The world is talking to us; who’s listening?

There is something dramatic happening to our world. We do not fully understand what is happening and can only take a somewhat blind shot at understanding the causal forces and the long-term outcomes. We are experiencing concern about our world and its environment with unprecedented fervor. Among Christians there is new interest in the care of the planet on which we live. Many of us are being driven back to what is called natural theology.

Historically, natural theology has been pitted against revealed theology. A great gulf seems to divide the two. Natural theology observes the natural world and develops an understanding of life based on reasoned deductions. Revealed theology listens for the voice of God through subjective experiences of great prophets, i.e. Moses, Jesus, Muhammed, etc. Through most of history, natural theologians (or philosophers) have dismissed the revelations of Jews, Christians and Muslims alike. They all have, in turn, dismissed the observations of natural theologians.

The purveyors of revealed theology have codified their beliefs through churches, creeds and sacred writings. The natural theologians/philosophers have retreated into their shells of scientific method. The first have retreated into an unbelievable irrationality. The others find themselves living in a barren desert devoid of meaningful life.

I choose to follow neither of these excluding paths. I believe the two ought to be allies and friends. Just now, because of the apparent significance of global warming and because of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, my attention is drawn like a magnet to the natural world. I ask the question, what is the world saying to us?

I first should reveal my perspective. I am a believer, a Christian believer. I believe the truly good life is a life of trust, not doubt. I look out of my life window and see beauty. I work with people and refuse to bow to their problems or shortcomings. I will always see their possibilities. By faith, I see our planet as a work of God with huge potential. Our planet begs for our care and promises to support us with its resources.

Just as a great painting reveals an artist, I believe the great planet Earth reflects significant things about a creator and life itself. The things I have confessed about myself are not scientific statements. They are witnesses to my perspective as I listen to and observe our world.

The first message of the world to us is that life is consequential. I recall in my introductory high school class in physics that we learned some basic axioms. First was, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” That basic lesson from the natural world has pursued my life relentlessly. From that one axiom I have concluded that nothing ever happens in isolation. Everything happens in a context, and everything that happens makes an impact on everything and everyone around.

For most of human history, there has been a largely unspoken assumption that people can mistreat the world without consequence. We are now faced with a planet that is talking back. The two loudest voices for Americans are coming from the Gulf of Mexico and from the world atmosphere.

Six months ago, I could not have imagined that oil from a single well could threaten the entire Gulf of Mexico, the coasts of five states and the lives of millions of people.

In my naivety, I could not imagine any group of human beings (an oil company is a group of human beings) could be so irresponsible, selfish and greedy that known safety procedures would be ignored for one more bit of profit. The day of reckoning has arrived.

Forty years ago, smog hung over many of our cities and we were amazed that human behavior could foul the air over such large areas. Our dilemma is no longer local. It is worldwide. Human beings have developed ways of fouling the air of the whole planet. Many believe the poisoning of our air is so advanced that healthy air for the world, as we know it, can never be reclaimed. The earth is talking back to us. The earth is stating what we have known all along. Our planet has a built-in demand for responsible behavior. Life is consequential.

The voice of the Gulf of Mexico is new, but we are now becoming aware that other earth voices are in the chorus. Coal mountains in West Virginia, fishing streams in Wisconsin and polar ice are adding their voices to the chorus. The earth itself is becoming the voice of morality. It is the earth that is demanding that we change the way we are living.

Our earth is speaking another message that cannot be ignored. Until the past century, the earth (and the universe) were understood in static terms. The earth was firm, steady and dependable. Churches blindly sang “O Thou Who Changeth Not.” All that has changed.

The planet on which we live is in process. The earth is evolving, constantly changing. The evidence is now overwhelming that this process of change has been going on for millions, probably billions of years.

If natural theology is to be taken seriously, and if our planet is a witness to the very nature of God, what will the profile of God look like in 2050?

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister who lives in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.