worldview.
Many ethical values, fundamental to the development of a peaceful society, are particularly relevant to the ecological question. The fact that many challenges facing the world today are interdependent confirms the need for carefully coordinated solutions based on a morally coherent worldview.
In the Book of Genesis, where we find God's first self-revelation to humanity (Gen 1-3), there is a recurring refrain: "and God saw it was good". After creating the heavens, the sea, the earth and all it contains, God created man and woman. At this point the refrain changes markedly: "And God saw everything he had made, and behold, it was very good " (Gen 1:31). God entrusted the whole of creation to the man and woman, and only then -- as we read -- could he rest "from all his work" (Gen 2:3).
2. Development and Ecological Balance
Two decades ago it was common to speak of the
need for economic "development" among "backward" nations.
The assumption behind this language was that Western-style industrialization
was the model of progress, and that all nations could be judged by how far they
had come along on that road. Poor nations were poor because they were at some
retarded stage of this evolutionary road of development. They needed economic
assistance from more "developed" nations to help them "take
off" faster.
In the mid-’60s there were two major
movements of dissent from this model of "developmentalism." One of
them occurred primarily among social thinkers in the Third World, especially
Latin America, who began to reject the idea of development for that of
liberation. They contended that poor countries were poor not because they were
"undeveloped," but because they were miss-developed. They were the
underside of a process in which, for five centuries, Western colonizing
countries had stripped the colonized countries of their wealth, using cheap or
slave labor, in order to build up the wealth which now underlies Western
capitalism. One could not overcome this pattern of misdevelopment by a method
of "assistance" that merely continues and deepens the pattern of
pillage and dependency, which created the poverty in the first place.
A few years after this critique of
development from a Third World standpoint, a second dissenting movement
appeared, primarily among social thinkers in advanced industrial countries.
This movement focused on the issue of modern industrialized societies’
ecological disharmony with the carrying capacities of the natural environment.
It dealt with such issues as air, water and soil pollution the increasing
depletion of finite resources, including minerals and fossil fuels; and the
population explosion. This dissent found dramatic expression in the Club of
Rome’s report on Limits to Growth, which demonstrated that indefinite expansion
of Western-style industrialization was, in fact, impossible. This system,
dependent on a small affluent minority using a disproportionate share of the
World’s natural resources, was fast depleting the base upon which it rested:
nonrenewable resources. To expand this type of industrialization would simply
accelerate the impending debacle; instead, we must stop developing and try to
stabilize the economic system and population where they are.
These two critiques of development -- the
third World liberation perspective and the First World ecological perspective
-- soon appeared to be in considerable conflict with each other. The liberation
viewpoint stressed pulling control over the natural resources of poor countries
out from under Western power so that the developmental process could continue
under autonomous, socialist political systems. The First World ecological
viewpoint often sounded, whether consciously or not, as though it were
delivering bad news to the hopes of poor countries. Stabilizing the world as it
is seemed to suggest stabilizing its unjust relationships. The First World,
having developed advanced industry at the expense of the labor and resources of
the Third World, was now saying: "Sorry, the goodies have just run out.
There’s not enough left for you to embark on the same path." Population
alarmists sounded as though Third World populations were to be the primary
"targets" for reduction. Social justice and the ecological balance of
humanity with the environment were in conflict. If one chose ecology, it was
necessary to give up the dream of more equal distribution of goods.
2.1. Religious Responses to Environmental Crisis
In the late ‘60s there rose a spate of what
might be called theological or religious responses to the ecological crisis,
again primarily in advanced industrial countries. Two major tendencies
predominated among such writers. One trend, represented by books, such as
Theodore Roszak’s Where the Wasteland Ends, saw the ecological crisis in terms
of the entire Western Judeo-Christian reality principle. Tracing the roots of
this false reality principle to the Hebrew Bible itself, Roszak, among others,
considered the heart of the ecological crisis to be the Biblical injunction to
conquer and subdue the earth and have dominion over it. The earth and its
nonhuman inhabitants are regarded as possessions or property given to
"man" for "his" possession. "Man" exempts
"himself" (and I use the male generic advisedly) from the community
of nature, setting himself above and outside it somewhat as God
"himself" is seen as sovereign over it. Humanity is God’s agent in
this process of reducing the autonomy of nature and subjugating it to the
dominion of God and God’s representative, man.
For Roszak and others, this
conquest-and-dominion approach turned nature into a subjugated object and
denied divine presence in it. Humanity could no longer stand in rapt
contemplation before nature or enter into worshipful relations with it. A sense
of ecstatic kinship between humanity and nature was destroyed. The divinities
were driven out, and the rape of the earth began. In order to reverse the
ecological crisis, therefore, we must go back to the root error of
consciousness from which it derives. We must recover the religions of ecstatic
kinship in nature that preceded and were destroyed by biblical religion. We
must re-immerse God and humanity in nature, so that we can once again interact
with nature as our spiritual kin, rather than as an enemy to be conquered or an
object to be dominated. Only when we recover ancient animism’s I-Thou
relationship with nature, rather than the I-It relation of Western religion,
can we recover the root principle of harmony with nature that was destroyed by
biblical religion and its secular stepchildren.
This neo-animist approach to the ecological
crisis was persuasive, evoking themes of Western reaction to industrialism and
technological rationality that began at least as far back as the romanticism of
the early 19th century. But many voices quickly spoke up in defence of biblical
faith. A variety of writers took exception to romantic neo-animism as the
answer, contending that biblical faith in relation to nature had been
misunderstood. Most of the writers in this camp tended to come up with the
"stewardship" model. Biblical faith does not mandate the exploitation
of the earth, but rather commands us to be good stewards, conserving earth’s
goods for generations yet to come. In general, these writers did implicitly
concede Roszak’s point that biblical faith rejects any mystical or animist
interaction with nature. Nature must be regarded as an object, not as a
subject. It is our possession, but we must possess it in a thrifty rather than
a profligate way.
2.2. Economic Considerations and Environmental Crisis
One problem with both of these Western
religious responses to the ecological crisis; there was very little recognition
that the crisis took place within a particular economic system. The critique of
the Third World liberationists was not accorded much attention or built into
these responses; the ecological crisis was regarded primarily as a crisis
between "man" and "nature," rather than as a crisis
resulting from the way in which a particular exploitative relationship between
classes, races and nations used natural resources. The "stewardship"
approach suggested a conservationist model of ecology. We should conserve
resources, but without much acknowledgment that they had been unjustly used
within the system that was being conserved. The counter cultural approach, on
the other hand, did tend to be critical of Western industrialism, but in a
romantic, primitive way. It idealized agricultural and handicraft economies but
had little message for the victims of poverty who had already been displaced
from that world of the pre-industrial village. Thus, it has little to say to
the concerns of Third World economic justice, except to suggest that the
inroads of Western industrialism should be resisted by turning back the clock.
Is there a third approach that has been
overlooked by both the nature mystics and the puritan conservationists? Both of
these views seem to me inadequate to provide a vision of the true character of
the crisis and its solution. We cannot return to the Eden of the pre-industrial
village. However, many those societies may possess elements of wisdom, these
elements must be recovered by building a new society that also incorporates
modern technological development. The counter cultural approach never suggests
ways of grappling with and changing the existing system. Its message remains at
the level of dropping out into the pre-industrial farm -- an option that,
ironically, usually depends on having an independent income!
The stewardship approach, with its mandate of thrift
within the present system, rather than recognition of that system’s injustice,
lacks a vision of a new and different economic order. Both the romantic and the
conservationist approaches never deal with the question of eco-justice; namely,
the reordering of access to and use of natural resources within a just economy.
How can ecological harmony become part of a system of economic justice?
3.
Protecting the Environment for Future Generations
The common good calls us to extend our concern to
future generations. Climate change poses the question "What does our
generation owe to generations yet unborn?" As Pope John Paul II has
written, "there is an order in the universe which must be respected, and .
. . the human person, endowed with the capability of choosing freely, has a
grave responsibility to preserve this order for the well-being of future
generations."1
A more responsible approach to population issues is the promotion of
"authentic development," which represents a balanced view of human
progress and includes respect for nature and social well-being.2 Development policies that seek to
reduce poverty with an emphasis on improved education and social conditions for
women are far more effective than usual population reduction programs and far
more respectful of women's dignity.3
Developing countries have a right to economic
development that can help lift people out of dire poverty. Wealthier
industrialized nations have the resources, know-how, and entrepreneurship to
produce more efficient cars and cleaner industries. These countries need to
share these emerging technologies with the less-developed countries and assume
more of the financial responsibility that would enable poorer countries to
afford them. This would help developing countries adopt energy-efficient
technologies more rapidly while still sustaining healthy economic growth and
development.4 Industries from the
developed countries operating in developing nations should exercise a
leadership role in preserving the environment.
4. Misinterpretations of Scripture
To find a theology and/or spirituality of
eco-justice, I would suggest that, in fact, our best foundation lies precisely
in the Hebrew Bible -- that same biblical vision which, anachronistically, the
romantics have labeled as the problem and which the conservationists have
interpreted too narrowly and un-perceptively. Isaiah 24 offers one of the most
eloquent statements of this biblical vision that is found particularly in the
prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Puritan conservationists have too
readily accepted a 19th century theology that sets history against nature -- a
theology which is basically western European rather than biblical. The biblical
vision is far more "animistic" than they have been willing to
concede. In Scripture, nature itself operates as a powerful medium of God’s
presence or absence. Hills leap for joy and rivers clap their hands in God’s
presence or, conversely, nature grows hostile and barren as a medium of divine
wrath.
The romantics, on the other hand, have blamed
Scripture for styles of thought about nature that developed in quite different
circles. The concept of nature as evil and alien to humanity began basically in
late apocalyptic and Gnostic thought in the Christian era. The divine was
driven out of nature not to turn nature into a technological instrument, but
rather to make it the habitation of the devil; the religious "man"
should shun it and flee from it in order to save "his" soul for a
higher spiritual realm outside of and against the body and the visible, created
world. Christianity and certainly Judaism objected to this concept as a denial
of the goodness of God’s creation, though Christianity became highly infected
by this negative view of nature throughout its first few centuries, and that
influence continued to be felt until well into the 17th century.
The new naturalism and science of the 17th
century initially had the effect of restoring the vision of nature as good,
orderly and benign -- the arena of the manifestation of God’s divine reason,
rather than of the devil’s malice. But this Deist view of nature (as the
manifestation of divine reason) was soon replaced by a Cartesian worldview that
set human reason outside and above nature. It is this technological approach --
treating nature as an object to be reduced to human control -- that is the
heart of modern exploitation, but it does not properly correspond to any of the
earlier religious visions of nature. Any recovery of an appropriate religious
vision, moreover, must be one that does not merely ignore these subsequent
developments, but that allows us to review and critique where we have gone
wrong in our relationship to God’s good gift of the earth. In my opinion, it is
precisely the vision of the Hebrew prophets that provides at least the germ of
that critical and prophetic vision.
4.1. A Covenantal Vision: Eco Justice
The prophetic vision neither treats nature in
a romantic way nor reduces it to a mere object of human use. Rather, it
recognizes that human interaction which nature has made with nature itself. In
relation to humanity, nature no longer exists "naturally," for it has
become part of the human social drama, interacting with humankind as a vehicle
of historical judgment and a sign of historical hope. Humanity as a part of
creation is not outside nature but within it. But this is the case because
nature itself is part of the covenant between God and creation. By this
covenantal view, nature’s responses to human use or abuse become an ethical
sign. The erosion of the soil in areas that have been abused for their mineral
wealth, the pollution of the air where poor people live, are not just facts of
nature; what we have is an ethical judgment on the exploitation of natural
resources by the rich at the expense of the poor. It is no accident that nature
is most devastated where poor people live.
When human beings break their covenant with
society by exploiting the labor of the worker and refusing to do anything about
the social costs of production -- i.e., poisoned air and waters -- the covenant
of creation is violated. Poverty, social oppression, war and violence in
society, and the polluted, barren, hostile face of nature -- both express this
violation of the covenant. The two are profoundly linked together in the
biblical vision as parts of one covenant, so that, more and more, the disasters
of nature become less a purely natural fact and increasingly become a social
fact. The prophetic text of Isaiah 24 vividly portrays this link between social
and natural hostility in the broken order of creation: Behold the Lord will lay
waste the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter
its inhabitants . . .The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly
despoiled; . . . The earth mourns and withers, the world languishes and
withers; . . .The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have
transgressed the laws, violated the statutes. Broken the everlasting covenant.
Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their
guilt; the city of chaos is broken down, every house is shut up so that none
can enter . . .Desolation is left in the city; the gates are battered into
ruins. [Is. 24:1, 3, 4-5, 10, 12]
But this tale of desolation in society and
nature is not the end of the prophetic vision, when humanity mends its relation
to God, the result must be expressed not in contemplative flight from earth but
rather in the rectifying of the covenant of creation. The restoration of just
relations between peoples restores peace to society and, at the same time,
heals nature’s enmity. Just, peaceful societies in which people are not
exploited also create, peaceful, harmonious and beautiful natural environments.
This outcome is the striking dimension of the biblical vision. The Peaceable
Kingdom is one where nature experiences the loss of hostility between animal
and animal, and between human and animal. The wolf dwells with the lamb, the
leopard lies down with the kid, and the little child shall lead them. They
shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of the Lord. . . . (Is. 11:9).
The biblical dream grows as lush as a
fertility religion in its description of the flowering of nature in the
reconciled kingdom of God’s Shalom. The wilderness and the dry land shall be
glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom
abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. [Is. 35:1-2] "The tree,
bears its fruit, the fig trees and vine give their full yield. Rejoice in the
Lord, for he has given early rain the threshing floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil." [Joel 2:22-24] "Behold the days are coming." says
the Lord, "when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the trader of
grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the
hills shall flow with it." [Amos 9:13]
In the biblical view, the raping of nature
and the exploitation of people in society are profoundly understood as part of
one reality, creating disaster in both. We look not to the past but to a new
future, brought about by social repentance and conversion to divine
commandments, so that the covenant of creation can be rectified and God’s
Shalom brought to nature and society. Just as the fact of nature and society grows
hostile through injustice, so it will be restored to harmony through
righteousness. The biblical understanding of nature, therefore, inheres in a
human ethical vision, a vision of eco-justice, in which the enmity or harmony
of nature with humanity is part of the human historical drama of good and evil.
This is indeed the sort of ecological theology we need today, not one of either
romance or conservationism, but rather an ecological theology of ethical,
social seriousness, through which we understand our human responsibility for
ecological destruction and its deep links with the struggle to create a just
and peaceful social order.
We could make it a national policy to wean agriculture from its dependence on fossil fuels as rapidly as possible. This effort would merge with existing movements for sustainable agriculture and organic farming. We should also encourage the production of food near the places where it is consumed, reducing dependence on packaging and transportation. Systematic national programs of these sorts would lead to a steady and substantial decline in the emission of greenhouse gases and greatly increase our ability to lead the family of nations into international agreements on the environment. We need to reexamine our basic commitment to economic growth. Why are we so convinced that growth is needed? It does not contribute to general economic betterment. Most of the monetary gains go to the wealthiest 1 percent, and it is doubtful that they are any happier as a result. Why not redirect our emphasis from economic growth to economic improvement as one element in a total improvement of the human and ecological situation?
Our God has for so long been in economic
growth that such a proposal may seem heretical and unrealistic. We are called
to worship God, not wealth. God cares for the earth. Surely we should put the
long-term well being of the earth and all its inhabitants above the enrichment
of the rich. If we did so the solution to the problem of global warming would
be far easier. We could make it a national policy to wean agriculture from its
dependence on fossil fuels as rapidly as possible. This effort would merge with
existing movements for sustainable agriculture and organic farming. We should
also encourage the production of food near the places where it is consumed,
reducing dependence on packaging and transportation. Systematic national
programs of these sorts would lead to a steady and substantial decline in the
emission of greenhouse gases and greatly increase our ability to lead the family
of nations into international agreements on the environment.
We need to reexamine our basic commitment to
economic growth. Why are we so convinced that growth is needed? It does not
contribute to general economic betterment. Most of the monetary gains go to the
wealthiest 1 percent, and it is doubtful that they are any happier as a result.
Why not redirect our emphasis from economic growth to economic improvement as
one element in a total improvement of the human and ecological situation? Our god has for so long been economic growth
that such a proposal may seem heretical and unrealistic. Christians, however,
are called to worship God, not wealth. God cares for the earth. Surely we
should put the long-term well being of the earth and all its inhabitants above
the enrichment of the rich. If we did so the solution to the problem of global
warming would be far easier.
5. Splendor of Creation: Biblical Vision
In Genesis, God
said, "till it and keep it", (Gen 2:15) this should be understood not
as dominion over the whole world, but as the ‘stewardship’ of human beings over
the creatures. We must have a relationship of mutuality with other creatures
and we must empathies and participate with, delight in, and accompany the
creatures to bring about a communion of all sections of creation whose head is
God himself.13 Genesis teaches us that the Lord God formed us "out of the
dust of the ground" (Gen 2:7; 3:19). Psalm 139 thanks God for fashioning
us fearfully and wonderfully "in secret", "in the depths of the earth".
The Psalms delight at and are full of awe over the mystery of our intimacy with
the earth, our intimacy with "fire and hail, snow and mist",
"mountains and all hills", "sea monsters and all depths"
(Ps 148). Psalm 104, one of the most lyrical praises, sings the glory of God
"robed in light as with a cloak", who "spread out the heavens
like a tent cloth" and "made the moon to mark the seasons".
5.1
Creation: Story of Ecological Balance
When we read the
Bible we understand that the entire story of creation of the world is so
intrinsically connected with the story of ecological balance from within. At
His command the earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every
kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it and the waters
bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds fly above the earth and the
great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with
which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. …Then God said,
“Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over
the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping
things that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image in the image of God he created
them; male
and female he created them. God blessed
them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and
subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the
air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Gen 1:1- 1:28) The
covenant with Noah is indicative of God’s concern for all living creatures
along with human beings. Strange but true! (Gen 8:18–9:17)
Seasons of the year and productivity of the
land are intrinsically connected with God. You shall keep my Sabbaths and
reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. If you follow my statutes and keep my
commandments and observe them faithfully, I will give you your rains in their
season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall
yield their fruit (Lev 26:2–4). But if you will not obey me, and do not observe
all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and abhor my ordinances, so
that you will not observe all my commandments, and you break my covenant, I in
turn will do this to you: I will bring terror on you; consumption and fever
that waste the eyes and cause life to pine away. You shall sow your seed in
vain, for your enemies shall eat it (Lev 26:14–16). Human beings conduct has
direct connection with nature’s blessings. “I will break your proud glory, and
I will make your sky like iron and your earth like copper. Your strength shall
be spent to no purpose: your land shall not yield its produce, and the trees of
the land shall not yield their fruit” (Lev 26:19–20). Sensitivity to animals in
trouble is appreciated and acknowledged in the Bible. “You shall not watch your
neighbor’s ox or sheep straying away and ignore them; you shall take them back to
their owner. If the owner does not reside near you or you do not know who the
owner is, you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you
until the owner claims it; then you shall return it. You shall do the same with
a neighbor’s donkey; you shall do the same with a neighbor’s garment; and you
shall do the same with anything else that your neighbor loses and you find. You
may not withhold your help.” (Deut 22:1–4) Again we read: “If you come on a
bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, with the
mother sitting on the fledglings or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother
with the young. Let the mother go, taking only the young for yourself, in order
that it may go well with you and you may live long.” (Deut 22:6–7)
The Bible shows
nature’s link with God who created it, blessed it, and shows himself through
it. He appears in fire, in wind, and in water. God also uses nature to bring
humans closer to him and to punish them when they go astray. Everything in the
world, therefore, remains sacred since it is linked with God and leads to him.
Various texts in the Psalms (Ps 19:1-7; 98:7-9; 104:1-5, 13-25; 148:3-13) show
that all things on earth are seen as God’s handiwork, which bring him honor and
praise by their very existence. However, there is also the perception that
creatures can really praise God only through human beings.
The prophet Daniel in a canticle calls on all
the "works of the Lord" to bless him: "Let the earth bless the
Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Mountains and hills, bless the
Lord, everything growing from the earth bless the Lord" (Dan 3:74-76). The
last chapters of the Book of Job call upon the animals, nature, birds, etc.,
and praise God for their presence. Chapter 12 urges humans to learn humbly from
the earth: “But ask the animals, and they
will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of
the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of sea will declare to
you. (Job 12:7–8). The Bible is concerned with salvation or life-giving blessings not only
in the afterlife but also within this world and within present history,
individual and collective. It envisions a new world and a new history. Its
salvific concern embraces nature, that is, the earth, air, trees, seas and
birds.
5.2 Jesus, an Ecologist
The cosmos is God’s
‘womb’, as it were. The intimate relationship between God and the cosmos
explodes with seminal energy that generates and regenerates life. God, as it
were, energizes the cosmos and the cosmos in return dances with the creator. In
Jesus’ teaching, one can see his ecological concern in his language. He used
ordinary creatures such as birds, lilies, grass, etc., to help to put his
message of concern for the world across. He also shared his experience of a
loving God dynamically present in the world. He is encouraging his listeners to
have eyes that see and ears that hear the movement of God in the world. Jesus
was passing on to his listeners what he had discovered about God’s reign in the
natural things around him.
The miracles of
Jesus (thirty seven of them in the Synoptic Gospels and seven in John) form a
major section of the Gospels and reveal Jesus’ concern for the world as such.
Through the miracles Jesus destroys the "domination" of Satan over
the created realities and establishes the "dominion" of God, which is
liberating. In this sense all the miracles have ecological resonance. The
nature miracles (Mk 4:35-41; 6:45-62, etc.) invite us to trust in the absolute
power of God in the midst of ecological disasters. The feeding miracles (Mk
6:30-44; 8:1-10) tell us about the abundant resources of nature, which provide
us with food and drink, and which need to be evenly distributed according to
the needs of the people. The miracles of exorcism (Mk 5:2-20; Lk 4:35-41, etc.)
reveal that cosmic ecological harmony is on the agenda of God who directs the
forces of ecocide. The healing miracles (Mk 5:25-34, etc.) call us to be God’s
stewards in the restoration of the disfigured images of God in creation,
especially, human beings. The resuscitation miracles (Mk 5:21-21, 35-43, etc.)
challenge us not to be silent spectators of the world-wide ecological holocaust
that is taking place, but to be active agents in the creation of "a new
heaven and a new earth" (Rev 21:1-4).
A serious reflection on
the life-events of Jesus Christ, his teaching and his miracles from an
ecological point of view is very inspiring. Today, if one reads the Gospel from
an ecological perspective one can see Jesus of the Gospel as an ‘Ecologist.’
6.
Estrangement of Humans from Nature
In the Bible's account of Noah,
the world's new beginning was marked by the estrangement of humans from nature.
Hosea, for example, cries out: There is
no fidelity, no mercy and no knowledge of God in the land. False swearing,
lying, murder, stealing and adultery! In their lawlessness, bloodshed follows
bloodshed. Therefore, the land mourns, and everything that dwells in it
languishes: The beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and even the fish of
the sea perish (Hos 4:1b-3).
The idea of social justice is inextricably
linked in the Scriptures with ecology. In passage after passage, environmental
degradation and social injustice go hand in hand. Indeed, the first instance of
"pollution" in the Bible occurs when Cain slays Abel and his blood
falls on the ground, rendering it fallow. According to Genesis, after the
murder, when Cain asks, "Am I my brother's keeper?" the Lord replies,
"Your brother's blood calls out to me from the ground. What have you
done?" God then tells Cain that his brother's blood has defiled the ground
and that as a result, "no longer will it yield crops for you, even if you
toil on it forever!"
In today's world, the links between social
injustice and environmental degradation can be seen everywhere: the placement
of toxic waste dumps in poor neighborhoods, the devastation of indigenous
peoples and the extinction of their cultures when the rain forests are
destroyed, disproportionate levels of lead and toxic air pollution in
inner-city ghettos, the corruption of many government officials by people who
seek to profit from the unsustainable exploitation of resources.
In the biblical vision, therefore, injustice
results in suffering for all creation.
To curb the abuse of the land and of fellow humans, ancient Israel set out legal protections aimed at restoring the original balance between land and people (see Lev 25). Every seventh year, the land and people were to rest; nature would be restored by human restraint. And every seventh day, the Sabbath rest gave relief from unremitting toil to workers and beasts alike. It invited the whole community to taste the goodness of God in creation. In worship, moreover, the Sabbath continues to remind us of our dependence on God as his creatures, and so of our kinship with all that God has made. But people did not honor the law. A few went on accumulating land, many were dispossessed, and the land itself became exhausted. God then sent his prophets to call the people back to their responsibility. Again the people hardened their hearts; they had compassion for neither the land nor its people. The prophets promised judgment for the evil done the people of the land, but they also foresaw a day of restoration, when the harmony between humanity and the natural world would be renewed (see Is 32:15b-20). Saints like Benedict, Hildegard, and Francis showed us, that we form a community with all creation.
To curb the abuse of the land and of fellow humans, ancient Israel set out legal protections aimed at restoring the original balance between land and people (see Lev 25). Every seventh year, the land and people were to rest; nature would be restored by human restraint. And every seventh day, the Sabbath rest gave relief from unremitting toil to workers and beasts alike. It invited the whole community to taste the goodness of God in creation. In worship, moreover, the Sabbath continues to remind us of our dependence on God as his creatures, and so of our kinship with all that God has made. But people did not honor the law. A few went on accumulating land, many were dispossessed, and the land itself became exhausted. God then sent his prophets to call the people back to their responsibility. Again the people hardened their hearts; they had compassion for neither the land nor its people. The prophets promised judgment for the evil done the people of the land, but they also foresaw a day of restoration, when the harmony between humanity and the natural world would be renewed (see Is 32:15b-20). Saints like Benedict, Hildegard, and Francis showed us, that we form a community with all creation.
7. Conclusion:
Respect the Dynamic Balance in Nature
Theology, philosophy and science all speak of a harmonious
universe, of a "cosmos" endowed with its own integrity, its own
internal, dynamic balance. This order must be respected. The human race is
called to explore this order, to examine it with due care and to make use of it
while safeguarding its integrity. On the other hand, the earth is ultimately a
common heritage, the fruits of which are for the benefit of. In the words of
the Second Vatican Council, "God destined the earth and all it contains
for the use of every individual and all peoples" (Gaudium et Spes, 69).
This has direct consequences for the problem at hand. It is manifestly unjust
that a privileged few should continue to accumulate excess goods, squandering
available resources, while masses of people are living in conditions of misery
at the very lowest level of subsistence. Today, the dramatic threat of
ecological breakdown is teaching us the extent to which greed and selfishness
-- both individual and collective -- are contrary to the order of creation, an
order that is characterized by mutual interdependence. Our ancestors viewed the
earth as rich and bountiful, which it is.
Many people in the past also saw nature as inexhaustibly sustainable,
which we now know is the case only if we care for it. It is not difficult to forgive destruction in
the past that resulted from ignorance.
Today, however, we have access to more information. It is essential that we reexamine ethically
what we have inherited, what we are responsible for, and what we will pass on
to coming generations.
Clearly this is a pivotal generation. Global communication is possible, yet
confrontations take place more often than meaningful dialogues for peace. Our marvels of science and technology are
matched, if not outweighed, by many current tragedies, including human
starvation in some parts of the world and extinction of other life forms. Exploration of outer space takes place at the
same time the earth’s own ocean, seas and freshwater areas grow increasingly
polluted, and their life forms are still largely unknown or misunderstood.
Many of the
earth's habitats, animals, plants, insects, and even microorganisms that we
know as rare may not be known at all by future generations. We have the
capability and the responsibility. We must act before it is too late. The concepts of an ordered universe and a
common heritage both point to the necessity of a more internationally
coordinated approach to the management of the earth. In many cases the effects
of ecological problems transcend the borders of individual States; hence their
solution cannot be found solely on the national level. Recently there have been
some promising steps towards such international action, yet the existing
mechanisms and bodies are clearly not adequate for the development of a
comprehensive plan of action. Political obstacles, forms of exaggerated
nationalism and economic interests -- to mention only a few factors – impede
international cooperation and long-term effective action. Hence we need to take
pro-active steps at the personal, national and international level to keep up
the dynamic balance in nature
Bibliography
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Ecological Stewardship: The Biblical Perspective
Rev. Dr. Davis
George
Abstract
The effects of
ecological degradation surround us: the smog in our cities; chemicals in our
water and on our food; eroded topsoil blowing in the wind; the loss of valuable
wetlands; radioactive and toxic waste lacking adequate disposal sites; threats
to the health of industrial and farm workers. The problems, however, reach far
beyond our own neighborhoods and work places. Our problems are the world's
problems and burdens for generations to come. Poisoned water crosses borders
freely. Acid rain pours on countries that do not create it. Greenhouse gases
and chlorofluorocarbons have affected the earth's atmosphere for many decades,
regardless of where they are produced or used.
The
ecological crisis, at its core, is a moral challenge. It calls us to examine
how we use and share the goods of the earth, what we pass on to future
generations, and how we live in harmony with God's creation. Caught in a spiral
of poverty and environmental degradation, poor people suffer acutely from the
loss of soil fertility, pollution of rivers and urban streets, and the
destruction of forest resources. Overcrowding and unequal land distribution
often force them to overwork the soil, clear the forests, or migrate to
marginal land. Their efforts to eke out a bare existence adds in its own way to
environmental degradation and not infrequently to disaster for themselves and
others who are equally poor. Sustainable economic policies that reduce current
stresses on natural systems and are consistent with sound environmental policy
in the long term, must be put into effect. At the same time, the world economy
must come to include hundreds of millions of poor families who live at the edge
of survival. In the face of these challenges, a new spirit of responsibility
for the earth has begun to grow.
We have
become more aware that we share the earth with other creatures. But humans,
made in the image and likeness of God, are called in a special way to
"cultivate and care for it" (Gen 2:15). Thus the Creator of this
Universe made human beings stewards of his creation. Men and women, therefore,
bear a unique responsibility under God: to safeguard the created world and by
their creative labor even to enhance it. Safeguarding creation requires us to
live responsibly within it, rather than manage creation as though we are
outside it. The human family is charged with preserving the beauty, diversity,
and integrity of nature, as well as with fostering its productivity. Yet, God
alone is sovereign over the whole earth. "The LORD'S are the earth and its
fullness; the world and those who dwell in it" (Ps 24:1).
We are
not free, therefore, to use created things capriciously. Gandhi once remarked,
“in the world, there is enough for man’s need, but not enough for man’s greed.”
Humanity's arrogance and acquisitiveness, however, led time and again to our
growing alienation from nature (see Gen 3–4, 6–9, 11ff) The whole human race
suffers as a result of environmental blight, and generations yet unborn will bear
the cost for our failure to act today. In the proposed paper, we shall explore
the ecological stewardship from the Biblical perspective and encourage the
present and future generations to take concrete steps to prevent environmental
crisis and replenish this world so that the heavens may continue to proclaim
the glory of God and the earth may continue to sustain life.
_______________________________________________________________________
Rev. Dr. Davis George, Principal, St. Aloysius’ College, Jabalpur-482 001.
E-mail: davisgeorge@rediffmail.com
1 John Paul II, "The
Exploitation of the Environment Threatens the Entire Human Race," address
to the Vatican symposium on the environment (1990), in Ecology and Faith:
The Writings of Pope John Paul II, ed. Sr. Ancilla Dent, OSB (Berkhamsted,
England: Arthur James, 1997), 12.
2 John
Paul II, On Social Concern, ch. four. This chapter of the encyclical
gives a more complete definition of the concept of authentic development.
3 Second
Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World
(Gaudium et Spes), nos. 50-51, in Austin Flannery, ed., Vatican Council
II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, new rev. ed., 1st vol.
(Northport, N.Y.: Costello Publishing, 1996).
4 See
also treatment of this topic in Stewardship: A Disciple's Response
(Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1993), 27.
