A priest recently told me that caring for the Environment belongs to God’s plan and our human efforts are ideology, not the message of Jesus. I paused in shock. In my mind thinking the message of Jesus is excellent Ideology for the environment. The roots of my argument begins with Adam and Eve. God commanded the man, ” eat freely of everything but not the tree of knowledge for in that day you shall die”.
God gave them dominion over all in the Garden of Eden. They were driven out of paradise for their greed and willfulness. Is the garden we live in now, outside of paradise our own responsibility? Is environmental ideology and care for creation our moral obligation and in our best interest? God gave us everything outside of the garden of Eden to toil in by the sweat of our brow.
Everything is an Ideology.
My perspectives on the message of Jesus are broad and always changing. This declaration by the man of the cloth and one who stands in the place of Christ made me furious. However, I can forgive the man and try to learn from the idea. I like mystery and debate. The status quo, traditional interpretations, dogmas, or theological doctrines have one thing in common; preservation of an idea or belief. They are all best used for reference and guidance, but not for TRUTH.
Those who walked in the desert on a starry night 2,000 years ago did not know they were on a planet hurling through space. Theologians had no more freedom in the mind than we do today. Their minds used experience to arrive at mystical conclusions about truth. My truth is, I want to care for the planet in any way I can for myself and for future generations. Jesus Christ did not specifically address the environment because it was not an issue in His time. Environmental ideology is a spiritual response to a growing spiritual crisis today. The Catholic church must declare a spiritual truth about our possible environmental destruction.
One message of Jesus said, we will Move Mountains.
Well, he got that right. We move them to mine Gold and ruin the rivers. Fresh water glacial mountains melt into the sea because toxic levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas are rising. Highways cut through mountain as place gas pipelines, upsetting the animal migration routes. We cut down mountains of harvested wood, create mountains of plastic waste, and manufactured electronic waste that cover hillsides. What mountains was Jesus referring to when he said we will move mountains? Do we expect God will intervene and correct the mess we made?
If you do not believe we have a problem, then you are not paying attention.
There are fewer insects in my yard every year. The human waste and devastation is everywhere. Who is going to stop us from this behavior and who is going to clean up the mess. The USA military budget was 725 trillion dollars in 2021. What are we doing and why is this sort of ideology not fit for theological discussions and debates? Why is the message of Jesus and the creator God not in the picture? We do not recognize we are ruining his Garden and missed the meaning of
If you do not believe we have a problem, then you are not paying attention. There are fewer insects in my yard every year. The human waste and devastation is everywhere. Who is going to stop us from this behavior and who is going to clean up the mess. The USA military budget was 725 trillion dollars in 2021. What are we doing and why is this sort of ideology not fit for theological discussions and debates? Why is the message of Jesus and the creator God not in the picture? We do not recognize we are ruining his Garden and missed the meaning of the message of Jesus.
Mary Jane Miller has an inquiring mind that constantly explores, questions, wonders (and wanders), argues, and engages whatever and whomever is around. In short, you meet an extraordinary, strong, capable woman. For decades, Mary Jane has documented her collections through her books on Iconography Books.
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