Internet Edition Issue 6
September 2005

Editorial

Viewpoint

Aged Care in the Kimberley goes ahead

Pilgrims sent forth for World Youth Day in Germany

From the Office of Justice, Ecology & Peace

Caritas accepting donations for the starving in Niger

KCP Magazine

The Bible and the Earth
By Br Shane Wood cfc

In a recent publication from the Vatican, the preacher from the pontifical household, Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, gave his thoughts on ‘True Environmentalism’. He took a passage from St Paul to the Romans (8:18-23) to open his reflection on ecology. In this passage, Paul speaks of the ‘whole of creation groaning in one great act of giving birth’.

Fr Raniero goes on to say that there ‘are two ways of speaking of ecology and respect for creation: one starting from man (sic.) and the other starting from God’. I would venture to suggest that there is a third way of speaking of ecology that encompasses both of the other two – that is from the perspective of creation itself. One group has taken this seriously and has undertaken a project sponsored by the Research Institute within the Faculty of Theology at Flinders University in South
Australia.

The basic aims of the Earth Bible Project are:
• to develop ecojustice principles appropriate to an Earth hermeneutic for interpreting the Bible and for promoting justice and healing for Earth;
• to publish these interpretations as contributions to the current debate on ecology, ecoethics and ecotheology;
• to provide a responsible forum within which the suppressed voice of Earth may be heard and impulses for healing Earth may be generated.

The Earth Bible group has developed a set of basic ecojustice principles from which they undertake their research of the scripture.
These principles are:
• The principle of intrinsic worth — The universe, Earth and all its components have intrinsic worth/value
• The principle of interconnectedness — Earth is a community of inter-connected living things that are mutually dependent on each other for life and survival.
• The principle of voice — Earth is a living entity capable of raising its voice in celebration and against injustice.
• The principle of purpose — The universe, Earth and all its components are part of a dynamic cosmic design within which each piece has a place in the overall goal of that design.
• The principle of custodianship — Earth is a balanced and diverse domain requiring responsible custodians who function as partners with, rather than rulers over, Earth to sustain its balance and diversity.
• The principle of resistance — Earth and its components not only suffer from human injustices but actively resist them in the struggle for justice.

This international Project has been in operation for some years now and has given rise to a number of approaches to reading various parts of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures from the perspective of the Earth.

As Norman Habel, the leader of the project said in 2002 on ABC radio:

"This world, this earth, is what God has given, it’s a place where God dwells, and it’s a renewal of this earth that’s central, so I think there’s in fact [sic.] not simply adding something, but a discovery of the fact that some of our theology, some of our thinking has been negative towards the earth in a way that’s not at all justified in the Biblical tradition."

As people who take our cues from the Bible and from tradition, we should be vitally interested in such a project that can assist us to understand more fully what the biblical text is saying to us today.

^ top