FORMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST CREATION
The Genesis story of creation tells us that everything that God made was good (Gen. 1: 25). However, violent and destructive activities on the land, the water, and the sky have diminished this goodness. There is now a terrifying reality of environmental destruction, pollution and loss of species (Cf. Regensburg Nancy). Human activities have inflicted grievous harm on the earth and its inhabitants.
These harmful acts are many and diverse. They are, among others, improper disposal of industrial toxic waste, use of pesticides, raw sewage disposal into rivers, the use of refrigerants and aerosols, non-sustainable agricultural activities, destruction of rainforests, unregulated real estate development, and militarism. These have had various effects on the environment. Raw sewage disposal into rivers for example, has led to the deaths of both aquatic plant and animal species (the case of Flamingos in Lake Nakuru, the Nairobi Dam), while human beings have contracted water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
Destruction of rainforests has led to poor rainfall patterns in many places the world over. In addition it has contributed to desert formation and the loss of an adequate balance of the ecosystem. In addition, it has also led to the loss of wilderness areas thereby threatening the already endangered plant and animal species. The use of refrigerants and aerosols has weakened and punctured the ozone layer while carbon dioxide emissions have resulted in the green house effect global warming.
The presence of chemicals in the atmosphere has caused the life-giving rain to become harmful acid rain. Such travesty does not give witness to the goodness that God saw in creation at the beginning. John Paul II reminds us that these practices cannot be sustained. He says, “Faced with the widespread destruction of the environment… we cannot continue to use the goods of the earth as we have in the past.” The goods of the earth can only be used properly if human beings understand their role in creation.
DOMINION MEANS RESPONSIBILITY
The environmental destruction is due to our failure to understand our special mandate in creation. We were created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26). We are his representatives on earth. This means we have a special responsibility within the community of creatures. This responsibility is elaborated by the words“dominion” and “subdue”, “till” and “keep”.
According to Regensburg, dominion understood properly means “to care for” or “to shepherd”. This kind of dominion is not oppression. It is a respectful exercise of authority over God’s gift of creation. Dominion is best exemplified in the story of Noah who gathered animal species to save and protect them. In this sense dominion means having a harmonious existence between animals and created things. “Subdue” used in reference to the land means “to take care of”. Regensburg says “it does not mean to exploit, but rather it means to receive it as a gift and live on it.” In short, human beings are invited to be responsible stewards. Abuse or misuse is not permissible, for creation is not a good for merchandise rather it is part of a life bearing and life sustaining system.
THE SACREDNESS OF CREATION
We need to understand creation on a higher level than what we have said so far. Senior Donald says, creation “…is sacred. It serves as a medium of divine revelation…. [for He] … sustains the earth, and the vitality and drama of this created world reveals [His] presence to the world.” God has fully revealed himself in Jesus Christ who is the summit of all creation. Through incarnation, God has sufficiently infused his spirit in creation thereby making it sacred. God’s self-expression is capable of revealing his inexhaustible love for the world. Taking creation as sacred implies that we have to act in union with the Creator in order to avoid further damage to the environment.
We are therefore called to cultivate a sense of the sacred which leads to a sense of responsibility. Reverence for created things can quell the dominant patterns of production and consumption that characterises and guides our actions today. Human beings have to feel the presence of God everywhere. Creation is sacred and worthy of human beings’ care and commitment. We must allow the earth to produce food and oxygen without disturbance for doing so is sinful. How then can we address these problems theologically?
STEWARDSHIPS OF CREATION
From Genesis we noted that human beings are called to shape their lives, relationships and the world by reaching out and actively responding to the call to be stewards. We should be conscious of the fact that the earth is the only source of most of the materials that we need and use in our lives. We thus, have a demanding task to be responsible stewards. Our mandate is to make God visible in the world and to represent him.
There is a great need on our part to make fundamental changes in our value systems and life-styles. Change in value systems will have to ensure that basic needs are met without necessarily causing harm to creation. Since we are gifted with knowledge and technology we have to work out ways and means through which we can enhance the protection and preservation of creation rather than its destruction (Cf. The Earth Charter, Principle n.2.)
But this cannot happen unless we stop the countless instances of the devastation of the delicate life on earth by human beings. We cannot dispose of things; animals, plants and other material resources at will. We must understand that we are called to fulfil a special and specific task. That task is to make a meaningful contribution as stewards of all created beings. We cannot shrink from that responsibility. However, that responsibility can be carried out effectively in an atmosphere of freedom.
ROLE OF HUMAN FREEDOM IN CREATION
The word freedom is understood differently by different people. It can be discussed in different academic disciplines with various nuances. We shall discuss freedom from the biblical perspective. Freedom in the scriptures is concerned with the new life empowered by the divine sonship of Christ. Creation as a whole “…is to be considered as the free act of God whereby he gives the world … entirely to man, as a gift of his goodness as a task to be carried on to a fulfillment in which man responds to [the] word … with the fullness of his own being and of his world.” Because of the divine sonship, human beings are liberated from “... being dominated by earthly things…temporal power, wealth, law or sin.” (Karl Rahner). In this view, human beings are called to use their freedom in love and praise of God. However, they are also free to stay in communion with God, or to pursue their own ways. Freedom on the one hand, has brought many positive achievements in arts, culture, science and technology, the medical field, transport and communication. On the other hand, it has been misused to such an extent that disorder and destruction has resulted.
When a human being uses freedom for his/her own selfish ends then s/he has failed to be a responsible steward. Such freedom leads to nothing but doom and destruction. We ought to cooperate with God by making choices that promote the good care of the environment. As God’s gift, creation has to be respected and not violated “... because creation is ontologically independent of God, human beings can be held responsible for actions freely undertaken and any evil that these may involve.” Freedom should be exercised in light of what God’s design for human beings is as Ignatius explicitly puts it in the Spiritual Exercises.
SPIRITUAL EXERCISES
In the Spiritual Exercises, especially the principle and foundation, St. Ignatius of Loyola says: Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. The other things on the face of the earth are created for man to help him in attaining the end for which he is created. Hence, man is to make use of them in as far as they help him in the attainment of his end, and he must rid himself of them in as far as they prove a hindrance to him. Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, as far as we are allowed free choice and are not under any prohibition....
This profound statement of St. Ignatius implies that people make their way in life in opposition to God. People are called to realize that creation; “is a gift,… the gift is good, and that respect, reverence, and stewardship [are] due to their source and maker.…[And more importantly] authentic stewardship of the sources of the earth …emerges from the sense that all is gift, all is held in trust from the source and maker…who invites a grateful and generous response….” (Cf. Hellwig Monika).
The use of created things should therefore be directed towards the service of God and knowledge of self. The value of created things is in their ability to help us serve and worship God. We are challenged to care for them and maintain the goodness they had at the beginning. Our choices should seek always for what most brings us closer to God. Our starting point in this direction could be developing creation friendly technology.
ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT
There are several ways in which a creation friendly technology can be developed. First, we have to understand that God is the basis of the good order of creation. Therefore, we need to remain connected and to re-affirm our commitment as responsible stewards. With that in mind, we can then proceed to explore alternative ways of technological development. In mapping out alternative means to technological development we should think of future generations. We are challenged to cultivate attitudes that protect and preserve creation in order to ensure that the generations of tomorrow can enjoy the same conditions as the present ones. This means that the cultural heritage and other elements of human heritage must also be protected.
The current crisis demands that we engage in a critical analysis of the present systems. Chemicals that are harmful to the ozone layer should not be used. This means that governments and other legitimate authorities must help in the fight against production of chemicals whose effects on creation can cause destruction. Roger Haight says, “the principle of stewardship has bearing on the leadership of the authorities…this leadership must engage in …helping to create a corporate …vision that appeals to freedom by its reasons and to responsibility with its ideals…. the principle of stewardship should characterize the administration of the resources of the [world] for which authority has responsibility.”
In addition, we have to change our lifestyles of production and consumerism that do not consider the impact of our technological advances on creation. We should explore efficient ways of travel and industrial production that have less harmful effects on the environment. One way to curb the industrial and carbon dioxide emissions is to rethink the use of oil and coal based technology. Our technology should move more in the area of exploring wind and solar energy. Responsible stewardship can only be met if our technology cares about the needs of the earth’s inhabitants. We now propose that the technological development should be purpose driven.
TECHNOLOGY AT THE SERVICE OF CREATION AND HUMAN BEINGS
Our technology should be purpose driven technology at the service of both created things and human beings. Technological development should have a special concern for the less privileged, the vulnerable ones due to physical, geographical and/or otherwise economic constrains. In this way technology should have as its sole purpose the service of creation and human beings. This service must be in ways that promote integrity, respect for creation and other inhabitants of the world. Technology should be life promoting as far as possible.
The Earth Charter has made some good proposals which we reiterate here. In the first place, we should: “Adopt at all levels sustainable development plans and regulations that make environmental conservation and rehabilitation integral to all development initiatives. [Secondly, we should] establish and safeguard viable nature and biosphere reserves, including wild lands and marine areas, to protect earth's life support systems, maintain biodiversity, and preserve our natural heritage. [The third proposal is that we should] control and eradicate non-native or genetically modified organisms harmful to native species and the environment, and prevent introduction of such harmful organisms.
[Fourth, we have to] manage the use of renewable resources such as water, soil, forest products, and marine life in ways that do not exceed rates of regeneration and that protect the health of ecosystems. [Furthermore, we should] manage the extraction and use of non-renewable resources such as minerals and fossil fuels in ways that minimize depletion and cause no serious environmental damage. [In addition, human beings should] prevent pollution of any part of the environment and allow no build-up of radioactive, toxic, or other hazardous substances. [Here governments and authorities should play a leading role. Over and above all we ought to] avoid military activities that damage the environment and adopt patterns of production, consumption, and reproduction that safeguard earth's regenerative capacities, human rights, and community well-being. [And lastly, we have to] recognize and preserve the traditional knowledge and spiritual wisdom in all cultures that contribute to environmental protection and human well-being
This will lead to protection and nurturing of nature rather than its destruction. Technology can be modified to suit and improve the conditions in which human beings interact and impact on the environment.
CARING FOR CREATION
The choice to protect or destroy creation is ours. There is need to form a global partnership to care for the earth and one another or risk the destruction of ourselves and the diversity of life. Fundamental changes are needed in our values, institutions, and ways of living. We ought to use our knowledge and technology to provide for all and to reduce the negative impact our acts have on the environment. Our environmental, economic, political, social, and spiritual challenges are interconnected, and together we can forge inclusive solutions.
In addition, we have to transmit to the future generations, values, traditions and institutions that support the long term flourishing of earth’s human and ecological communities. Our care for creation calls upon all to personal witness to find expression in the way they live. Natural resources are limited; their excessive exploitation robs the world and other created beings of their accessibility and use. Following the example of Christ, we are invited to adopt a simple life style a life so simple we can all share and enjoy God’s gifts of creation.
CONCLUSION
As stewards of God’s creation, our common destiny beckons us to seek a new beginning in light of our ecological crisis. We are called upon to commit ourselves to adopt and promote the values and objectives of good stewardship as set out in the Bible. This requires a conversion of mind and heart; a new sense of personal and social responsibility.
We ought to develop and apply the vision of a sustainable way of life, a moderate use of created things in our local, national, and regional environments. Life involves tensions between important values and we are compelled to make some difficult choices. However, we must find ways to harmonize diversity with unity, the exercise of freedom with the common good, short-term objectives with long-term goals.
We, as individuals, families, organizations and communities have a vital role to play. The arts, sciences, religions, educational institutions, media, businesses, non-governmental organizations, and governments too, are all called to offer creative leadership. The partnership of government, civil society and business is essential for effective governance of created things. In all this our biggest challenge remains that of caring for God’s creation.
Anesu Douglas Manyere, S.J.
Jesuit Novitiate,
Lusaka
