The Valley Catholic December 11, 2018 | Page 8

8 COMMUNITY December 11, 2018 | The Valley Catholic California Wildfi res as an Ethical Issue at Santa Clara University What might it mean to refer to the recent wildfires in California– especially the historic Camp Fire–as “biblical?” It may be tempting to do so in a fundamentalist or even cynical sense: The former in which God judges everybody, and the latter in which the actions of God are invoked at the expense of being honest with ourselves. But David DeCosse of Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics suggests that instead, we look to the book of Job in Hebrew Scripture for the awe and humility that may be the beginning of understanding divine action in such a disaster. DeCosse’s essay, Wildfi res, Ethics, and the Biblical, is part of a series of articles currently on the Markkula Center’s website, each exploring aspects of California’s wildfi res from various perspectives: faith, ethics, personal responsibility, and humanity. DeCosse, who said he was inspired by Pope Francis’ document on the environ ment, Laudato Sí, and its ‘Gospel of creation,’ arg ues t hat humans can’t throw up their hands in the face of these disasters. “Not knowing for sure what the Divine is up to doesn’t mean we get to fall back on the catch-all explanation that the fi res are an ‘act of God,’” he wrote. “That way of putting things masks the human role in these catastrophes. Instead, the fi res have clear human causes: climate change, over-stuff ed forests, housing construction in fi re- prone areas (often driven by the high cost of housing elsewhere), and unstable, overhead power lines.” He cites the example of Job from the Bible as a way of discerning the right response. “Job was a righteous man who lost everything... (Job) complained to God – until God set things straight: ‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth…when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?’ God asks Job in the climactic point of the book. God’s impossible, beautiful questions in part silence Job’s hubris, in part signal the divine love that CCH153_CarDonateAd2_4.937x6in_PressQuality.pdf 1 8/10/15 brought creation into being, and in part point to the inscrutable, ongoing divine power at work in the world,” DeCosse writes. By listening to such questions, DeCosse notes, “Job’s vision widens to see anew his own responsibility in the context of his dependence on a creative power and mysterious governance of the world.” To read all of the articles in the Markkula Center’s series of essays on the wildfi res, please go to the Center’s website at http://bit.ly/scuFireEthics. Employment Opportunity Senior Admin Wanted Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Santa Clara University Strong Team; Great Benefi ts Apply: www.scu.edu/hr/careers Inquiries: [phone] For more information regarding advertising please contact [phone] or [email protected] 7:41 PM C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Donating Your Vehicle Rebuilds Hope Vehicle Donations Support Catholic Charities’ Refugee & Immigrant Programs Free Towing  •  Fast & Easy  •  100% Tax Deductible Contact Us Today at CarDonationCC.org or 1 [phone] Catholic Charities Celebrates “Dinner in a Box” Program More than 200 Catholic Charities’ client families were treated to home- delivered Thanksgiving meals due to the efforts of generous volunteer fundraisers and organizers Eva Scott and Pattie Dutra. Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County was one of four charities selected by the “Dinner in a Box” program to receive Thanksgiving meals this year. Overall, the operation served 570 local families in need with a huge assembly-line operation of volunteers who put together the boxes of turkey, potatoes, vegetables, stuffi ng and pie. The boxes were then delivered to the doors of the homes of grateful recipients. “I am thankful for this support in a time of need. I was able to provide my family with a delicious dinner for Thanksgiving,” according to a mother of fi ve children who receives help from Catholic Charities Supportive Housi ng Services. Catholic Charities serves 575,000 meals annually to clients in programs throughout Santa Clara County. To learn more about how you can help provide meals to Catholic Charities clients in need this Christmas season or invest in meals for families and in- dividuals in need throughout the year, please call Alison at [phone] or email [email protected].