eco-justice a new word for some - although there is a national committee from general synod on eco-justice
the concept emerged in the 60's and 70's. This during the times of racial injustices. Lyden Johnston in the US launched a campaign for the great society to overcome injustice. In Canada Trudeau created the same campaigns. There were calls for the church to put into action gospel values about injustice
at the same time there were movements to conserve the environment. Rachel Carson - Silent Spring. In 1972 the Club of Rome - was concerned about population growht and planetary limitations for growth and caring. Projections were done for when we would run out of various materials
These two agendas both focused on justice were separate - sometimes called the brown agenda and the green agenda.
In US - there was an episcopal priest Norman Ferelly - who said it was time to overcome this split. Richard Jones (baptist) - used the term eco-justice to bring ecological and social justice together..
The norms and standards were described in discussions as sustainabiliy, sufficiency, participation and solidarity.
John Paul II - called for an ecological conversion.
1972 - UN conference in stockholm on environment and development. 1983 commission was established. A report : Our common future - which focused on sustainable development - meeting the needs of present without compromising the future needs of society.
1992 UN COnference in Rio - Earth Summit. 2002 - Johannesberg - Rio after 10.
Rio did not agree upon earth rights. There were not enough signatories. in 1994 - Gorbechov and Canadian Maurice Strong - revived the summit. In 1997 there was an independent Earth Charter Commission. The earth charter was launched - which elaborates the four norms listed above: sustainabiliy, sufficiency, participation and solidarity.
The crisis for the environment is a crisis for humanity. What we call teh environmental crisis is not merely a crisis in the environment for human beings - it is ciris of life on this planet - a crisis for human beings. Canadian Bishops (RC) said - the cry of the earth adn the cry of the poor are one.
Justice is to give everyone that which is their due. IT can be understood as Right Relationship. Eco-Justice understands this as right due for all communities of the earth - all life has moral value. Humans are moral agents for this.
The Eco part - comes form greek - household, home, family. Eco- nomics - rules for how household functions.
Eco Justice includes economics and ecology in right relationship with the whole inhabited earth. Brown adn green agendas are included in one agenda for us all!
The earth bible project in Australia: 5 volumes of essays have been published on this. (All responding to 6 hermeneutical eco-justice principles). These are principles for interpreting sacred texts. When this project refers to the earth - not to the third rock from the sun - but rather to the communities of the earth.
Behold has been changd to see in new translations of scriptures - but ... where is the depth of behold - to hold something in the dept of our being - a bit different than "see".
A forensic team needs a special light to see blood; This is like hermeneutics - we need a special light to see what we are looking for.
We need a kind of flashlight to look in scripture. Earth bible scholars have been sceptical of the light or glasses that have been used to interpret scriptures. We all wear glasses o fsorts. If we take off our physical glasses we do not see the same way. There are things you cannot see and other things that you can see.Try someone elses glasses on - it's frightening - what you see is completely different.
We need to be aware of the metaphorical glasses that we read life with. As we get older we lose things more often - in order to find them again - we become skeptical of our movements - of where we put things. It's even more difficult if the item we look for is our glasses! The same is true of biblical interpretation. Earth bible scholars have been skeptical of dualistic thinking. Dividing the world into oppposing pairs. People vs animals. Reason vs emotion. Mind vs matter. Male vs female. Sacred vs profane. Heaven vs earth. Humans vs nature. These oppositions turn into us - vs - them! They become opposed and then they become unequal.
WE will do bible studies after lunch - based on this. Dualistic thinking has turned humans against nature. In the earth bible text - you do not find the word nature. The word creation is used - as we are all part of it - and this overcomes the dualistic thinking. They wanted to dim the light of salvation history interpretation and shine a new light on creation.

Listening to Christopher Lind

Six principles:
Intrinsic worth - the earth is valuable in its own right - not only if we can use it. It's not about what the rest of creation can do for us!
Interconnectedness - earth is not the third rock of the sun - the connectedness of everything dependent on each other for life and survival. A donor wanted to give a stained glass window about forest for the cathedral in Vancouver. There was design of a tree with salmon swimming in the tree. Some said this does not make sense. A biologist said - the way the eco-system works - the salmon swim up the river - the bears catch them and drop their remains into the forest and this is nutrients fo rhte forest. You can find salmon dna in the leaves of the trees. The trees, bears, salmon are interconnected! Christology is a word we use to describe what we mean when we say Jesus is the Christ. A jesuit theologian says there are at least 5 christologies in the scriptures.
Voice - bible scholars say earth is a subject capable of raising its voice in celebration and against justice. How can the earth speak? Maybe our glasses are getting in the way of the way we read scripture. Job says ask the animals and they will teach you! Why don't we hear it? Does the ear not test words as the palate tastes food? Praise the lord form the earth - you sea monsters from the depths.
Purpose - the universe, earth and all components are part of the great cosmic design where each piece has a purpose in that design. The bible is library - with all manner and types of literature - biography, geneology, history, poetry,, letters and songs, prophecy and apocalyptic literature.
Mutual Custodianship. Earth is a balanced and diverse domain in which responsible custodians function as partners rather than rulers to support a balanced and diverse community.
Resistance - Earth and components suffer from injustice and activly resists injustice. It's ahrd to speak about eco-justice and not speak about climate change. Canadians are worried about what we have done to the earth. We are the second worst emmitters of green-house gas - next to our American neighbours. IS the earth fighting back? The farther north we go - the greater the climate changes. Is the earth running a fever? Is the earth fighting back this illness - is the earth resisting us? What does scripture say about this?

eco-justice discussion

Feedback from Scripture Study on Eco-justice:

A great deal of discussion about the interconnection of everything in creation happened. Discusssion went outside the questions - which says that this process can take you to places that are unplanned.
When we understand that even the black-flies are part of God's plan in creation - we become more humble. We are a very small part of the wonders of God's work. He need to be humble not anthro-centric. This process can slow us down and say less. DIfferent glasses give us a different perspective

eco study

Regarding the 6th principle - we talked more about economics and policies than we did about the bible. We ccame quickly to the undersanding that the age of empire has not passed - we are our own empire and doing our own damage even today. Look at the issues of the Inuit in our north.
Our table dealt with section 6. We found that empire is alive and well in economic and cultural areas. The earth is paying for this. Exhaustion of resources and apocalyptic clashes over the shortages. We trickle around the problems with high efficiency furnaces and energy efficient glass - but we must go to the roots and deal with our problems of consumption in society.
another table looking at table 6. Question - do we see any resistance to injustice in our community? We are overcontrolling of nature and we try to dictate to it - while it is trying to reverse what we have done to it. The earth is fighting back.

study

Principle 2 - interdependence - we never thought that proverbs 8 was connected to ecology until today. We realized that it really does. We all have wisdom - and we must each use it - and then things will turn around.
Principle 6 - the process was a struggle in this group. A challenge was every parish living by example and getting a green assessment going.
we talked about the priority of creation over the priority of salvation which our church has emphasized - a distant time and place will be our reward. we need to reoirient ourselves to creation.
principle number 3 - the main idea that came up was that we are rooted in the ideas f inanimate vs animiate thngs.
we struggled with dominion - domination. What is the relationship between these - in good stewardship. If god has given us dominion - then what is our responsibility. There is a lack of humility in humanity - we do not understand that God is the source of all that we are and do.

nissa

Dr. Lind gave 4 principles of eco-justice:

Sustainability - environmentally fitting habits of living adn working that enable life to flourish, and utlize ecologicallhy and socially appropriate technology.
Sufficiency - a standard of organized sharing, which requires basic floors adn definite celings for equitable or fiar consumption
Participation - in decisions about how to obtain sustenance and to manage community life for the good in common and the good fo the commons.
Solidarity - with other people and creatures - companions, victims and allies - in earth community, reflecting deep respect for diverse creation.

Colleen Sym, diocesan social justice coordinator, thanked Chris for his help to our diocese. She thanked him for the tools that we can take back to our parishes.