Leading environmental scientists and evangelical Christians join forces to lobby senators in support of the climate bill

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The Earth is the Lord’s, and the Fullness Thereof,” (Ps. 24:1) and the tradition has always then wondered whether we received dominion of the earth (and this has a significant history of consequences, especially as political systems further defined “dominion”); another emphasis has been placed on stewardship rather than dominion.

Read about Matthew 25 Network’s approach to this issue here: http://matthew25.org/issues/ (scroll down to Environmental Stewardship).

There are of course many issues at play here:  the fatalism that has existed when some traditions have viewed their eschatology as a way to see the earth’s destruction as simply a sign of the ending age.  And yet, there is that ever-present issue of God’s sovereignty, or as one theologian puts it, the sovereignty of God’s grace.

At last, is the earth the Lord’s?  Is it subject to God’s Kingdom?  And what role has the Church in all of this?  Are we called to be observers of the world as it destroys itself, as fate would have it, or are we called to witness to God’s kingdom? To act in correspondence to God’s Grace?

I think as people of faith, we need to wrestle with all these issues, and take seriously whether or not we have “surrendered all” of the spheres of our existence just as we are called to follow God, a God who is For Us and decidedly Lord of all creation.

So, take these next days to wrestle with that.  And then give thanks, both at your dining table and with your actions.

If you’re interested in becoming active:

http://www.greenfaith.org/    Here’s an organization where their faith has empowered their action on behalf of creation.

http://climatebill.org/  Here’s a site that is tracking the 2009 Climate bill and also has ways you can be involved

If you’re interested in finding out more:

Wendell Berry’s The Unsettling America (1977)

Vigen Guroian, Inheriting Paradise (1999)

Michael Pollan, Second Nature (2003) and The Omnivore’s Dilemma (2007)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/200686

The public-opinion two-step on the wisdom of closing the prison camp at Guantánamo is fascinating, and not just because, as recent polling shows, Americans are inclined to keep it open forever. The current legal meltdown over what to do with the 240 prisoners shows that Americans actually care a lot about prisons, prisoners and prison reform, but only when the inmates threaten to tumble out into their backyards.

That’s what Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) may be counting on as he launches an ambitious effort to reform U.S. prisons. In addition to proposing a massive 18-month review of the prison system, Webb wants to work toward reducing the overall incarceration rate while refocusing efforts toward locking up truly dangerous criminals and gang leaders, decreasing prison violence, establishing meaningful reentry programs for ex-offenders, reforming the nation’s drug policies and improving treatment of the mentally ill. It’s not quite as dramatic as the prospect of Abu Zubaydah bedding down at the Supermax prison in Colorado, but Webb wants to reignite the subject of prison reform, because he’s convinced that when it comes to their prison problem, Americans need only know how to count.

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Congress says it might have a healthcare package by August.  Obama has made it a top priority since his days on the campaign trail. The health industry seems to be “open” to a healthcare package, even if reluctantly. 

So, where does your faith inform you on this issue?

So, my challenge to you this week is: 

1) what is the “issue”? does it matter that the US doesn’t have a healthcare system? who is most affected by the current healthcare industry in the US?  how do we compare to other systems, financially, but most importantly MORALLY?

2) what’s your Scripture? what are the Scriptures that you feel most powerfully sustain not so much your “argument”, but your “convictions” regarding this issue?

3) what’s another source? who is the theologian, philosopher, political scientist that deeply affects your view on this issue? 

and lastly…

4) should the church care? should people of faith care? why?

This is a follow-up to Bill who submitted a great comment. He asked two main questions and then fleshed out a great argument:

1) Just where does God call us to support the Government in the role of care giver?

2) Just what is your faith in? Faith has an object or it is useless. I contend that your “faith” is in a system and not the person of Jesus Christ. (find the whole conversation here.

Below, is my response:

Bill–

You bring up a great point, and one that I’ve struggled with–as Christians, as people of faith, what role should the Government play in the United States?

We have Christian libertarians and anarchists, who simply believe that Government cannot be reconciled with the Kingdom of God, therefore, there should be no Government Christians recognize or Government’s role should be very limited.

We have Christian socialists and marxists who believe that Government is a “social contract” with the people and thus, people of faith should apply kingdom principles as it comes to helping people that are impoverished, homeless, sick, imprisoned, oppressed, etc, etc.

I would say there are many more “models” of Christians living under different types of government, but would offer one more which I think is particularly relevant to the US. This is what I would call “enlightenment” Christians, where the public sphere and faith are separated (coming out of the “Age of Reason/Enlightenment). So Government plays a role, but it is distinct from and perhaps at times at odds with, the Christian faith, but it is our reason, nonetheless that must navigate a fallen world in hopes of governing as best we can.

I take all these models seriously because I think to follow Jesus Christ isn’t something that remains private or personal, but actually has worldwide implications. Christ’s proclamation of a Kingdom where the “last shall be first and the first last,” where what we do for “the least of these, you did unto me,” is a completely different form of ordering, of government than humanity has ever been able to fashion.

So, the person who thinks we can bring a utopia here on earth by the strength and power of our own making isn’t taking seriously the power dynamics at play when people relate to one another.

But I also cannot read the Exodus story, where spiritual emancipation from Egypt is also a socioeconomic and political one, or the Pentateuch, Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, the Gospels, Acts, James (and the list goes on) and not believe that the Christian faith has economic, political, social, and spiritual consequences.

Reading these stories, I see the work of a God who is intimately involved in our story, and is angered by the way we oppress the Triad of the poor (in Scripture this “triad” is composed of the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner as seen in Deut. 26:12).

So where does that leave people of faith?

I don’t think the Government can become the kind of caretaker that God calls Christians to be. I don’t think that Government can ever, by its own designs, become the Kingdom of God. But we do have a responsibility, in the here and now, to care for people. And we must decide, is Government one way, of many, to meet the present needs?

I would love the day when the media reports: “Government’s Medicare program has become obsolete because every church, all people of faith, are caring for the needs of the elderly, the sick, disabled, and those who cannot afford medicine.”

So I encourage you to continue the work, by the power of the Spirit, to help those whom God calls us to help. And I hope we can call on communities of faith to fulfill this need, and as we do that, I would also call on the Government, who claims to represent our interests, to make healthcare more accessible, even for the people in society that we often ignore.

It isn’t a faith in a system at all, as that wouldn’t be faith. It is actually a faithful response to the love of God witnessed in Jesus Christ. In that sense, it is a joyful faith in the impossible. God, Thy Kingdom Come.

*(note: some helpful theologians in this area might be H. Richard Niebuhr, Karl Barth, Ada-Maria Isasi-Diaz, Gregory Boyd, and yes, Gustavo Gutierrez, and Oscar Romero. It is not what they are labeled as much as it is what they are actually saying, and how they back it up with Scripture).

**This is a wonderful post that my former pastor Brooks Smith, posted on his blog.  Enjoy– (http://memoryandspirit.blogspot.com/2009/02/suffering-and-science-isa.html)

Dick McKenna was an extraordinary biology teacher at North Plainfield High School. He was scheduled to have spinal surgery that involved fusing several vertebrae. Fairly dicey stuff. When I visited him in the hospital, we began talking about evolution. He said that he knew teaching evolution was contrary to the Scriptures, but he believed in evolution and felt called to teach it. I felt blessed by the opportunity to talk about the Scriptures and the two creation stories and the way the first told an amazingly accurate story of the creation of the earth out of the watery chaos, the emergence of life and the eventual emergence of the human being. We then talked about how the second creation story was in fact the story of the birth of moral consciousness, the knowledge of good and evil.

 
Yes, evil, the power of the demons was real as it is real in the story of Jesus casting out those demons. But clearly thanks be to God for the birth of moral consciousness and therefore, of course, to Eve as the mother of moral consciousness—at least according to the Scripture.

 
My friend Dick had never heard of Teilhard de Chardin, the paleontologist /mystic theologian who embraced fully the mystery of the earth, who believe in the truth of rocks and all that rocks revealed and who believed in and experienced Christ present in the evolving universe. Teilhard wrote `If as a result of some interior revolution, I were successfully to lose my faith in Christ, my faith in a personal God, my faith in the Spirit, I think that I would still continue to believe in the world.’ Teilhard died in the mid fifties. Thomas Berry one of his interpreters and the author of Dream of the Earth said in the spirit of Teilhard, `The earth is the only thing we know for sure.’

 
Being a scientist, a biologist like my friend Dick McKenna, doesn’t mean that one is automatically religious or irreligious. Certainly, in Isaiah’s image we can look into the heavens stretched out and for those with eyes of faith we can see the mystery of God. At the same time, as we study the universe with our mind and we learn from the universe, we know those learnings shape our understanding of faith, of our sense of what God is doing in the universe. Teilhard said that evolution is so true and so glorious that it is the arc to which all our thought must conform. As a scientist he rejoiced in the truths that the rocks spoke—as a Christian, he rejoiced in the truth spoken by and through the Rock of Ages.

 
When I was in the last year of high school, I decided that I was no longer comfortable calling myself a Christian, based on my understanding of the Christian story. At the time I rebelled intellectually against Christianity for two reasons–Suffering and Science. There was no explanation as to why a loving all powerful God would allow such suffering in the world, so God must not exist, I thought. And like Dick McKenna and many in our culture I had come to believe that one had to choose between religion and science, between creation in 4004BC and evolution.

 
In Copenhagen, Gail and I visited an incredible church built I think in the late 18th century. The church proper was on the bottom floor. The inclined walkway led to a second floor that housed a library. The third floor was an observatory.

 
At the General Assembly last June, I was standing in line to buy breakfast and wandered into conversation with a delegate who was a professor emeritus of physics from Stanford. After a little chatter about upcoming GA business, we started in on religion and science. Born in Switzerland, a life long church-goer, he was currently involved in a research project to discover what happened to the anti-matter that is present somewhere in the universe. With my 45 year old memories of high school physics class fading a little bit, I listened intently and humbly. He explained how the universe contained as much anti-matter as matter. Ok—whatever you say. And I thought—by God I am proud to be a Presbyterian. One of our national organizations passionately explores issues of Faith, Science and Technology.

 
Science challenges theology—and too theology challenges and informs, but hopefully does not distort science. There is the possibility of a blessed partnership. Again, Teilhard blesses us.

 
“Throughout my life, through my life, the world has little by little caught fire in my sight until, aflame all around me, it has become almost completely luminous from within…Such has been my experience in contact with the earth—the diaphany of the divine at the heart of the universe on fire…Christ: His heart: a fire: capable of penetrating everywhere and gradually spreading everywhere.”

 Like A Thief In The Night Part I

In response to many of the raids that were separating parents from their children, senior citizens from their caretakers, and spouses from one another, The Latino Leadership Circle, The Council of Churches of the City of New York, CONLICO, and the Latino Pastoral Action Center hosted “LEVANTANDO NUESTRAS VOCES” (Lifting Our Voices) at La Sinagoga on 115 East 125th St, NYC.

I was there, along with Grant Brooke, listening to testimony after testimony of people—mothers and their children, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters of all races, cultures, and colors—speak about the raids, the difficult process of legalization, the abuse they received at the hands of dishonest lawyers and intimidating officers.

Gabriel Salguero, a pastor and the Director of the Hispanic Leadership Program at Princeton Theological Seminary, among other roles, hosted the event that also called for people to be informed of their basic human rights by staff on hand, to sign petitions, and to present their pressing cases.

I was so surprised that it was packed with so many people—leaders from the community, media, pastors, politicians, religious folk, etc, etc.  Why?  Well, I often feel that churches stay away from controversial issues, unless they concern the so-called “culture wars.” 

Churches walk a fine line, as tax-exempt organizations that have a respected role in the government’s view, when they take on controversial issues such as immigration (of course with notable exceptions like the Sanctuary Movement, which has been thrown around again recently).

As far as immigration reform aiding undocumented immigrants, what roles CAN churches play? What roles DO churches play?  People of faith?

A friend of mine awoke in the middle of the night at the sound of shifting furniture, stomping feet, slamming doors, and shouts.

“Who are you?” they demanded. “Identification, now!”

My friend, partly in a dream state, but mostly afraid that men dressed in uniform have entered his room with no permission, no announcement of identity, just questions, looked frantically for an escape. He nervously tried to move. He was forcibly restrained. They asked him if he knew a fugitive they were after, he answered in cries “No, no, no!” or “I don’t know!”

His accent was heavy and he had no “papers” to show them. He was taken to jail at about 19.

But let’s rewind.

Not too long before that, he was a volunteer at a Presbyterian Vacation Bible School (Escuelita de Verano is what it’s called by Castellano speakers). I was the director, having planned recreation activities, music lessons, theatre instruction, and arts and crafts for about 50 children in a tragically neglected and underserved area. He was a tremendous help, a positive role model for the children, and had an endearing personality.

But he was caught in “a raid” (una enredada) as “police like men” were searching for an undocumented immigrant with a criminal history. (He doesn’t know whether they were FBI, state, county, or local police, INS, etc, etc).

Then you read this article in the New York Times and wonder how important, really, is the rule of law and protection from the “tyranny of the majority” (as James Madison highlighted in the Federalist Papers writing under Publius) to us, as a nation?

Are the indiscriminate raids on people in their homes a moral issue? Something the Church should be concerned about?

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington, D.C.
                                                                                                          

February 17, 2009

 
To whom it may concern,

President Barack Obama, this letter is for you, but it concerns all of us, especially those distressed by the condition of America’s soul. A great opportunity has arisen out of your historic election. We all must act in our own way to better America, and you can do your part as President.

The crucial struggle for power remains only an illusion; it gives us the sense that we need no one, only ourselves. Power offers false security in a world that is ever-changing and challenging our perceived supremacy. An illusion, nevertheless, causes real cycles of injury, poverty, and death.

One of your most impactful speeches stated: “I don’t want to just end the war, but I want to end the mindset that got us into war in the first place.”

We have the opportunity with Afghanistan and Iraq. I believe you can help the country become aware of its steady march to wars, highlighting that it’s usually not people in general that ask for combat, but those in positions of power. You can work more closely with Congress to provide more oversight for wars currently being waged and ignite a national discussion on morally responsible ways to end them. A re-envisioning of the War Powers Resolution, not as some bureaucratic regulation but a principled method of information for the people, should occur.

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Inspired by our friends over at Tikkun and Sojourner’s, this is from an esteemed colleague of mine, whom I respect very much…

Memo to President Obama:

One of your core strengths throughout the campaign, and evidenced again on inauguration day, is your impeccable ability to push us to consider new forms of discourse about policy and the way it shapes our collective life in the US and globally.

I encourage you to take the lead in shifting discourse on “terror” or “terrorism” with a focus instead on the psychological affects of war and the realities of domestic violence and sexual assault it often perpetuates.  In our public discourse, we must dismantle the notion that the enemies of well-being and freedom are those with a non-”American” identity, external and foreign.

In defense of American imperial reign, we have spent literally billions of dollars to fund military and counterterrorism programs.  We have exhausted our nation’s resources in order to train our men and women, who are also mothers and fathers, to perpetrate violence and thus fostered an environment which leads to instances of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), toxic stress, and addiction.

According to a 2003 Pentagon study (1) , nearly 40,000 military personnel have been diagnosed with PTSD since returning from combat. Significant increases in domestic and partner assault have been reported as military personnel return from service.  Intensifying the realities:

Women make up some 15 percent of the United States active duty forces, and 11 percent of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly a third of female veterans say they were sexually assaulted or raped while in the military, and 71 percent to 90 percent say they were sexually harassed by the men with whom they served. (2)

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CNN: The Devil’s Cave

The Devil’s Cave, Part I

In reading this article, I also wondered: do we name this the Devil’s Cave and in so doing, suggest that there is no hope? Do we name it in order to leave the systems unnamed, our roles unnamed in whatever way both may be responsible for this Cave?

Economic crises test our values and our resolve. Do we shut the door to immigrants?  Do we take away from them any access to benefits, even if they must sleep in the Devil’s Cave?

Can God be found there?

Lastly, I will paste below the name of organizations  that are sponsoring coat drives, among other initiatives to “help out.”  I think these efforts are valuable and I would encourage people to help out.  Practice beats theory in matters of life and death.

However, will we muster and/or find the spiritual courage and creativity to address the cycles and systems that create these “caves” in the midst of our cities, our congregations, our towns, and across the country?

Organizations you can contact for small ways of helping:

El Centro Hispano Americano
525 E. Front Street
Plainfield, N.J. 07060
(908) 753-8730 Primary purpose is to advance the rights and help meet the requirements of immigrants and expatriates through affordable legal, and social services.

The Salvation Army
615 Watchung Avenue
Plainfield, N.J. 07060
(908) 756-2595 All Salvation Army facilities in New Jersey and the Army’s Service Extension Program are able to provide assistance for basic needs
 
Fish Hospitality Program
456 New Market Road
Piscataway, N.J. 08854
(732) 968-5957 The FISH Hospitality Program is a shelter program, which serves homeless women and families by providing shelter and basic needs while assisting them to return to independent living in the community.
 
Meals-On-Wheels
305 E. Front Street
Plainfield, N.J. 07060
(908) 753-3506 Information on senior meals programs.