All things hang together



All things hang together.  This is the greatest lesson of ecology.  Interconnection -- the reality or impact of one thing impacts others in an almost innumerable way -- is the truth of the world.  Here in the mid-west we have been "blessed," if I may be so sarcastic, with a very mild and dry winter.  Most people have lauded the failed predictions of the meteorologists, for they were calling for a particularly harsh and snowy winter; instead, we have had pleasant, mild temperatures and suprisingly little precipitation.  For many this is a great thing.  Is it?

So here is the hitch.....the bad news, if you will:

The lack of precipitation is bad for agriculture, and the mild weather will ensure that we are going to have large amounts of insects buzzing about all summer.  Now if we add the possibility of extreme heat this all will make for difficult farming, gardening, and outdoor recreation.  Beware people, you have been forewarned. 

Oh yeah, and enough of the "if this is global warming, then great" comments.  Things hang together people, therefore it is impossible not to drastically alter one thing without doing so elsewhere.  Note Bene: if you do not like buggy summers, then maybe you should not mind cold winters.  All I can say on the plus side is maybe our summer will produce good conditions for fly fishing!

Dominion, the Land, and Ecological Critique: Ellen Davis Setting Some Things Straight

It is quite chic, in certain strands of ecological writing, to blame Christianity (or rather Judeo-Christian texts and it subsequent social imagination) for the contemporary ecological crisis.  Famously, the essay that kicked off the whole "Christianity against Ecology" fad was called "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis," written and published in the 1966 edition of the journal Science.  The author was Lynn White.  Though widely cited, White's understanding of Christian history/tradition is a bit hollow, although he does deserve praise for identifying the Orthodox tradition as a rich resource for Christian reflection upon "nature," "environment," or whatever banal and dangerous ideologically driven name one chooses to discuss the world. 

What is certain is that the logic of this article has been ubiquitously used in ecological writing ever since.  En masse, if one permits such a general categorization, those who indict Chrstianity for our ecological woes, ala White, begin with some stripped down understanding of the Genesis mandate for humans to subdue and have dominion over the non-human world.  While the understanding is stripped down, an edifice of modern ecological ideology is constructed on these small and scantly used Biblical words.  Now, there have been many Biblical scholars, linguists, theologians etc. who have come to the fore with a response to such Biblical/Historical tom-foolery, but it seems the message has not been heard. 

So I offer this to you, dear reader, from Ellen F. Davis.  She is an OT scholar at Duke Divinity School and this little passage comes from her recent book Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible.  If this does not put our little linguistic problem about "dominion" to rest, then it should cause us to cease riding around like some secularist Paul Revere shouting "the ecologists are coming...and they are going to deal with Christianity..."  (lame I know, I just can not think of another silly cartoonish heralding).  Here it goes:

"....The ecologists have run into a paradox worthy of theological investigation: The extent of our interference obligates humans to excercise what they call "active management" -- in the language of this biblical poem, "mastery among" the creatures.  This translation is in several respects preferable to the standard "excercise dominion over...."  The Hebrew preposition can mean "among," and the verbal phrase as a whole may denote rule that is characterized by firmness rather than harshness (see Ps. 72:8).  Koehler and Baumgartner observe concerning r-d-h that "the basic meaning of the verb is not to rule; the word actually denotes the travelling around of the shepherd with his flock."  Thus the language of Genesis 1 acknowledges the unique power of Homo Sapiens, yet whithout separating us from the other creatures."  p. 55

She goes on to cite Middleton to develop the point that the earth requires for its ability to flourish a "communal excercise of power." 

If you are interested in deep, technical readings of the Bible that show how "creation" (nature, ecology, etc) centered the message is, then read Ellen F. Davis, Margaret Barker, Richard Bauckham, Theodore Hiebert, and Robert Murray....what you read won't be the same shallow exegesis put forward by White and his followers. 

Happy reading, and I hope you can practice faithful dominion in your life.

Dawkins and Williams: A Debate, or Rather a Discussion

The reports of the debate by atheist Richard Dawkins and Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, are long into the "viral" stage.  You can read a brief description of the Oxford University debate that took place yesterday here. 

I doubt anything new was discovered or achieved at the event.  What interests me is how charitable Dawkins was to Williams.  Williams, famously, is of the gentle and mild-mannered sort; Dawkins, on the other hand, is much more polemical in his speech and writing.  In fact he is a scientific-materialist-positivist which makes it impossible for him to comprehend philosophical or theological language; metaphysics for him is bound by the material (though the idea itself is non-material...oops).  Please do not take this as an ad hominem, it simply is the case and the reason why our languages fail to reach each other's ears.  I can sing the praises for Williams though, he is able and ready to engage scientific language...as for the Church, now that is a different story.  In short, our congregations fail to engage these important issues.  As much as Dawkins deserves fault for not understanding theo/philo/etc. the church is at fault for ignoring science!

Back to my main point: this debate represents something better than the engagement of the past-
Check out this clip from a Dawkins documentary where he interviews Williams:

 I am not saying that Dawkins is totally rude to Williams, but he seldom lets Williams finish a thought nor does he seem to comprehend what Williams is saying due to, perhaps, intellectual impatience.  In the narrative voice-overs and in other places in the documentary, Dawkins is very successful at setting up straw-man arguments...I am glad that the Oxford event was a polite event on both sides, but I'd love to see a real dialogue between these two men.  Ongoing and open discussion would be a fruitful affair, I think.

I've even heard that Conor Cunningham finally agreed to his BBC documentary "Did Darwin Kill God" only because of watching the above interview; he thought that Williams was neither heard nor allowed enough time to actually answer questions. I have also been told that Dawkins turned down the opportunity to be interviewed for the Cunningham video, but you can still see Cunningham engage Dawkins thought within his own documentary:

In addition to this documentary, Cunningham has published a very important book on the subject called "Darwin's Pious Idea: Why the Ultra-Darwinists and Creationists both get it Wrong."  You can also read my interview with Conor on this blog in the series called "Contemporary Thinkers You Should Read.  The interview and documentary present a helpful introduction to his large and important book. 

I think I am digressing....the point that I want to high-light today is that yesterday's debate was not so much a debate as it was a conversation.  For this, I am thankful.  How can we ever get anywhere if we do not actually speak to one another.  Too often, public discourse, is defined by stone throwing and talking points.  We seem to be too prideful to listen or to scared to change our minds.  This is not only a problem for Dawkins or atheists (agnostic actually, he clarified during the course of the debate), but it is a problem for Christians, theologians (Though Williams is quite good at listening), philosophers, politicians etc.  Ah, but now I am on a soap box.  Bottom Line: the debate represents something far more developed than the documentary interview!  And while Cunningham's work is often polemical and filled with humor....it does actually engage, well....everybody!  That is a good thing, to be sure.

IDK....just enjoy the links!

Lent: ideas for Easter preparation

In a funny advertisement for a college chapel series, my friend Dr. Isaac Gaff wrote "Come and experience the ancient church's original 40 days of purpose."  Too funny, too true. Lent can be a great season of intentionality, if one is able to get past mechanical practices and traditionalism (note the ism)! 

Last year, I was inspired by a Amy Laura Hall's guest post on J. Kameron Carter's blog concerning Lent and her pastoral concerns over the self-image of women.  In the post, she acknowledged that Lent has historically been about self-denial, asceticism through fasting, and most often the denial has to do with one's diet.  She, however, aware of the cultural images so violently thrusted upon women suggested not self-denial but a kind of indulgence.  In a brilliant pastoral move, she challenged that some should eat chocolate for Lent.  It opened my eyes to the fact that in some cases/contexts self-denial in anticipation for Easter may be detrimental to one's spiritual health. 

Though my eyes are opened to more creative approaches to Lent, I still think there are many cases in which self-denial would be impactful for those of us living in an age of negligent consumerism, ecological decay, and unjust economic forces.  Below is a broad list of suggestions for Lent.  I hope these will inspire you to think contextually and faithfully as you anticipate Easter this year!

Lent with an eye toward caring for Creation:
- Commit to composting everything you can.
- Commit to recycling.
- Ride the bus.
- Eat only grass fed beef or other free range meat.
- Don't eat meat at all.
- Buy from a local farmer.

Lent with an eye toward economic justice:
- Inspect one item a week that you purchase regularly.  Find out where it is made, who makes it, the conditions in which it was made etc.  It is hard to know about our products, but we can be intentional and discover the truths bit by bit if we care enough.
- Shop locally.

Lent with an eye toward fasting:
- Give up alcohol.
- Give up eating out.
*** If you have an image problem or eating disorder, follow Dr. Hall's advice - eat chocolate!  Friends, we must love ourselves for God does.
- Turn off the television.  Read the Sermon on the Mount or spiritual classics until Easter.

Lent with an eye toward pride:
- Commit to stop saying "I Know" in response to people in conversations.
- Practice not interrupting people when talking to them.
- Pray, daily, for someone you do not like.
- Commit to no complaints about your own life.
- Attempt to not offer your opinions without being asked.

There are so many things you could do in light of the world that we live in.  If you commit to anyone of these or anything else and find yourself failing....begin new, start over.  God is gracious, right?

As these commitments get challenging or even when you succeed, let them be reminders of God's unfathomable grace represented by Christ's passion and resurrection.  Allow them to turn your thoughts into prayers of joy and thanksgiving. 

Grace and Peace.