The Need for a Creation-Centered Christianity

A Call for a New Reformation, Part 4

NOTE: Because this November-December series (“A Call for a New Reformation”) is incredibly important to me, I’ve decided to open it up for free through the end of December 2024. If you find this series to be inspirational, empowering, or otherwise valuable and look forward to more, please consider supporting the “Religious, Reasonable, & Radical Newsletter & Community” (learn more) by becoming a paid member for a small monthly fee.

It's time for a confession: I am not a fan of going into nature for an extended period of time. Camping is not something I look forward to. 

Mosquitoes. Snakes. Bears. Sharks.

Uncomfortable bumpy ground. The sounds outside of a tent while trying to fall asleep. A super-bright sun warming up my tent and making it difficult for me to sleep in. 

I know, most people love camping. And I get it. In my mind, there's a certain allure. But practically speaking, it's not for me. I'm much happier in my cozy bed surrounded by my technology. 

But, that doesn't mean that I don't have respect for nature. It doesn't mean I don't feel some responsibility for how we treat our Earth, which includes the various animal populations on it. 

For the most part, I think I do. Could I be better at it? Definitely. Like everybody else, I am a perpetual work in progress. 

In the beginning of Genesis, human beings are portrayed as stewards of the Earth. Despite how many Christians misinterpret this, being stewards of the earth does not mean that we should feel free to subjugate nature to our whims. We are not meant to use and abuse it as a resource. 

Rather, stewardship is a caretaking role. As nature grants us the space and sustenance we need to enjoy life and flourish, we are meant to nurture that which has nurtured us so that it, too, might enjoy life and flourish. 

While ancient people seem to have recognized the importance of respecting nature, we modern folk have lost that perspective.

The obvious truth we’ve forgotten is this…

We live in a symbiotic relationship with nature. If we do not care for it, we will ultimately die along with it. 

Postmodern culture is experiencing a meaning crisis.

Why have we lost sight of Meaning?
Is there any hope of getting it back?
Better yet, is the loss of Meaning really a bad thing?

If you long for a theological path forward, Drinking from an Empty Glass: Living Out of a Meaningless Spirituality is the book you’re looking for.

Symbiosis

I first learned about symbiotic relationships from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. On the series, the character Dax was a symbiote. A symbiote merged with a host in order to survive. After the merger, their two lives became one. They shared memories. They shared experiences. And, perhaps most importantly, what happened to one, happened to the other. 

This symbiotic relationship was something that both the symbiote and host wanted. All in all, it was perceived as a good thing. Both participants benefited.

Contrast this with a parasitic relationship in which the parasite benefits at the cost of the host. It’s incredibly one-sided. Good for the parasite, and bad for the host.  

Here’s why this contrast is so important to me….

I don’t know about you, but I like breathing. Yes, it’s true. I really, really like being able to breathe.

You see, my body needs oxygen to live. I breathe in air and my body extracts the oxygen. I then breathe out the waste product of carbon dioxide. In with the good, out with the bad.

Meanwhile, trees need carbon dioxide to live. They take in the carbon dioxide that I breathe out and emit oxygen as a byproduct of their process.

Breathing animals and photosynthetic plants need each other. We live in a symbiotic relationship. Our fates are entwined.

Enter the problem…

The modern world’s emphasis on productivity and efficiency has betrayed the very humanity that birthed it. It transformed a beautiful symbiotic relationship into a parasitic one. The more theologically minded have turned stewardship from a call to respect and care for nature into a call to dominate it, thus giving us a parasitic theology.

Which brings me back to how much I like to breathe.

Personally, I would have expected those who are hellbent on destroying our planet to have also liked breathing as much as I do, but apparently I was wrong. After all, if they cared about such things, then they would stop destroying the planet.

Seriously, it’s not that hard to grasp.

We only have one Mother Earth

If you ask the scientists, global warming is real. The polar ice caps are melting as overall global temperatures rise. The oceans are becoming more acidic. Changing weather patterns are affecting crops. More extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and wildfires, are arising. 

We humans are responsible for this. We can't seem to stop insanely destructive behaviors, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation. We are literally polluting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the soil we grow our crops in.

Despite the facts that the evidence is right in front of our faces and that the very existence of our species is on the line, we just don’t seem to care. It's like a heroin addict who is destroying not only their own lives but also those around them, all the while asserting that they “don't have a problem”. 

I can’t emphasize this enough: We humans are responsible for this damage to our planet.

But, what’s the solution?

Speaking theologically, our species needs to repent. We need to turn away from the abusive patterns we are immersed in and begin accepting responsibility for Mother Earth’s health and wellbeing.

That means becoming more respectful and mindful of how we behave and interact with it. It's unfortunate that it comes down to facing the potential for mass extinction to awaken us to the nightmare we have created. But here we are. And, for the most part, we still haven't woken up. 

The greater significance of respect for creation 

When I work with families as a science-based, force-free dog trainer, eventually I get to a point in the course where I show my cards. You see, when people hire me to help them train their dogs, they think I'm really just doing dog training, but I'm not. What I'm really doing is helping them to learn practical ways to get the love they feel into their hearts out into their daily relationships, starting with their dogs.

My approach is a strategic move. I’ve found it’s quite hard to get people to listen to how they can improve the quality of their human-to-human relationships. Maybe that kind of advice just sounds too judgy. Regardless, it's much easier to get them to listen to how they can improve their human-to-canine relationships. And when I tip my hand, they discover it’s all the same thing. 

I hope that through experiencing my dog training people will start to see more clearly how everything is interconnected. Unfortunately, they sometimes behave in ways that affect their dogs adversely, even though they don’t intend to. But, the training is like watching a dinosaur eating an ice cream cone. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. Through the class, they become more sensitive to how their functioning in the household has a ripple effect on everyone else. 

Imagine what can happen if someone suddenly realizes the significance of how their behaviors affect creation (which includes animals). Then, they discover more healthy ways to function. I’ve noticed that once the lightbulb goes on, it becomes a lot easier for them to recognize how their behaviors affect other human beings. If the front door of the house is locked, this is a way of getting in through the back.

A creation-centered spirituality isn't just about trees, rivers, and puppy dogs. It's about recognizing and participating in the interconnectedness of the universe. It's about appreciating the intricacy and beauty of the web of life. 

I am a human being

I am an individual. I am unique. As my consciousness expands, I can see how, within the context of human community, I can serve certain life-enriching functions for those around me. 

I am a human being. As my consciousness expands, I can see how (as a human being) I can uniquely participate in the animal group. And I can serve certain life-enriching functions for those non-humans around me. 

I am an animal. As my consciousness expands, I can see how (as an animal) I can uniquely participate in nature. And I can serve certain life-enriching functions for the non-animals around me. 

I exist in an interdependent biosphere.

I am a valuable participant in a greater whole. 

And so are you. 

You, too, have the potential to become an agent of life in this universe. But you have to be able to perceive your potential first. You have to catch the vision and realize it in your life one new layer at a time. A creation-centered spirituality can help make that happen.

A creation-centered spirituality nurtures a strong sense of place in the universe and a greater sense of responsibility (and purpose) within it.

Recognizing the creative, interpenetrating, life-enriching symbiotic nature of it all, a creation-centered Christian spirituality defies and rejects parasitic theology with its lust for power and crusade for domination.

Next week, I’ll talk about how this parasitic theology is surprisingly grounded in a theological theme that has dominated Christendom for centuries. I hope you will join me.

Peace, Bo
www.evolvingchristianfaith.net

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Credits

• Thanks to NightCafe for the cover art