Guardians of the Earth
Excerpt from: Fr. Dr. J. Buciora, “Theology of Nature: Ecclesiological Paradigms for Ecology”, in: The Valley of Hope, 2016.
Humanity faces one of the most difficult problems of its existence: world-wide environmental disaster. Man is being challenged with the prospect of global warming, ozone depletion, deforestation, desertification, acid rain, and global pollution.
All we need to do is mention Chornobyl, Bophal, Times Beach, or Love Canal to be reminded of the dangers lurking in toxic, radioactive, and chemical contamination. The pollution of streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans, threatens our most valuable resource-water. Wetlands, beaches, and valuable farm lands are disappearing as a result of the greed and ignorance of development. Our next most valuable resource is arable land, over 50 percent of which has been irrevocably lost over the last 10,000 years due to destructive agricultural practices. Of the remaining land, 30 percent may be lost in the near future due to continued erosion and poisoning by chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This would leave us with only 4 percent of the earth’s surface to feed an exponentially global population. An environmental holocaust of epic proportions might exceed those of the Roman Empire in North Africa and the Maya in Mesoamerica.
The destruction and depletion of natural resources by humanity challenges the entire spectrum of life. A deadly threat to human existence and the entire global environment asks us to provide a new look at the relationship of man and nature. The reexamination of this relationship is essential to the life of our planet and our approach to consumerism. In order to understand the authentic message of Christianity on creation we have to place ourselves in a theological setting which brings us to the mystery of God the Trinity and His relationship to the world…
Unfortunately for the entire world, the tragedy of nature in the ecological context, is the crisis between the human being and creation. The lack of acknowledgement of the “otherness” of creation by the human being creates the aspect of imposition of authority on the world by man. Man’s contemporary exclusive view of himself has immediate consequences on the entire aspect of creation. The lack of recognition of the “otherness” of creation by the human being corrupts the relationship with creation. The contemporary understanding of “progress” and “development” with their ultimate consequences of the crisis of ecology proved to be a rape of nature and her corruption. In other words, it is a rape of the “other” nature of its right to function.
In the contemporary world, the Church as koinonia and an icon of the Holy Trinity has to become conscious of the proclamation of the integral intrinsic koinonia between the human being and the natural environment. The ethos of the Church denotes a reverence for nature, the world around us. It is a reverence of a proper relationship between nature and man. Until the relationship towards nature is restored to its original setting, the separation will only increase. In retrospect of the ecological disaster of the world, the relationship between nature and man has to be seen again in the context of respect and reverence. The contemporary world knows how to defend life and the value of human life. Is it possible for the same world to defend the value and dignity of the “otherness” of nature? In the prospect of the ecological crisis of the world, humanity must also defend the right of nature. It might be time to mobilize the international community to defend the right of nature on the level of international law. The natural resources of nature are being exploited by the entire humanity regardless of the economic or political status of the country. In the context of the interrelationships among men, the loss of a dignified relationship in the community is a tragedy. In the context of the symphony between man and nature the extorted relationship is a catastrophe for the entire world.
As humanity we have to strengthen our efforts to defend the right of nature to exist and to give us the basis for coexistence. As humanity we have to realize that the deprivation of the “otherness” of nature in the context of economic development is a beginning of the self-destruction which will affect the entire civilization. Before making any kind of decision regarding the defense of nature, we have to acknowledge that there is a problem. The denial of the ecological problem by humanity is the denial of the “otherness” of creation and the coexistence of man and nature. The weakening of the ethical aspect of humanity is linked with the environmental and social problems facing contemporary humanity. The denial of the “otherness” of nature is the denial of the right for nature to exist. It is an indication of the weakening of the ethical problem of man. As long as man continues this process, creation dies and human beings will die too because man shares the destiny of the natural world.