We are going through a global crisis of increased temperatures, lack of water, deforestation, diseases, species in danger of disappearing and the like. To explain this phenomenon, there are at least two major versions of the problem: that global warming is normal and that the human impact is minimal and, on the other, that the human impact on CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases is what is causing the effect of temperature increase. It is not our role to discuss this matter, because we are not experts (there will be those who read this article and are), and we are not going to define the issue. The issue at hand here is a more pragmatic question. Because, whatever the correct explanation, the truth is that the human being is a factor of imbalance in nature. The footprint of so-called human development has been key in the modification of ecosystems, for better or worse. Therefore, in the face of so much heat, lack of water, storms out of control, etc., it is worth asking ourselves if we consider caring for nature a spiritual act.
The reader does not misunderstand me. We are not talking about pantheisms, or animisms or mysticisms of any kind. I am referring to a spirituality, a praxis of salvation, that is not anthropocentric, but that, in its mission, in its actions, and in its theological conception – if we want to see it that way -, includes the care of nature in terms of Gospel, that is, to consider nature as an object of salvation, transformation and restoration.
To some extent, it is difficult for some to consider nature as an object of salvation. Or it is simply not within our discourse as Christians. That is, we go to worship, to conferences, to study circles and we preach “for the little souls,” but that day we take 20 minutes in the shower, we throw garbage where we shouldn’t, or we generate kilos of garbage, including poorly managed waste. of our “dogs”, we let the cat roam freely around the neighborhood hunting endemic animals, we consume products that devastate the aquifers, we ignore that news about that foreign mining company that depredates forests and jungles… But how well the praise team ministered to us! That day several little souls were saved… I’m not saying it’s wrong, but I am saying that our preaching of the Good News is too anthropocentric. Or, in other words, the object of his action is reduced to what a soul has to save.
But let’s be fair, this is an idea inherited from our Catholic-Augustinian, or Thomistic, or, to finish quickly, Hellenistic heritage, where the ontological discourse is dualistic. That is to say. There is a soul and a body, or as some think, also a spirit, thinking of a tripartite being that, furthermore, deep down remains a dualistic conception, by separating the being into two natures: material and immaterial. From this perspective, what is important is the immaterial, what ascends to God, the soul. Earthly matters are not so important, because they are mundane, they are susceptible to evil.
There is not much space in this article to problematize, but there is to say that the conception of the Semitic, or biblical, being is that of an integral being, with an indivisible and total nature, where the terms are interchangeable at the point of conceiving life. , in its entirety, as an object of salvation. Life here, and its integral complexity, brings together the totality of being, which, in the irrefutable fact of the resurrection, is demonstrated to be saved in a total way, regenerating each sphere of what the complexity of life is.
That is to say. Our salvation is closely related to what surrounds us. “Animals are gregarious, human beings are communal,” says Dussel. We would have to add that it is ethical, and therefore responsible for what is proximate and proxemic(1). In other words, we have to be responsible for our neighbors including the environment where we all live. It is an act of love to promote a dignified, healthy, enjoyable life. And in this package comes all of nature. However, I have heard many Christians say that animals do not feel, because they do not have souls. That they are not going to go to heaven, because they have no soul, that plants are beings without consciousness, without soul. And here is the question: how do we affirm this, if not from an inherited, dualistic, rational and anthropocentric Western theology? In this regard, if I can make the reader think, the word says, in its purest Semitic thought, that God made everything from His word (Gen 1-3), using the same organ from which He breathed the breath of life. That is, everything has that wonderful wind coming out of the mouth of YHWH. Life is a consequence of that holy breath. It is not our place to affirm things about what God created good and innocent, but only to describe the wonder of life and God’s signature in his creation. How can you not care for something that He made in His love? It would be unnecessary to describe studies that demonstrate complex feelings in animals; the intimate relationship, almost as if they were neuronal connections, between the trees of the forest through the fungi that live among their roots, how important each species is in the ecosystems, and of course, that without water we will all die.
Romans 8:19-23 says:
“For the ardent longing of creation is to wait for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; for the creation itself will also be freed from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious freedom of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans together, and is in labor pains together until now; and not only her, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. (VRV).
Revelation (Rev. 21) also mentions a creation – here in the world – liberated, renewed, saved. The Saints, at the end of it all, did everything right. Including the act of obedience of good care and administration of the Gift of God reflected in life and all its manifestations. This is beautiful: nature is released and perfected on the day of the Saints, when the Lord comes. So, is it not necessary for Christians, prepare the way of the Lord? That would mean including the whole of a comprehensive mission of Christ in the world. Yes, with everything and plants, animals, insects, the entire ecosystem. Every life is important, because every life, no matter how small, is in the heart of the one who created it. And He is perfect, and He sees for the innocent.
So the Christian is obliged to take his mission further than saving souls. It is a project that includes everything of a New Humanity. That is, both the restoration of the being, until establishing conditions of justice and peace where nature is included. Our ethics deserve to be developed from a perspective that includes animals, plants, the environment, the rational consumption of resources, care for the body, and the dignity of every living being. Was it not God, who, when creating everything, saw that it was good? And if the Lord was pleased with his creation, why do we dare to objectify it, use it, devastate it?
And this leads me to think that, as Christians, we have the responsibility to confront everything from selfish and irresponsible customs with nature, to Big Capital and the political-economic power of the powers that try to prey on our resources: we must be aware of what I’m consuming, and how it got into my hands, instead of complaining about why it’s so hot.
(1) Both concepts are from the philosophy of liberation, and refer to the ethical treatment of the environment and neighbors, respectively. And it makes us think about one thing: wouldn’t it be an act of love to take care of the world in which my neighbor and I live? At the same time that I cannot say: God bless you, without acting accordingly, I could not allow myself to leave a devastated world, without animals, without water, to my neighbors.
