>> Sallie McFague, continued from page 1

The first step is to ask God's help in turning around, she said. This might be rephrased for non-theists as asking how we fit into the total ecological unity of the planet, recognizing that relationships were imbedded in life from the beginning of Creation. This is very different from the doctrine of industrialism, which operates in terms of arbitrary separations and dualities, McFague said.

Ecological unity means that the community and the individual exist for one another. The health of the whole cannot be sustained apart from the health of the parts. This has implications for sustainable global economics, in which peace, social justice and ecological sustainability belong together. This contrasts with the assumption of industrial society that we have the right to all we can legally acquire, McFague said.

In working for peace, we must look beyond the cessation of war. True peace is possible only when everyone has been provided with the basics of existence and all ecosystems are allowed to thrive. Because the divine is incarnate in Creation, the love we show toward all beings is an act of love toward God.

Even more important, as we are drawn instinctively to create a different kind of world, we must realize that in some sense it already exists as a seed that God has dreamed and sowed in our hearts. That dream, that promise, is what allows us—as it has allowed the saints of all agesto face the future with hope and optimism—knowing that God is hanging in there with us.

In response to a comment from the audience about "conservative" Christians who seem indifferent to environmental problems, McFague noted that some 50 major evangelical leaders recently signed a strong environmental statement, so this issue is not the sole domain of "liberals." What matters most is whether someone has a solid foundation for his or convictions, which is where some fluency in the language of theology seems to pay dividends for the evangelicals.

When asked what steps we can take to have smaller ecological footprints and live more sustain-ably, McFague mentioned carbon-emission offsets and just simpler living. We can shift to diets that have lower environmental costs, she said, mentioning Michael Pollen's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, as a real eye-opener on this subject. And some of us no doubt could benefit from a kind of "eco-therapy," modeled perhaps on 12-step programs, to help overcome our addiction to consumption.

Each of us can take on some kind of social role in assisting the Great Turning. It's a question of finding a niche in which to contribute and getting good at it, she said.

How we make, spend, and invest money also has a big impact on the state of the world. That is why some economists are making a religious issue out of equitable allocation of world resources. There are alternative economic systems, such as those of Scandanavia and Canada, that seem healthier for communities and the planet, she said.

We can't meet the ecological challenges ahead with token efforts, she said. When the U.S. was drawn into World War II, the country underwent rapid and massive mobilization for war production. "What will it take for people now to see that the well-being of the planet is just as important?"

In the end, what we do has a lot to do with who we think we are, which comes back to eco-theology, McFague said. In order to defend Creation, we need to know that, spiritually and biologically, we are an integral part of it.

Dr. McFague currently serves as "Distinguished Theologian in Residence" at Vancouver (B.C.) School of Theology. Her most recent book is, Life Abundant—Rethinking Theology and Economy for a Planet in Peril. •