OK so I know he isn't a theologian, more of a cultural historian and self-proclaimmed geologian, but I am more theologically oriented so that is where I engage with Berry. I've run into Berry over the last few years via Heather Eaton, an ecofeminist theologian at St. Paul University. Berry is a brilliant observer of our culture and I believe has profound insights into how humanity has arrived at this point in history. I should be clear that I share Berry's concerns that at this point in history we face a crisis that will end our era in a geological sense, and that this is due to the way we, as a human species, have lived on this planet we call Earth.
Berry minces no words when dealing with the arrogance of humanity. That we could extract to exhaustion from our homes is something akin to the fowling of our own nests - something other species wisely avoid doing. But rather than harp on how we, as a species, have destroyed our home and future. He begins to paint a picture, using symbolically charged language, of a way forward. I don't find him a pessimist even though I would say he is a realist.
Now how Berry does this is where the trouble resides. Christians tend to be very suspicious of anything that challenges their worldviews, especially cosmology into which the Christian project has invested so much of its energies. So to entertain notions that challenge the assumptions of these worldviews, such as a Teilhardian evolutionary framework (which Berry build on), is taboo. Heather was sharing how she quoted Berry in a report she did for some Roman Catholic board and was called a heretic for doing so. Yikes. But like NT Wright says, "Christians shouldn't be afraid of the truth", wherever truth is found.
I'm posting on this because I've decided to engage with a number of other students over the course of this semester for some extra studies. We are going to look at the works of Thomas Berry. We are going to try to swim in his waters to get what he is saying. Should be fun.
6 comments:
Hi, Frank!
Miss your thoughtful posts over at the CGG. You must be very busy this year! (Of course, there has been much posting to be thoughtful about there....)
Anyway, I recall that one of the mottoes (from the mid-1980's anyway) of CCM Magazine was that "all truth comes from God, no matter who speaks it." It was their way of telling readers why they would review "secular" albums from "secular" artists alongside "Christian" ones. Sometimes it was very controversial. But I appreciated the stand, and it is one I still take today.
Insofar as how humanity seems to be "fowling our own nests," well, I heard an excellent sermon a few years back that in all of God's creation, everything functions exactly as God designed it to function, with one exception. As a result of sin, humanity has become decidedly in-human.
Hey Hank! Great to hear from you. Yeah, I've been quite busy, but I have been browsing the stuff over at the Guild. I'm sure one of the annual hotbutton topics will eventually appear. ;-)
The biggest problem with facing the ecological crisis is that it implicates almost everything we hold dear in society. It is so massively overwhelming in nature we can only cope by pretending it doesn't exist. I find some of the responses to issues of ecological concern so interesting, it is almost like a panic sets in for some folks and I can't help but wonder if that isn't the grace of God releasing twinges of conviction. Sin is indeed a way to name to root of this problem, especially when we understand sin as a rebellion towards God's intent and a rejection of God's heart. Indeed humanity only becomes human when it returns to the designs of the one who defined humanity from the beginning. So indeed it is an astute observation.
i've never read any of berry's works, but since you talk about him so much, i'm going to have to pick something up. which, of all his works, would you suggest as the best entry into his writings? by the way, your readers might be interested in knowing that i have a cartoon caption contest happening. thanks!
The Dream of the Earth is a great place to start. There he simply unpacks a vision for a new cosmology (Deep Time). Would love to hear your thoughts. I think I get Berry, but I do struggle with how I can make other Conservative Evangelicals get him. Knowing a bit about your interests I think you would really enjoy Berry.
Going back to the "inhumanity" of man, i.e., the complete failure of mankind to live up to the intent of the Creator (fallen short), it is interesting that God's intent was for us to be "in His image." He established man as the "caretaker" of Creation (i.e., similar in concept to the ideal of the Middle Eastern shepherd), and in the Law given to Moses there is a strong ecological/environmental thrust, placing responsibility for the care of the land in God's people's hands.
Sadly, though we have taken the command to "have dominion" in the sense that it is ours to exploit, rather than God's, entrusted to us to protect and nourish.
This is fascinating stuff that the Church is only now beginning, in fits and starts to grapple with.
I read a great paper contrasting the dominion images with the farmer images in Genesis last semester. Both images are there, but they need to be balanced to work. IIRC the domination stuff comes out of the priestly tradition, but it has been a while. If I can find it I'll post a reference to the article.
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