Discussion of Ecotheology & Eco-Justice
Conscience and the ecological crisis by Neil Brown
An article from Compass Review, Autumn 2004. "The point ... is to show that the current environmental crisis should not be separated from the kind of people we are, the market economy we benefit from, the social goals we subscribe to, and the kind of entertainment we seek. Since all of these facets of the problem can be slated home to the choices of human beings, we can only conclude that it is we ourselves who are the ecological crisis. It is we ourselves, therefore, who must change if the crisis is to be faced." "The first chapter of Genesis in no way endorses the modern sense of ‘dominion’ but rather refers to the responsibility that human beings have to include all living things in their communion with each other as made in the image and likeness of God. This misinterpretation of such a basic text of the Judaeo-Christian tradition is a serious warning to us that we should re-examine our basic beliefs about God’s creation to avoid further complicity in the ecological crisis."
Earth and spirit: A Spirituality For Our Times by Neil Brown
An article from Compass Review, Autumn 2003. "At base, the problem can be sheeted home to the ways we as Australians think and act. Material growth is the engine room of our society. This creates a mindset that tends to see everything, and even everyone, as a resource or commodity, that is, in terms of their usefulness to ourselves. ‘Profit’ and ‘income’ become the overriding motives and goals of our thinking and acting, thus privileging values such as efficiency, productivity, competitiveness, and self-sufficiency, to the serious detriment of the world around us." "Our most serious mistake in recent centuries has been to put ourselves at the very centre of that creation as if it belonged totally to us, to do whatever we liked with it—the very ‘sin’ that the Genesis story recounts. The very first step, then, in a renewed Christian spirituality, is to remove ourselves from this central position, to understand that it is God’s creation, not ours, and that we and other creatures are all part of that creation."
Ecotheology discussion site
Earlier content pre-2000 can be seen at http://www.javacasa.com/wts/forms/ecology.htm
Jews and Christian Evangelism; & Peter Garrett (Catholic) on ethics and bio-technology
ABC Radio National Religion Report
MorePraxis - MoreEnvironmental forum
A youth-oriented on-line community that includes a forum that deals with 'environmental' matters. There was very little content on it as of early July 06 but it appeared to be a relatively new creation associated with the complete reworking of the Synod's site during 2006.
One Market Under God by Harvey Cox
Article by Prof. Harvey Cox (Harvard) published by Christian Ethics Today
Planting seeds for the future: Building a Life-sustaining Society by Sandra Menteith
An article from Compass Review, Autumn 2003. "A recurring theme here is the importance of the distinction between ‘having’ and being’. If the world is based on ‘having’ more and more, there is no scope for the survival of the Earth. With industrialisation and new technologies it is the corporate world that has blossomed. With the average viewer in the US seeing 23,000 commercials a year, craving is established and re-established—the resulting ‘philosophy of what constitutes a good life is destroying diversity, local culture, local livelihoods, local peace of mind…and (it) destroys the soul’.3 The first step is to change oneself, before we can change the world."
Reclaiming the Common Wealth for the Common Good: the moral challenges of shaping a sustainable Earth community
Senator Christine Milne's (The Greens and Catholic Earthcare) speech which is interesting in itself but which notably demonstrates that being green or even Green is by no means incompatible with faith, Christianity, and in this case, Catholicism
Trinity College (UWA), PL Duffy Resource Centre re Peter Garrett
A very rare look at Peter Garrett and Midnight Oil from the context of Christian ecotheology. Along with Senator Christine Milne (Greens) and former WA Greens Senator Jo Valentine, Peter Garrett MP (Labor) exists as a long-standing green Christian, despite the common view that Christianity and environment don't mix in the same way that Green politics and Christianity are alleged to be incommensurate.
Ecofaith.org
A ministry of Scots Church Adelaide. Justice, theology, support, building alternatives, worship, spirituality
