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Did God give the Earth to humans to subdue or nurture? On that question hinges an important debate for Evangelicals and other Christians.

When: Monday November 12 7:30 PM
Where: Butler University Atherton Union Reilly Room.
Free and open to the public. For more information, call (317) 940-9861.

John Hart, professor of Christian ethics at Boston University School of Theology; previously, he served as Professor of Theology and founding Director of Environmental Studies at Carroll College, Helena, Montana. He was Director of the Midwestern Catholic bishops’ 12-state Heartland Project, and editor and principal writer of their land pastoral, Strangers and Guests: Toward Community in the Heartland (1980). He wrote the draft of Pope John Paul II’s homily on land stewardship presented at the Living History Farms near Des Moines, Iowa (1979). He has worked with native spiritual leaders and human rights activists, been a Member of the Delegation of the International Indian Treaty Council (a Non-Governmental Organization accredited to the United Nations) to the U.N. International Human Rights Commission in Geneva (1987, 1990), and was an invited Observer at the World Conference of Indigenous Peoples in Rio de Janeiro while participating in the United Nations Earth Summit (1992). He was the Project Writer and a member of the Steering Committee for the Western U.S. and Canada Catholic bishops’ bioregional pastoral letter, The Columbia River Watershed: Caring for Creation and the Common Good (2001), on the ethics, economics and ecology of the region (MT, ID, OR, WA and B.C.); on behalf of this project he received a “Sacred Gift for a Living Planet Award” (2000) in Bhaktapur, Nepal from the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), presented by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He serves on the Board of the Montana Environmental Information Center. He has been involved with the Earth Charter as a participant in the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Center meeting on Benchmark II (Geneva, Switzerland, 1999); in the “Earth Charter Ethics Seminar” as one of 25 invited scholars from four continents (Pocantico Conference Center, New York, 2002); and as a member of the delegation to Urbino, Italy for implementation planning meetings (2002). Hart is author of four books, including “Sacramental Commons: Christian Ecological Ethics, Ethics and Technology: Innovation and Transformation in Community Contexts, and What Are They Saying About Environmental Theology?

He will speak on scientific and religious perspectives on global warming. This lecture is cosponsored by Butler University’s Center for Faith and Vocation. Here’s flavor of his thinking (that also offers some suggested readings);

In a widely circulated 1967 Science article, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,” Lynn White, Jr. laid much of the blame for ecological devastation at the door of Christianity. He called on the churches to have a new consciousness, to support Earth care and not just focus on an afterlife. Today, the churches have issued numerous documents advocating care for the Earth commons: the new consciousness abounds. But environmental devastation continues, and care for Earth and for all life is widely lacking. In his new book, The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth, Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson invites church pastors and congregants to “meet on the near side of metaphysics” with him, because science and religion, working together despite philosophical differences, are the best hope for restoring and conserving Earth. My book complements Wilson’s: as we seek to save (the) creation, he offers a scientific approach, while I offer a spiritual-social approach. My endorsement for Wilson’s book is on the inside cover of The Creation; Wilson endorsed my book with the words, “Sacramental Commons is an important and inspirational contribution to what Thomas Berry has called the Great Work. Working from deep Christian theology and philosophy, it explains the spiritual content not only of our own lives but also of the material world into which we were born, and to which we owe stewardship. This is an important work.” Edward Wilson and I “meet on the near side of metaphysics.” I hope that other people from scientific and religious backgrounds will do likewise, so that working together we will carry out, in a reworking of Lynn White, a historical resolution of our ecological crisis, through a historical restoration of our ecological context. 1986 Nobel Peace Laureate (and author of Night) Elie Wiesel has endorsed my book: “Sacramental Commons is thoughtful, perceptive and insightful.” I’d like to hear about practical projects around the U.S. and the globe where people have put aside religious differences, or theist-atheist debates, to work to restore or conserve local ecologies.
–John Hart

If this sounds like an interesting event … you may be irritated! At exactly the same time on November 12, just a couple of miles away, you can discuss “Living Green: Living Generously with the Earth” with an all-star cast of serious local environmental thinkers and activists. Fortunately there are many, many other events this fall addressing faith and the environment that won’t require you to make a tragic choice. DePauw’s Discourse on Sustainability and Global Citizenship is October 4-6; Can Tzedakah, Tithing, and Zakat Save the World? seeks grounding in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for solving global problems; and Sheila Kennedy explores how some religious leaders have obstructed addressing environmental problems November 14.

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This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2007 at 1:56 am and is filed under Events, Religion, Christianity & Christians, Climate change, Environment, Energy politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.