Do Christians Believe in the Environment? Nigel Lees
Well Pope Francis certainly seems to. On the 24th May 2015 The Encyclical Laudato Si – On Care For Our Common Home was published. There were a number of things that struck me as important about this document:
• Acknowledging that climate change is a reality and that human intervention is a major cause
• Our “ excessive anthropocentrism” over the past few hundred years has led to a lifestyle that is unsustainable and doesn't feed our spirit
• There needs to be an ecological conversion
• Politics and economics must serve the best interests of the environment as well as society
• The earth, the universe, is a gift, is sacred and is on loan to us. We have to look after it for future generations.
• The Pope proposes an Integral Ecology to cover all aspects of life, biodiversity, society, economics and politics.
The document is a heady mixture of Catholic social policy and an urgent call to protect the environment, radically change our lifestyles and curb excessive consumerism. There is even a brief mention of the role Christians may have played in helping to cause this environmental degradation. More on this later.
It appears to me that there is a hint of panentheism embedded in the text. Panentheism is where God is not only fully part of nature (which is pantheism) but also transcends it, is more than it
Depression
This could also be expressed as tiredness, withdrawing from life or even manic behaviour. We see that life does not have much meaning once a loved one has died and we begin to realise that they are not with us any more. Perhaps sleep patterns continue to be disrupted and you experience a loss of appetite. A great many of the people I see are on anti-depressants; it is a way of dulling this pain.
Acceptance
This is not the end of the story it is the beginning. Acceptance doesn't mean “everything's fine” or “I've got over it now”. It is not ok. This stage simply acknowledges the truth of the death. You may still feel some anger or guilt or get depressed. You may be having more good days than bad. It is a start to getting your life back and to you living the new `normal'. Our feeling are accepted and we can hopefully form a new relationship with the deceased.
There are many other models about how we go through grief, some helpful and others not. Personally I don't use them as a model of grief behaviour as they can be prescriptive; a person's grief is unique to them and rarely follow these stages exactly. Certainly there is no linear progression through grief. However these models have been developed because various aspects within them (the stages, phases or tasks) have been observed over time and could indicate a trajectory through grief. If they are useful, then use them. If not, then at least be aware that they exist and have formed a very important milestone in our understanding of grief.
Continuing Bonds
One modern approach, which I have found useful, concerns a continuing bond with the deceased. Most models are about letting go or somehow resolving the grief; coming to terms with the death. Continuing bonds is a way is establishing or re-establishing a relationship with the deceased. People are changed by a bereavement, they don't just get over it. This is one way of acknowledging that the loved one has died, but their memories, dreams and impact live on. Perhaps there is ritual involved that can be as simple as regularly visiting a grave and speaking to the deceased or something more elaborate such as an annual walk in their honour. It could also take the form of publishing a volume of poetry or the setting up a charity in their memory. It doesn't have to be any of this. You could say good night to a photo of your son every evening and then say good morning my love when you wake up. There is, however, a fine balance between a healthy relationship with your deceased loved one and in unrealistic hoping that they will, some day, walk through the front door again.
Death is unchanging but the bereavement process is not. There is no model way to grieve, but we do understand that people who grieve well live well. We come to realise that life can have meaning notwithstanding our painful loss. One of the best sources of information, in my view, on grief is Dr Bill Webster's The Centre for the Grief Journey www.griefjourney.com. It is packed full of useful articles, help and tips.
Taking care of yourself
Working with and supporting the dying and bereaved is a very important and necessary task for the whole community. Many individuals take on this responsibility with love and care and provide much needed comfort. As much as we wish to help others, sometimes it is just as important to take care of ourselves as well. It is well known that caring people, though capable, strong and compassionate, are also prone to `burn-out’ and other stress-related conditions. This is not surprising as we are sometimes dealing with extremely difficult and in some cases traumatic personal issues, which often bring up strong emotions. As we are empathic souls we can pick up on the sadness and grief around, emotions that just might resonate with personal issues or pain of our own.
It is at times like this that we need to take care of ourselves and also seek support. When working in a professional capacity then there should be a process of peer support, usually by individual or group supervision. This then allows the minister, grief counsellor or hospice volunteer to discuss issues or difficulties with the work and receive support, advice, affirmation and hugs. Organisations such as our very own One Spirit Interfaith Foundation and Cruse have well-developed supervision and support services and it is up to us to make sure we use them. I gave a short series of workshops to the Pastoral Care Team of my local Methodist Church, who do a great job visiting parishioners, and recommended that they set-up some form of support. We all need it at some time. Some further thoughts:
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http://rcnpublishing.com/userimages/ContentEditor/1373365517540/Burnout-a-spiritual-crisis.pdf
protect the environment, radically change our lifestyles and curb excessive consumerism. There is even a brief mention of the role Christians may have played in helping to cause this environmental degradation.
There is a hint of panentheism embedded in the text, meaning God is not only fully part of nature (which is pantheism) but also transcends it. The Encyclical quotes a Sufi text: “The universe unfolds in God, who fills it completely. Hence, there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person's face”. The Pope goes on to note “All things are God”; “Standing awestruck before a mountain, he or she cannot separate this experience from God” and “everything is related”. The Pope is very careful to say that the earth, the universe and all biodiversity are creations of and belong to God. However he does mention those mystical saints, particularly his namesake St Francis, who describe the sacredness and unity of God's creation.
How have Christians regarded the environment?
Religions are not environmental organisations, but I do believe that they have an important role to play in encouraging their faithful to be more sustainable and environmentally aware. And while the Pope is trying to present Christianity and the Bible as supportive of our new ecological age he does admit that this has not always been the case. In an influential article in Science vol. 155 (3767) p1203-1207, 1967 Prof. Lynn White wrote about The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis, specifically citing the role religion and especially Christianity has played. According to White, of all the major faiths, it is Christianity which is the "most anthropo-
major faiths, it is Christianity which is world has seen”. This he believes, along with the rise of a more secular science and technology, has been