Gathering speaker's reason for hope:
'God is hanging in there with us'

by Louis Cox

BRAVO!—She's speaking to our condition."

That's the feeling that swept through QEW supporters and other Earth-Friends as Dr. Sallie McFague, a Christian theologian, spoke about the troubled human-Earth relationship at the 2006 FGC Gathering.

Some ecologically concerned Friends may be wary of theology in general because of historic doctrines that seemed to portray humans as alien residents, temporarily residing on Earth while anticipating an after-life of communion with a disembodied deity—implying that the fate of the earth itself is of relatively little importance.

But Dr. McFague, author of the popular 1993 book that explores her metaphor of the universe as the body of God, maintained that such other-worldly doctrines do not jibe with her understanding of the Christian faith, which is based on incarnation. The spirit who in the biblical account became flesh has always been involved in the travails of Creation, she said. Properly understood, the Gospel is the story of God's continuing to labor with and through humanity to redeem all of Creation, in order to make the primordial dream of God's blessed community a reality on Earth.

McFague's presentation validated QEW's efforts over the past 18 years—reflecting a growing conviction that the global ecological crisis is at its core a spiritual issue. As one strand in a worldwide spiritual ecology movement, QEW supports those who hear the call for spiritual transformation as a condition for outward reconciliation and healing of the earth and its community of life.

Some "liberal" Friends, however, may refer to their transformations as a "changes of heart" or, in more secular terms, as a "paradigm shifts." Few seem interested in explicitly theological reflections about the spiritual basis for Earthcare. Perhaps it is because they find their "experiential" faith translates easily into everyday ethical principles, without requiring any "God talk."

But Dr. McFague showed how her approach to eco-theology—drawing on a variety of metaphors for the divine—can be useful, not only for engaging more "conservative" Friends in discussions about Earthcare, but also for motivating all people of faith to begin putting their beliefs into action. Recognizing that all descriptions of the transcendent divine are really metaphors, we can avoid the error of thinking we are talking about something "out there" and unconnected to our lives.

Unless we recognize the divine as both transcendent and immanent in Creation, we may be unable to understand that the commandments of scripture or the testimonies of Quakerism apply to the whole of earthly life, not just to human affairs. We may follow all the rules that apply to "good" people but fail to recognize a host of sins of omission that result from our ignorance of belonging to the web of Creation.

The eco-feminism reflected in much of McFague's thinking sometimes is misrepresented as a protest against male power and masculine images of God. But it is more of a recognition that every being has inherent rights and dignity because the divine animates and sanctifies all of Creation.

McFague said the Bible's message of hope is a powerful tool in confronting the specter of global climate change. She said Al Gore's recent movie on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, gives an accurate account of the most serious crisis facing the world today, and it's time for Friends to get busy and act. She said each day brings more evidence that Earth's climate is nearing the tipping point of irreversible, catastrophic changes.

"Why can't humanity see the warning signs, such as polar bears who are starving because the Arctic ice sheets they use for hunting are melting away? Are these not proof that a `Great Unraveling' is under way?" Friends, who have a tradition of both seeing and acting, can lead the way in the "Great Turning" that is urgently needed, she said.

Sallie McFague, continued from page 1 >>