This assertion is a violation of God’s plan. God sees all creation and humanity as one reality, manifesting and celebrating God’s presence in all of reality, both humankind and all of creation. There needs to be harmony not domination between the human venture and nature. The statement in question suggests a separation that sees nature as primarily a resource for the profit and support of our economic wellbeing.
De facto, the separation is the foundation of our modern economy. The growing pattern of climate change and its escalating destructive forces flow from this gross distortion of God’s plan for harmony and unity. One of countless examples is the stripping of the forests in the Amazon. This is profitable for a few but affects the breathing of everyone in the world. This separation generates the patterns of production and consumption that are the underpinning of the way we live and the way we are destroying God’s gift of creation.
Placing humanity over and above nature, fosters a sense of domination over all the elements of creation. In this approach to God’s creation, all of nature has one main purpose: to be used to create a comfortable and profitable life for the beneficiaries of the human economy.
This mindset drives an outlook that has made our air a threat to human life as does the continuing destruction of the land and seas along with the constant elimination of species of animals. The stripping of forests and purging of wetlands and making our sources of water an ever-expanding garbage dump, along with the prime culprit, air pollution, are all destroying our environment.
We have slowly become aware of the danger. The most central element of the crisis is this. It does not depend on our awareness but on reality. It does not matter if propaganda encourages us to deny the problem. The only thing that matters is what we do. Finally, after a long period of denial, we are making some changes. These changes always seem to involve a minimum of personal sacrifice. If we have sun panels on our roof or windfarms in the countryside, it is all to the good. It is a win-win situation. We attack the problem, but there is no personal cost. This is the same with the growing market for electric cars. Most changes in our production system have been at negligible cost to individuals. We have made efforts to reduce energy in household products and other everyday items. These patterns will continue to grow as long as the price tag to the individual is insignificant.
If the present pattern continues, the consequences of the inevitable doomsday conclusions will be at our doorstep, if not through the front door, before we face the reality that we have to change. Our lifestyle of excessive consumption and its consequent waste is a dominant driving force of the environmental crisis. Pope Francis in his encyclical on this crisis, Laudato Si, has joined his voice to a chorus of wisdom spokespersons around the world. The message is clear. The game-changer is to modify our lifestyle to be more responsible and respectful of the gift of God’s creation.
Right now, comfort and convenience are the coin of the domain. It seems likely the destructive consequences of the crisis will prevail until personal sacrifice becomes the norm. We are not going to legislate our way out of the crisis. Nor does technology have a magical exit for us. We will have to live our way into a compatible union with God’s plan for God’s creation.
I find it helpful to contrast the present universal danger with the circumstances of World War II when I was a child. I was six years old when Pearl Harbor triggered our national involvement. Almost immediately, there was a call for personal sacrifice on the part of everybody. There was a draft for the young men to be called into the service. There was rationing of food and gas along with a de facto shortage of most other items, especially clothes. People were encouraged to start “Victory Gardens” to supplement the food supply.
I remember one effort, in particular. Every two or three months, there was a neighborhood rally. After patriotic speeches and music, most of the participants, both children and adults, went out into the neighborhood, even door to door, to collect any form of scrap iron and rubber to support the war effort.
I point out this World War II experience to contrast it to the present day situation. Today, it is political suicide to suggest any personal sacrifice. Yet, we are in a much more dangerous situation. The very existence of human life is in peril. Covid-19, with its mask and vaccine controversies as a distraction, is truly a minor issue if we are going to be open and honest about the depth of the environmental crisis. Yet, the majority stand rigid in opposition to personal sacrifice and change.
This is why Laudato Si is so emphatic in asking us to recognize that at its root, the crisis is a spiritual problem. We need a spirituality that will help free us from enslavement to a devastating consumer lifestyle. This will lead to a more intelligent, committed openness to face the threatening reality in front of us.
The issue is sin. It is sin to fail to recognize God’s dominion. It is the sin of blasphemy that treats God’s creation as if it were only a tool to satisfy human greed. It is sin that generates the most fundamental disrespect and neglect of human life. All of these are straight-out denial of God’s plan for all humankind and God’s creation. Nature is there for the glory of God not for our convenience. The fundamental sin is placing ourselves at the center with God as our servant.
We indeed need a spirituality that frees us to see with both the eyes of the heart and the eyes of the mind. We need a spirituality that encourages us to create the virtues to let us live responsibly with what we need, not with the desires coming from a multibillion dollar advertising industry that engulfs our daily life with falsehoods. These are the first steps in a journey to help all of humankind live a productive, healthy and responsible life that respects and nourishes God’s gift of creation.
The following blogs in this series will offer an outline of this ecological spirituality.
