Religion and Ecology 2019

[Assigned Reading] From Nature to Creation “What the world is... is becoming more and more a reflection of how we want the world to be”. The increased power of individual autonomy and influence has lead man to put his beliefs and actions in accordance with himself rather than in nature, being God’s Creation. This has prompted an abundance of pollution and production of greenhouse gasses that are destroying the world’s status. Humans are increasingly viewing the land, vegetation, and other animals as resources, rather than other aspects of God’s creation, seeing them only for their utility. Do you think it is right for humans to see the world as their picking-ground rather than a place full of other autonomous and pious creatures? -Zach Swanson

Abigail Reed 2/14/19 For the most part of Tuesdays class we discussed the different references to Idolatry in From Nature to Creation . One of the first mentions of idolatry was very interesting because we were discussing whether or not "sparking joy" was a form of idolatry towards our belongings. I feel people within developed countries have materials things that we may idolize because we live in a materialistic world. An extreme case of this, which was mentioned in class was hoarding. Looking at how hard it is for them to let go of their things is an interesting example of idolatry. Eventually the compare and contrast of Idols and Icons came up and I wasn't exactly sure what an icon was, especially in a religious setting. After discussion, Dr. Redick explained how an idol is like looking into a mirror and an icon is when something is looking at you. With an icon we aren't the focus, but yet we are projecting our own emotions and feelings on to an icon. With an ...

Abigail Reed 2/12/19 While reading through the first chapter of From Nature to Creation  I gathered a lot of information about the perceptions of Christianity as well as different views or motivations of Christians throughout history. I did not grow up in a religious household so I felt somewhat unprepared while reading this book but after the first chapter I somewhat have an understanding. My specific reading for class was pages 25 to 30 and this chapter was about the creaturely life most Christians live. Wirzba uses European Christian colonization as an example of the different ways Christians went about life. The first is to live a creaturely life, which is when one treats everyone like they are creatures of God and God is the Creator. This lifestyle often leads to Christians treating everyone equal and with the same respect. The second way Christians have gone about certain things is finding the worth of something and using it as a resource. European colonizers often thoug...

This post will include various quotes from scholars concerning the nature of myth. In so doing we will find an elaboration of myth as other than explanation. Explanation only happens once we have some thing to explain. How do we arrive at such a complex and overwhelming thing such as the cosmos? We must have an idea of such a cosmos before we can begin to explain it. This is where myth comes into play. The myth gives us the picture, the idea of our cosmos and all that it entails. Theory, like explanation, rises out of an already existing idea. I can only speculate about that which presents itself in some way. Myth is the original presentation. So here are some quotes for further reflection on the nature of myth. From Paul Ricoeur's book, The Symbolism of Evil Ricoeur defines myth as “a traditional narration which relates to events that happened at the beginning of time and which has the purpose of providing grounds for the ritual actions of men of today an...

The repeated discussion about how myth is not an explanation, but rather a way of accepting and still being able to cherish the world without necessarily picking it apart has really stuck with me. The Emily Dickinson poem that I mentioned in class, Split the Lark , was fitting, but I think it also connects to how many people that I know look to religion for a reason that things happen. For example, why does a loving God allow such horrible natural disasters? Is this asking for myth to be too much of an explanation, rather than a statement of acceptance? Searching for an answer or reason seems very human, and hard to avoid completely. When researching my creation myth for the recent paper, I came across a book on the development of the world religions, which had several tables comparing the myths between neighboring cultures. These all fell under the using myths as an acceptance of the world around them, rather than trying to explain away why and how the world exists. Many cultures on...