Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey

JAMES, J. A. (2013) “Chapter 10- Towards Eco-theology: A Multidisciplinary Journey”, Climate Change Cultural Change: Religious Responses and Responsibilities, Eds. Elvey, Anne and GormleyO’Brien, David, Mosiac Press, 2013, pp. 147-159 Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey Abstract: This is a record of a journey towards reconciliation of intellectual understanding and personal spirituality. The intellectual journey began in empirical science, but subsequent experience suggested that the boundary between religion and science is permeable. My research is in the mode of personal and professional reflection-inaction, based on systems thinking. The researcher enters into, and becomes part of, the problem to be solved or the issue to be resolved. I see the dispute over the findings of climate science to be an ideological battle to justify and preserve ‘business as usual’. I recognized the need to regard the earth as sacred space. My current spiritual position is the belief that God enfolds and infuses the cosmos, so I have no difficulty with the ideas of incarnation and resurrection. I am a committed Christian but not a biblical literalist. The return to Christian faith confronted me with the biblical texts I had rejected. I still reject the ‘blood-stained’ texts, and agree with the need to distinguish between ‘green’ and ‘grey’ texts, as a necessary but not sufficient response to the climate emergency. The problem to me is one of anthropocentrism- the belief that humanity is divinely appointed lord (or steward) of creation, or pinnacle of evolution. Modern science is moving away from the idea that consciousness is an emerging property of complex living things to that of consciousness as a fundamental property of the cosmos. Modern theology must thus recognize humanity’s role as part of an earth community Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium Introduction Purpose and method The following describes two journeys undertaken by the author over 40 years- one spiritual and one intellectual. The story of the intellectual journey is told in the mode of reflection-in-action1. In that spirit it is related in the first person, particularly as the end result is the convergence of the intellectual journey with evolving spirituality. Early life I grew up in wartime in a family without any religious background, and no overt ideological bias. I attended Sunday School, and became a confirmed Anglican, primarily for social reasons. My emerging intellectual curiosity prompted me to read the Bible from cover to cover by the age of seventeen because it was ‘what Christians do’. I was also encountering my first great work of the English language. Some unsatisfied spiritual yearning led me to be ‘converted’ to Christian Pentecostal fundamentalism. The religious practice was intensely evangelical and experiential, without any grounding in biblical scholarship. My spiritual experience was genuine, but I was not much influenced by doctrinal fundamentalism, particularly as I had embarked on my first career path, in an ancillary medical field (radiation therapy planning) that demanded scientific rigor. I had no reason to question reductionist empirical science. When I finally abandoned that religious affiliation, I would have nothing to do with monotheistic religion for thirty years The journey part I The professional journey A change in my professional career led me into the application of information technology (IT) in the (nineteen sixties) formative years of research and practice in IT, which was claimed to enable organizational transformation, although this concept was little understood. It awaited development of a coherent theory of organizational learning2. My professional focus progressively shifted from the technical to the sociological and from technology implementation to strategic planning, with the accompanying realization that ‘social reality is socially determined’. Consulting in the government sector also led me to awareness of a variety of social and environmental issues, including the emerging awareness of human induced climate change. Enabling large organizations to achieve organizational transformation through IT or other means involves bringing together factions that may be informed by differing paradigms based on conflicting ideologies. This realization was reinforced by experience as an academic researcher in the emerging discipline of Information Systems (IS), which in its formative years was plagued by ‘paradigm wars’ to the extent that its existence as a coherent academic discipline was questioned.3 Further experience as Head of School responsible for multi-disciplinary academic research See e.g., Julie James and Moh Ching Too, “An Action Research Approach to Developing an Information Systems Academic Subject that Facilitates Lifelong Learning”, Proceedings of 16th Australasian Conference on Information Systems, (Sydney, Dec. 2005) CD-ROM 1 Chris Argyris and Donald Schön, Organisational Learning II: Theory, Method and Practice, (Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1996), xvii. 3 Julie James and Ross Smith, “Some observations on the interaction of theory and practice in information systems and related disciplines”, Proceeding of the Australasian Conference of Information Systems, (Adelaide, October 1998), 278. 2 Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 2 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium and teaching in a University environment reinforced the awareness of profound ideological differences across discipline boundaries. Dealing with these issues freed me from bias against religious ideology, as I found some similarities between communities of specialized academic researchers and closed religious communities. I observed that ideological battles in the economic and political spheres were even more ‘fundamentalist’. The historical roots of such conflict are described from various perspectives.4 Their impact on climate science denial is profound.5 The intellectual journey Broad ranging generalist problem-solving draws on multiple areas of knowledge, and in the process of life-long learning, different area of knowledge may be accessed. Reductionist empirical science is well suited to problem solving based, e.g., in my case, on knowledge of radiation physics, anatomy and physiology and clinical pathology. Systematic (divide and conquer) approaches can be used for design of information systems to solve well defined problems, but fail when addressing ‘wicked problems’ that characteristically arise in the real world.6 In the field of Organizational Behavior and Organization Learning, reductionist approaches also fail, but reflective inquiry facilitates a ‘learning organization’.7 Systemic approaches are now used in most areas of advanced science. In academic research knowledge advances within the ambit of particular discipline paradigms and periodically leads to paradigm shifts. It was my view that, in emerging disciplines, new knowledge was just as likely to emerge through reflection-in-action in leading-edge professional practice as in formal academic research. This became a focus of my research. To study instances of knowledge formation required a means of observation, based on a theory of knowledge that could be applied in different instances of research and professional practice. The resulting framework draws on systems science, the philosophy of John Dewey, and ethno-methodology. This led to publication of a series of papers describing an action research framework. I hold that it can be applied across multiple academic and applied disciplines, including that of theology. One of the most prolific areas of application for action research is education. Sometimes a particular approach to teaching can be pursued in a non-reflectivemode, known as instrumental practice or ‘going on’.8 Figure 1 illustrates this non-reflective practice. See, e.g. Riane Eisler, The Chalice and the blade: our history, our future (San Francisco: Harper and Row,1987); and David Korten, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (San Fr; Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2006) 5 Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, Merchants of Doubt : how a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming.( New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2010). 6 James and Smith, “A Systematic approach”, 284. 7 Argyris and Schön, Organisational Learning II, xvii. 8 For instrumental practice: Argyris and Schön, Organisational Learning II; for ‘going on’: Michael Agar, Speaking of Ethnography. (Sage Publications. Newbury Park, California. Qualitative Research Methods Series, Vol. 2, 1986). 4 Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 3 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium Fe Relevant pedagogic theories A Academic subject development and delivery M Prescribed teaching method Assess student assignment Fa Implicit or explicit subject plan Teaching method applied Figure 1. Instrumental practice in academic subject delivery Current pedagogic theory is applied to subject planning and a well-known teaching method is utilized. The process can continue indefinitely without reflection on its effectiveness and/or relevance. This approach can be applied to ‘going on’ with the same theological doctrine, without questioning its relevance to the modern world, or ‘business as usual’ despite the environmental consequences. But principles of reflection-in-action can be applied both the student learning and to academic subject development.9 (See figure 2). The purpose of the subject was to foster in students the skills of critical evaluation that would be necessary to facilitate life-long learning in the evolving IT professions. The teaching method was applied in a reflective mode that provided for enhancement to teaching methods or the underlying pedagogical principles to continually enhance student life-long learning skills. One of the barriers to such skill development is the ideological ‘framework for action’ which a student brings to the investigative work prescribed for the subject. This framework is in turn influenced by the ‘frameworks of ideas’ of the students’ major area of study. For example, a student undertaking a Marketing major in a Bachelor of Business would interpret evidence in the light of its “market value”. A Computer Science student would tend to promote technological solutions to every issue. Observation of these tendencies led to an effort to assist students to recognize their starting ideological position. Examples were sought. The emergence of fundamentalist 9 James and Too “An Action Research Approach”. Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 4 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium market capitalism with its basis in ideas that, at best, lacked sound empirical evidence and, at worst, drew on mystical concepts such as “the invisible hand of the market”, proved a fruitful area for investigation. Even more striking was the emergence of frenetic climate change denial, based more on slogans than evidence. Fa Framework for action Teaching method applied M Methodology espoused Reflection -in-action Framework enhancement Doubt about ideas or method Methodology enhancement Investigation-of -ideas-andmethod Figure 2- Reflection-in-action applied to academic subject development Having witnessed (in my original profession) the same techniques of denial of the science demonstrating harm caused by tobacco smoke10, this controversy focused my mind on the issue of climate change, which had to that point being more of an intellectual puzzle than a major issue. As a technologist, my first instinct was to support technological solutions, e.g. development of clean energy sources. I perceived however significant moral and ethical issues and, with reemerging spiritual awareness, the concept of the natural world as sacred space. This perception did not initially lead me to re-embrace religious faith - but it did reinforce my view that neoliberalism, with its impetus to denial of climate science, has much in common with religious cults. It has its faithful followers, scripture, and liturgy of consumerism and the ‘growth fetish’.11 10 Oreskes and Conway, Merchants of Doubt. 11 See, e.g., Eric T. Freyfogle, “Simplicity, Community, and Private Land “, Voluntary Simplicity: the poetic alternative to consumer culture, ed. Samuel Alexander, (NZ: Stead and daughters Ltd, 2009), 263; Clive Hamilton and Richard Dennis, “What is Affluenza?” also in Alexander, Voluntary Simplicity, 96 and 99; Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 5 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium More specifically, Tom Beaudoin proposed that consumer media capitalism: ‘… functions in our lives today as a highly effective religious address to young adults.’ and ‘functions strategically as an anonymous spiritual discipline on something like the terms of the strategic functioning of classic spiritual disciplines.’ It may therefore be defined as: ‘theocapitalism, an economic strategy attempting to secure its ends in and through religio-spiritual terms and practices.’12 This insight suggests that when we talk about the ‘religious response’ to climate change, faith-based organizations are not the only one promulgating religious ideology. Dealing with such a plethora of ideological positions reinforced my claimed position as a philosophical skeptic, in that I questioned everything and disbelieved nothing. I only recently discovered Robert Miller’s useful discussion of Pyrrhonian Scepticism, as defined by Sextus Empiricus (c160-c210): ‘The first job of philosophy is simply to critically inquire, for its own sake, into the real truth of things. What is truth? Is it possible to attain it? Has real truth been found in any of the dogmatic systems of philosophy? Sextus’s answer is: It seems that truth has not yet been found, so the proper “sceptic” keeps on openly inquiring.’13 This approach enabled me to navigate the maze of confliction paradigms and their underlying ideologies without undue confusion and, as I will later discuss, without violating my increasing sense of the sacred. In my retirement, while my voluntary work utilized IT, I lost interest in technology and was more interested in reading philosophy, cosmology, quantum theory and ecofeminism. I also became increasingly concerned about persistent rejection of the science of climate change. My opposition to monotheistic religion hardened as my emerging encounter with the Divine in the natural world (mostly the feminine aspects) strengthened. But I from time to time accompanied my son on his spiritual quest, visiting Hindu and Buddhist temples, and a variety of (mostly fundamentalist) Christian churches. I was unimpressed but, because of my practice of Tai Chi, I did explore Taoism more seriously. I was not however attracted to its religious practices. I continued to reject Christian religion, that is until I walked into my local Uniting Church and perceived a people full of the joy of life and the love of humanity –a moment of grace. Riane Eisler, The Chalice and the Blade, e.g., chapter 12; David Korten, The Great Turning, e.g., Chapter 14. 12 Beaudoin, Tom "The church: defender of theocapitalism?", Currents in Theology and Mission, Volume 29, Number 5: The Hein Fry Lectures from 2001, (Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, 2002), 362, accessed October 10, 2011, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0MDO/is_5_29/ai_93610958/ . 13 Robert Miller, “If Less Is More, Nothing Is Everything” presented at Being Together, Becoming Sustainable. (CERES Conference. May-June 2011), published by Earthsong Project, accessed October 21, 2011 http://earthsong.org.au/publications/journal/volume-2-issue-2/ . Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 6 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium Encountering the biblical texts I felt very comfortable with the Uniting church Synod views on climate change and climate justice and the local church message of ‘peace with earth’, but I then had to confront the biblical texts that I had so long rejected. The intellectual journey accelerated to embrace more cosmology, eco-spirituality, ecofeminism and (particularly) the philosophy of Thomas Berry.14 My theological position I can now identify as panentheism, the sense that the Divine enfolds and infuses the cosmos, but its relationship to the Bible was not immediately apparent. While I am not a biblical literalist, I reject the alternative reductionist, materialist “if it does not compute, it does not exist or did not happen” view proposed by some scholars to make scripture more palatable to us sons and daughters of the Enlightenment. Hathaway and Boff stress the importance of realizing how much we are influenced by our materialist western culture, particularly when we seek an alternative to biblical literalism. ‘A mechanistic, reductionalist cosmology is not a proven scientific fact, much less something flowing out of a set of eternal laws of the universe. It has been socially constructed. If we come to see this more clearly, if we come to understand the historical and ideological forces that have contributed to its genesis, we can also begin to deconstruct it and to break its power to distort our perceptions.’15 What is important is the underlying message and meaning that remains when we have applied the ‘text within context’ screening that filters out application of seventh century (BCE) and first to fourth century (CE) ethical and moral standards to 21st century issues, such as sexuality, ethnicity, race and species.16 It is not however difficult for a panentheist interested in quantum theory to believe in incarnation and resurrection. Niels Gregerson sees the prologue to the Gospel of John (1:1-14) as: ‘placing significance of the historical figure of Jesus in a cosmic perspective. The divine Logos is seen as both the creative and the formative principle of the universe “in the beginning” (John 1:1-5) and as the revealer for all human beings since the dawn of humanity (John 1:9).’17 I similarly rejoiced in other ‘green’ texts as Norm Habel would describe them, e.g. Colossians 1:15-17. Psalm 104. See, e.g., Thomas Berry The Christian Future and the Fate of Earth (NY: Orbis Books 2009). 15 Mark Hathaway and Leonardo Boff, The Tao of Liberation: exploring the ecology of transformation, (Maryknoll, New York, USA: Orbis Books, 2009), 144 16 see, e.g., Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman, The Bible unearthed: Archeology’s new vision of ancient Israel and the origin of its sacred texts (NY: Touchstone), 1-2, 318; and Brian McLaren, A Generous Or+hodoxy (MI:Zonderhaven 2004), 147. 17 Niels Henrik Gregerson “God, matter and information: Towards a Stoicised Logos Christianity”, Information and the Nature of Reality: From Physics to Metaphysics, eds. Paul Davies and Niels Henrik Gregerson, (NY: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 140. 14 Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 7 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium The ‘blood-stained’ texts proved far more challenging. The ecofeminist Riane Eisler, while defending some of the great moral teachings of Judaism, cites, e.g., Number 31 (1987:98) and the Book of Judges 1918, to claim that: ‘.. to the extent that it reflects a dominator society, biblical morality is at best stunted. At worst, it is a pseudomorality in which the will of God is a device for covering up cruelty and barbarity.’’19 Durham Smith is among a number of progressive Christians who similarly condemn some aspects of the Old Testament story: ‘Transfer this recorded story (Deut. 13.10) into a modern context and it is monstrous and inexcusably barbaric, as are a number of other situations requiring such punishment of wives, slaves, and whole nations throughout many chapters of the early books of the Old Testament. They only represent an early phase of development of ideas of an ancient people, and cannot, with any credibility, be accepted as "the Word of God" for our time.’20 If we wish to make a relevant religious response to the issues of our time, we must avoid defending the indefensible. How then does an old skeptic deal with the biblical texts that are part of the foundation of our faith community. Firstly I agree with Durham Smith that some of the Old Testament texts should be left in their historical context, as Finkelstein and Silberman have also suggested.21 The New Testament is, in the main, a different matter. It is interesting to see how some secular writers regard the teaching of Jesus as a radical departure from the hierarchical male-dominated culture of ancient Israel and the occupying Roman power. For example Riane Eisler asserts: ‘Here we find that the cornerstone of dominator ideology, the masculinesuperior/feminine-inferior species model is, but for a few exceptions, conspicuous by its absence. Instead, permeating these writings is Jesus' message of spiritual equality ‘22 Hathaway and Boff describe Jesus as deeply connected to, and respectful of, the natural world.23 It is this tradition that we must honour, but Thomas Berry is more cautious: ‘The present disruption of all the basic life systems of Earth has come about within a culture that emerged from a biblical-Christian matrix…. We might conclude … that the Christian tradition is susceptible to being transformed in this direction. Unless we accept the fact that our central beliefs carry with them a vulnerable aspect we will never overcome our present failure to deal with the increasing disruption of the planet. Riane Eisler, The Chalice and the Blade, 99. Riane Eisler The Chalice and the Blade, 98. 20 Durham Smith, Search for Understanding 2nd edition: The fullness of Life? Wishful hope or a Real Possibility (Minipublishing 2011), 36. 21 Finkelstein and Silberman, The Bible Unearthed. 22 Riane Eisler The Chalice and the Blade, 121. 23 Hathaway and Boff, The Tao of Liberation, 320. 18 19 Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 8 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium If the planet fails, then we fail, not only as Christians but even as humans.’ 24 The journey- part II I find myself in a Christian community that is united, not by a common personal theology, for that varies from literalism to humanism, but by a shared passion for community service and social justice. We are however so far collectively blind to the issue of intergenerational justice raised by progressive climate change; and biblical scholarship is not enough. The biblical historian, John Dominic Crossan, relates an imaginary conversation: ‘The historical Jesus is speaking to me: “I’ve read your book, Dominic, and it’s quite good. So now you’re ready to live by my vision and join me in my program?” “I don’t think I have the courage, Jesus, but I did describe it quite well, didn’t I, and the method was especially good, wasn’t it?” “Thank you, Dominic, for not falsifying the message to suit your own incapacity. That is at least something” “Is it enough, Jesus?” “No, Dominic, it is not”.’ ‘25 It is not entirely clear what is the program that Crossan lacks the courage to join, but he describes Jesus as a radical reformer who risked his life to address the pressing issues of his time. The greatest issue of our time is the need to respond to the threat of climate change, particularly in the face of wide spread denial of climate science, perhaps even our own need for denial of the unthinkable.26 Norm Habel in his development of the idea of the ‘Green Bible’, discusses (quoting Paul Santmire), difficulty with the idea of ‘stewardship’ of creation: ‘Traditionally the words dominion and stewardship have been employed …, but I now believe that it is best to retire them, for the foreseeable future, so that we do not have to explain constantly to others what they really mean and can simply say with conviction what we really mean. These terms still carry too much baggage from anthropocentric and indeed androcentric theology from the past; they are still fraught with the heavy images of management, control, and exploitation of persons and resources.’ 27 In 1967, an address by History Professor Lynn White Jr. to the American Association for the Advancement of Science was published in the Journal Science. White brings Thomas Berry, The Christian Future, 35-36. John Dominic Crossan, Jesus: a revolutionary biography (NY: HarperCollins Publishing Inc. 1994), xiv. 26 Oreskes and Conway, Merchants of Doubt; See also Peter White, ”Coping with a Climate of Change” in Depth Psychology, Disorder and Climate Change, ed. Jonathan Marshall ( C G Jung Society of Sydney, 2009), 311. For various other papers on denial see Psychology for a Safer Climate at http://www.psychologyforasafeclimate.org/. 27 Paul Santmire, Nature Reborn. The Ecological and Cosmic Promise of Christian Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000) cited in Norm Habel, “A theology of Ministry to the Earth”. from in a collection of book chapter previews presented at The Earth Files Symposium, 2003. 24 25 Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 9 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium together the concepts of anthropocentrism (regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence)28 and androcracy (a social system ruled or dominated by men).29 He asserted: ‘Our science and technology have grown out of Christian attitudes toward man's relation to nature, which are almost universally held not only by Christians and neo-Christians but also by those who fondly regard themselves as post-Christians. Despite Copernicus, all the cosmos rotates around our little globe. Despite Darwin, we are not, in our hearts, part of the natural process. We are superior to nature, contemptuous of it, willing to use it for our slightest whim.’ 30 This landmark article provoked a flood of responses: ‘Not surprisingly, White’s provocative argument about the Judeo-Christian tradition’s responsibility for the ecologic crisis has elicited a wide array of responses since his article was published in 1967. His thesis has been most enthusiastically received by environmentalists and environmental scholars receptive to the argument that an arrogant humanism and a nature-denying otherworldliness—both said to be reinforced by Christian teachings—were to blame for past and present environmental degradation.’ 31 Minteer and Manning reviewed much of the debate regarding White’s paper, concluding: ‘Yet, even if many of White’s assumptions and conclusions have been called into question (and occasionally refuted) by subsequent research in the sciences and the humanities, his larger point—that is, that we need to examine the underlying values and philosophical worldviews that motivate human activity in nature as revealed in our cultural and environmental history—remains as significant now as it was in 1967.’’32 I share the view that anthropocentrism and androcracy are root causes of humaninduced climate change, but agree with Rianne Eisler’s view that: ‘..the religion of the ancient Hebrews— much less Judaism—is (not) to blame for the imposition of a dominator ideology. The shift from a partnership to a dominator reality began long before the Hebrew invasions of Canaan and was going on simultaneously in many parts of the ancient world.’ 33 I do believe that anthropocentrism is endemic in our culture. But modern science is moving on from the concept of a Newtonian Universe with Homo-Sapiens as peak of See http://oxforddictionaries.com. As above. 30 Lynn White Jr, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis” in Science, New Series (Vol. 155, No. 376 1967), 1206. 31 Ben Minteer and Robert Manning “An Appraisal of the Critique of Anthropocentrism and Three Lesser Known Themes in Lynn White's ''The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis'' ”. Organization Environment (June 2005) 164. 32( Minteer and Manning, “An Appraisal of the Critique”, 172) 33 Rianne Eisler The Chalice and the Blade, 94. 28 29 Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 10 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium evolution. Quantum theory poses new questions about the nature of consciousness. The results of proven experiments in quantum mechanics defy explanation without some impact of the presence of a conscious observer.34 ‘The universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine.’ 35 Keith Ward proposes the idea of consciousness as ‘a distinct form of reality that is not material’36. Science as yet offers no definite view of a ‘universal consciousness’ but has moved far beyond reductionism and materialism. We must also move on to perceive a universe more wonderful than scribes of the 7th century BCE could imagine. Concluding remarks I have related the story of an intellectual and spiritual journey towards eco-theology. Highlights of the journey include: • Increasing disenchantment with reductionist approaches in professional practice, academic research and theological interpretation • Attraction to systemic and holistic views of the cosmos; • A corresponding and increasing awareness of the sacred in the natural world; • Reconciliation with the practice of Christian faith as a way of living and being; • Increasing concern about failure to respond to the challenge of climate change; • Belief that climate science denial can only be countered by an upsurge of spirituality that is emerging within and outside formal religion. Thomas Berry reminds us that: ‘(There are) those whose rhetoric is different from the Christian rhetoric, and yet who feel the sacred dimension of Earth in the depths of its reality. Even when they make no reference to this sacred dimension and find it unsatisfactory to try to explain it, even then in doing the work itself they are fulfilling a sacred task. Their dedication has proven it. While some Christians were neglecting this task, others saw it and devoted an enormous amount of energy and talent to protecting the life systems of the planet. It is upon their foundations that we must proceed in the practical dimensions of our work.’ 37 So in a sense skepticism can release us from the fixed ideas that prevent secular and religious communities from working together. I am not sure that I can achieve the skeptic’s goal of: ‘Suspense of judgment (which) leads to green peace, which then leads to nondogmatic desiring and action in the world.’38 Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner, Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness (NY: Oxford University Press,2006). 35 Sir James Jeans quoted in Rosenblum and Kuttner, Quantum Enigma, 51; and Hathaway and Boff, The Tao of Liberation, 182. 36 Keith Ward, “God as the ultimate informational principle “, Information and the Nature of Reality: From Physics to Metaphysics, eds. Paul Davies and Niels Henrick Gregerson, (NY: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 287. 34 37 Thomas Berry, ‘The Christian Future, 37-38. 38 Robert Miller, “If less is more”, 3. Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 11 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium I am however certain that ‘correcting’ doctrinal positions will not address the climate emergency. We need to rediscover the ‘sacred dimension of Earth’ and the cosmos at large. References: Agar, M. H. Speaking of Ethnograph,. Sage Publications, Newbury Park, California,. Qualitative Research Methods Series, Vol. 2, 1986. Argyris, C. and Schön, D. A. Organisational Learning II: Theory, Method and Practice, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1996. Beaudoin, T. "The church: defender of theocapitalism?", Currents in Theology and Mission, Volume 29, Number 5: The Hein Fry Lectures from 2001, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, 2002, accessed October 10, 2011 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0MDO/is_5_29/ai_93610958/ Berry, T. The Christian Future and the Fate of the Earth, NY: Orbis Books, 2009 Crossan, J. D. Jesus: a revolutionary biography, NY: HarperCollins Publishing Inc., 1994. Eisler, R. The Chalice and the blade: our history, our future, San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987. Freyfogle, E. “Simplicity, Community, and Private Land”, Voluntary Simplicity: the poetic alternative to consumer culture, ed. Alexander, S., NZ: Stead and Daughters Ltd, 2009: 245-252. Finkelstein, I. and Silberman, N. A. The Bible unearthed: Archeology’s new vision of ancient Israel and the origin of its sacred texts, NY: Touchstone, 2002. Gregersen, N.H. “God, matter and information: Towards a Stoicised Logos Christianity”, Information and the Nature of Reality: from Physics to Metaphysics, eds. Davies, P. and Gregersen, N.H, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2010: 319348. Hamilton, C. and Denniss, R. “What is Affluenza?”, Voluntary Simplicity: the poetic alternative to consumer culture, ed. Alexander, S.,. NZ: Stead and Daughters Ltd , 2009: 93-104. Hathaway, M. and Boff, L. The Tao of Liberation: exploring the ecology of transformation, Maryknoll, New York, USA: Orbis Books, 2009. James, J. A. and Smith, R. “Some observations on the interaction of theory and practice in information systems and related disciplines”, Proceeding of the Australasian Conference of Information Systems, Adelaide, October 1998: 278288. James, J. A. and Too, M. C. “An Action Research Approach to Developing an Information Systems Academic Subject that Facilitates Lifelong Learning”, Proceedings of 16th Australasian Conference on Information Systems, Sydney, Dec. 2005, CD-ROM. Korten D. C. The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, San Fr; BerrettKoehler Publishers, Inc., 2006. McLaren, B. A Generous Or+hodoxy, MI:Zonderhaven, 2004 Miller, R. “If Less is More, Nothing is Everything”, presented at Being Together, Becoming Sustainable. CERES Conference. May-June 2011, published on-line by Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 12 Climate Change – Cultural Change Religious Responses and Responsibilities- A Symposium Earthsong Project, accessed October 21, 2011 http://earthsong.org.au/publications/journal/volume-2-issue-2/ Minteer, B. A. and Manning, R. E. ‘An Appraisal of the Critique of Anthropocentrism and Three Lesser Known Themes in Lynn White's ''The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis”.‘, Organization Environment, June 2005:163-176. Oreskes, N. and Conway,E. M. Merchants of Doubt: how a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2010. Rosenblum, B. and Kuttner, F. Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness, Oxford University Press, 2006. Santmire, P. Nature Reborn. The Ecological and Cosmic Promise of Christian Theology, Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000; cited in Habel, N. “A theology of Ministry to the Earth”, in a collection of book chapter previews presented at The Earth Files Symposium, 2003. Smith, D. Search for Understanding 2nd edition: The fullness of Life? Wishful hope or a Real Possibility, Minipublishing, 2011. Ward.K., “God as the ultimate informational principle”, Information and the Nature of Reality: From Physics to Metaphysics, ed. Davies, P. and Gregersen, N.H., NY: Cambridge University Press, 2010: 282-300. White, L., “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis” in Science, New Series, Vol. 155, No. 376, 1967: 1203-1207. White, P. “Coping with a Climate of Change”, Depth Psychology, Disorder and Climate Change, Ed. Marshall, J., C G Jung Society of Sydney, 2009: 301:332. Towards Eco-theology: a Multi-disciplinary Journey © Julie James 2011 13