Our Ecological Crisis

Every time I see things like this, I am filled with wonder and awe.

And then I'm reminded of our current ecological crisis, and that makes me sad. Parallel to the question of how we've arrived at this place in creation's history is the question of what can be done. Behavior must change. Thinking must change. Society's values must change. And unfortunately nature is something too often relegated to the realm of facelessness. It reminds me of people who have strong opinions against groups of people from which they are completely disconnected -- strong positions against faceless communities.

When I'm hiking or driving through breathtaking scenery, nature is anything but faceless. And its voice makes me reflect on a theological premise which has somehow grown into something I believe it was never meant to be. God's command to "fill the earth and subdue it" has somehow carved a path and dare I say justification for exploitation rather than preservation and responsibility. Context, context, con-freakin'-text! The command to "subdue" was in the context of a gardener not a predator. Preservation, respect, stewardship are the context of that command and not domination to exploit and abuse.

This morning I was reading a segment on the various types of "knowing" particularly in relation to our role in the current ecological crisis. I thought it was profound:

If science sets its sights on the acquisition of power, then scientific
knowledge is dominating knowledge. We know something to the extent
in which we can dominate it. We understand something if we can 'grasp'
it...

But belief in creation only arrives at the understanding of creation when
it recollects the alternative forms of meditative knowledge. 'We know to
the extent to which we love,' said Augustine. Through this form of
astonished, wondering and loving knowledge, we do not appropriate things.
We recognize their independence and participate in their life. We do not
wish to know so that we can dominate. We desire to know in order to
participate. This kind of knowledge confers community, and can be termed
communicative knowledge, as compared with dominating knowledge. It lets life be life and cherishes its livingness. -- Jurgen Moltmann, God in
Creation

I find this true in my knowing of nature and of others. To the extent I love

I'm more willing to know, to discover, to listen, and to take responsibility.