NatureTheology3

Yet, what is it that faith has to say about the physical world? Such a question can be answered by examining aspects of the natural world, such as: beauty,awe, and glory. Writers, such as C.S. Lewis, have often written of these aspects. Lewis once claimed: “Nature gave the word glory a meaning for me.18 Such a claim reminds us that there once was a heavier emphasis upon those feelings evoked by the beauty and glory seen in fantastic scenes in nature: glistening, silvery winters, beautiful forests, etc. Today, beautiful scenes in the natural world continue to awe humans, but there has been a definite decrease in the emphasis upon such feelings. It is as if the feelings themselves, a supplemental element to knowing God, are what must be avoided, those things which are often understood as muddling up reality, weakening professionalism, and clouding common sense. Yet, the natural world, indeed, was long seen by many as a spirit-filled, animated realm of awe-inspiring beauty and life, a creation continually proclaiming God’s glory.Espousing such a view of the natural world made it easier for humans to conceive of themselves as beings endowed with spirits. In a 1950 lecture, Edmund Sinnot said:

[The] fading out of personality [or spirit] in the universe has had a profound effect upon religion, for it has made more difficult a conception of man as a spiritual being and of a God as the ruler of nature.19

Sinnot goes on to speak of the conception of nature as being friendly to humankind, as an abode of cosmic purpose and spiritual values. He speaks of the natural world, that dominion of a Divine Power, as being for many now the great illusion. He claims that viewing the natural world in such a way has been forever destroyed by the idea that the universe is simply “a vast mechanism of matter in motion…bearing man irresistibly along but toward no rational end; displaying order, but an order without meaning or purpose and surely without God 20 The latter seems such a lonely view.

Much of Western science broke away from its religious roots during the Enlightenment, the 18th-century awakening to the pursuit of reason. This was a period of increased individualism, which no doubt helped to perpetuate the disintegration of humans and the natural world. During this period, nature became secularized. As Ruether writes:

[Nature] was no longer the scene of a struggle between Christ and the Devil. Both divine and demonic spirits were driven out of it…With no life or world of its own, nature could be safely expropriated…and infinitely reconstructed to augment…wealth and power. 21

Believing nature to have no preordained purpose causes all intellectual interest in it to fail, thus leaving merely the concern of subduing it for selfish gain. Perhaps this would not be the case if we, as human beings, realized the intimate kinship we have with the rest of the natural world. Dr. Larry Rasmussen realizes this kinship, saying: “We don’t consider ourselves bone of its [the natural world’s] bone and flesh of its flesh, though we indeed are." 22

There are many various theories as to why the disintegration of the natural world has come about. There is no doubt that it has gone from being understood as a realm embedded with mystery and spirituality to one that has been significantly drained of both. Yet, despite these theories, there do exist hints of wonder, within most people, and a longing for depth of life, sought both within and outside of themselves. In regards to such hints of wonder, Douglass Schuurman, a renowned professor of religion, writes:

The lawful harmony of nature points to an intelligent, purposeful creator. Some dullards have no curiosity or sense of wonder at the harmony and beauty of creation; others have had it drummed out of them by suffering or deadening educational systems. But traces of the sense of wonder and the quest for meaning survive in most human beings. 23

While most humans have retained bits of wonder and a desire for meaning, we would be floating away on inflated optimism if we did not address the fact that we have greatly estranged ourselves from the natural world, as well as emptied it of almost all mystery and spirituality. The biggest danger about our estrangement is that it becomes very easy to exploit and abuse that from which we have estranged ourselves…that which we no longer seek to know because it is easier not to. Nicolas Berdyaev concurs, saying:

As long as man had found himself in communion with nature and had based his life upon mythology, he could not raise himself above nature...It is impossible for man to build railways, invent the telegraph or telephone, while living in the fear of demons.[Here demons should be understood as spirits, derived from the Greek word daimon.] Thus for man to be able to treat nature like a mechanism, it is necessary for the demonic inspiration of nature and man’s communion with it to have died out in the human consciousness. 24

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18 C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (NY: Harcourt, Inc., 1988).

19 Edmund W. Sinnot, Science And Religion: A Necessary Partnership (Connecticut: Edward W. Hazen Foundation, 1950), 6.

21 Ruether, Ecofeminism: Symbolic and Social Connections of the Oppression of Women and the Domination of Nature, 20.

22 Dr. Larry Rasmussen’s chapel talk, The Everlasting Covenant, given in Boe Chapel on Sunday, February 2, 2003.

23 Douglas J. Schuurman, Vocation: Discerning Our Callings In Life (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004), 65.

24 Nicolas Berdyaev as cited by Baillie, Natural Science and the Spiritual Life.

NATURE THEOLOGY
HOME	Nature Theology, by Christie Gibbons, page 3 Yet, what is it that faith has to say about the physical world? Such a question can be answered by examining aspects of the natural world, such as: beauty,awe, and glory. Writers, such as C.S. Lewis, have often written of these aspects. Lewis once claimed: “Nature gave the word glory a meaning for me.18 Such a claim reminds us that there once was a heavier emphasis upon those feelings evoked by the beauty and glory seen in fantastic scenes in nature: glistening, silvery winters, beautiful forests, etc. Today, beautiful scenes in the natural world continue to awe humans, but there has been a definite decrease in the emphasis upon such feelings. It is as if the feelings themselves, a supplemental element to knowing God, are what must be avoided, those things which are often understood as muddling up reality, weakening professionalism, and clouding common sense. Yet, the natural world, indeed, was long seen by many as a spirit-filled, animated realm of awe-inspiring beauty and life, a creation continually proclaiming God’s glory.Espousing such a view of the natural world made it easier for humans to conceive of themselves as beings endowed with spirits. In a 1950 lecture, Edmund Sinnot said: [The] fading out of personality [or spirit] in the universe has had a profound effect upon religion, for it has made more difficult a conception of man as a spiritual being and of a God as the ruler of nature.19 Sinnot goes on to speak of the conception of nature as being friendly to humankind, as an abode of cosmic purpose and spiritual values. He speaks of the natural world, that dominion of a Divine Power, as being for many now the great illusion. He claims that viewing the natural world in such a way has been forever destroyed by the idea that the universe is simply “a vast mechanism of matter in motion…bearing man irresistibly along but toward no rational end; displaying order, but an order without meaning or purpose and surely without God 20 The latter seems such a lonely view. Much of Western science broke away from its religious roots during the Enlightenment, the 18th-century awakening to the pursuit of reason. This was a period of increased individualism, which no doubt helped to perpetuate the disintegration of humans and the natural world. During this period, nature became secularized. As Ruether writes: [Nature] was no longer the scene of a struggle between Christ and the Devil. Both divine and demonic spirits were driven out of it…With no life or world of its own, nature could be safely expropriated…and infinitely reconstructed to augment…wealth and power. 21 Believing nature to have no preordained purpose causes all intellectual interest in it to fail, thus leaving merely the concern of subduing it for selfish gain. Perhaps this would not be the case if we, as human beings, realized the intimate kinship we have with the rest of the natural world. Dr. Larry Rasmussen realizes this kinship, saying: “We don’t consider ourselves bone of its [the natural world’s] bone and flesh of its flesh, though we indeed are." 22 There are many various theories as to why the disintegration of the natural world has come about. There is no doubt that it has gone from being understood as a realm embedded with mystery and spirituality to one that has been significantly drained of both. Yet, despite these theories, there do exist hints of wonder, within most people, and a longing for depth of life, sought both within and outside of themselves. In regards to such hints of wonder, Douglass Schuurman, a renowned professor of religion, writes: The lawful harmony of nature points to an intelligent, purposeful creator. Some dullards have no curiosity or sense of wonder at the harmony and beauty of creation; others have had it drummed out of them by suffering or deadening educational systems. But traces of the sense of wonder and the quest for meaning survive in most human beings. 23 While most humans have retained bits of wonder and a desire for meaning, we would be floating away on inflated optimism if we did not address the fact that we have greatly estranged ourselves from the natural world, as well as emptied it of almost all mystery and spirituality. The biggest danger about our estrangement is that it becomes very easy to exploit and abuse that from which we have estranged ourselves…that which we no longer seek to know because it is easier not to. Nicolas Berdyaev concurs, saying: As long as man had found himself in communion with nature and had based his life upon mythology, he could not raise himself above nature...It is impossible for man to build railways, invent the telegraph or telephone, while living in the fear of demons.[Here demons should be understood as spirits, derived from the Greek word daimon.] Thus for man to be able to treat nature like a mechanism, it is necessary for the demonic inspiration of nature and man’s communion with it to have died out in the human consciousness. 24 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18 C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (NY: Harcourt, Inc., 1988). 19 Edmund W. Sinnot, Science And Religion: A Necessary Partnership (Connecticut: Edward W. Hazen Foundation, 1950), 6. 20 Sinnot, Science And Religion: A Necessary Partnership, 9. 21 Ruether, Ecofeminism: Symbolic and Social Connections of the Oppression of Women and the Domination of Nature, 20. 22 Dr. Larry Rasmussen’s chapel talk, The Everlasting Covenant, given in Boe Chapel on Sunday, February 2, 2003. 23 Douglas J. Schuurman, Vocation: Discerning Our Callings In Life (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004), 65. 24 Nicolas Berdyaev as cited by Baillie, Natural Science and the Spiritual Life. page 1<>2<>3<>4<>5<>6
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