For Christmas I got a "Living Green: 365 Ways to Make a Difference" desk calendar. I'm quite excited about it, and I will use its wisdom to supplement the "Weekly Green Thoughts" (which will hopefully be more weekly than they were in 2009 ;) from The Green Bible.
I like this one a lot since I recently bought a new house. It is on the calendar's box rather than an actual page I've seen yet - but I think it works anyway. "What is the good of having a nice house without a decent planet to put it on?" - Henry David Thoreau
What if we start to think about the virtue of a house not in terms of square footage or amenities, but in terms of its impact (or hopefully lack thereof) on the earth which is home to all creatures?
06 January 2010
30 December 2009
Weekly Green Thought
"See my works, how fine and excellent they are! All that I created, I created for you. Reflect on this, and do not corrupt or desolate my world; for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you." Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13 (sixth-eighth centuries)
15 December 2009
Weekly Green Thought
"How can a person of flesh and blood follow God?...God, from the very beginning of creation, was occupied before all else with planting, as it is written, 'And first of all, the Eternal God planted a Garden in Eden.' Therefore...occupy yourselves first and foremost with planting." Leviticus Rabbah 25:3 (fifth-seventh centuries)
30 November 2009
Weekly Green Thought
"If a dead man is raised to life, all men spring up in astonishment. Yet every day one that had no being is born, and no man wonders, though it is plain to all, without doubt, that it is a greater thing for that to be created which was without being than for that which had being restored. Because the dry rod of Aaron budded, all men were in astonishment; every day a tree is produced from the dry earth...and no man wonders...Five thousand men were filled with five loaves;...every day the grains of seed that are sown are multiplied in a fullness of ears, and no man wonders. All...wondered to see water once turned into wine. Every day the earth's moisture, being drawn into the root of the vine, is turned by the grape into wine, and no man wonders. Full of wonder then are all the things which men never think to wonder at, because...they are by habit become dull to the consideration of them." Pope Gregory the Great (540-604)
28 November 2009
A Little Busy Lately
I have seriously been slacking on this blog lately - but at least I have a somewhat decent excuse: I bought a house! It's been an exciting/terrifying thing, but most of the "new" is beginning to wear off as I actually make payments, put holes in walls, and start to fix things that are broken. With the homeownership deal comes tons of "creation care questions." The house is fairly new, and it seems to be energy efficient overall. I bought a very efficient refrigerator - although, there were admittedly models that were better than the one I got. I suppose I am making some sacrifices and compromises involving the size and price of things. Generally I am a zealot about things, but lately I find myself trying to find peace in doing the best I can with what I have. Guess that's really what stewarship is fundamentally all about. We'll see.
Weekly Green Thought
"We should remain within the limits imposed by our basic needs and strive with all our power not to exceed them. Once we are carried beyond these limits in our desire for the pleasures of life, there is no criterion to check our onward movement, since no bounds can be set to that which exceeds the necessary." Nilus of Ancyra (407-94), Ascetic Discourses, vol. 1, Philokalia
Weekly Green Thought
"We should remain within the limits imposed by our basic needs and strive with all our power not to exceed them. Once we are carried beyond these limits in our desire for the pleasures of life, there is no criterion to check our onward movement, since no bounds can be set to that which exceeds the necessary." Nilus of Ancyra (407-94), Ascetic Discourses, vol. 1, Philokalia
30 September 2009
Should Christians Be Vegetarians?
Today I led a Bible study on Genesis 3, and an issue came up that occurred to me for the first time in college. There is a reading of the first few chapters of Genesis that sees the eating of animals by humans as a consequence of "The Fall" (human disobedience of God). See Genesis 1:29-30 - "God said, 'See I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so." (NRSV) This seems to be saying that plants were given to ALL animals for food as the initial setup of creation. So, should Christians seek to live in a way that reflects this by being vegetarians?
If not, and to be fair I am not a vegetarian, I think there is at least a responsibility for Christians to offer a response for the way they come by the meat they eat. We are for the most part not a society that hunts our food the way Native Americans did - and there is consequently much less reverence for the animals we eat. Some might claim the way many of our food animals are treated borders on abuse. If we are to eat animals, shouldn't we at least see that they are treated from pasture to plate as humanely as possible?
I have enjoyed reading The Omnivore's Dilemma immensely. The chapter that probably had the most effect on me was the one where the author participates in slaughtering the chickens on a sustainable farm. He argues that every meat-eater should have to do this at some point, and I wondered to myself if I could bring myself to kill my food - at least if not doing so was still an option. I think this will no doubt have some lasting impact on what I eat. And I'll share with you an Emerson quote mentioned in the aforementioned chapter that struck me:
"Weekly Green Thought"
"We should remain within the limits imposed on our basic needs and strive with all our power not to exceed them. Once we are carried beyond these limits in our desire for the pleasures of life, there is no criterion to check our onward movement, since no bounds can be set to that which exceeds the necessary." Nilus of Ancyra (407-94), Ascetic Discourses, vol. 1, Philokalia
If not, and to be fair I am not a vegetarian, I think there is at least a responsibility for Christians to offer a response for the way they come by the meat they eat. We are for the most part not a society that hunts our food the way Native Americans did - and there is consequently much less reverence for the animals we eat. Some might claim the way many of our food animals are treated borders on abuse. If we are to eat animals, shouldn't we at least see that they are treated from pasture to plate as humanely as possible?
I have enjoyed reading The Omnivore's Dilemma immensely. The chapter that probably had the most effect on me was the one where the author participates in slaughtering the chickens on a sustainable farm. He argues that every meat-eater should have to do this at some point, and I wondered to myself if I could bring myself to kill my food - at least if not doing so was still an option. I think this will no doubt have some lasting impact on what I eat. And I'll share with you an Emerson quote mentioned in the aforementioned chapter that struck me:
You have just dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity.
"Weekly Green Thought"
"We should remain within the limits imposed on our basic needs and strive with all our power not to exceed them. Once we are carried beyond these limits in our desire for the pleasures of life, there is no criterion to check our onward movement, since no bounds can be set to that which exceeds the necessary." Nilus of Ancyra (407-94), Ascetic Discourses, vol. 1, Philokalia
21 September 2009
What's Eating Us?
I'm finally reading a book I've been meaning to read for a while. It's called The Omnivore's Dilemma. Essentially, the omnivore's dilemma is "What shall I eat?" For many animals this is not a problem. They eat generally the same thing all the time. My dog, for instance, gets dog food twice a day and after two and a half years, she has yet to complain or go on a hunger strike. She seems content to eat the same thing every day.
Well, not me. As an omnivore I desire variety. And the question of what to eat or what I want to eat plagues me. Even with unlimited options, sometimes it takes me what seems like an eternity to decide. But even when I decide what to eat there's an underlying problem of getting the food. The problem stems from the fact that I am not a farmer or a hunter. I am at best a gatherer, but my gathering takes the form of picking up things and putting them in a grocery basket. But where did the grocery get the food that I'm buying and eating?
This is the ultimate question of the book: "Where does our food come from?" I've never read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I like both Chicago and meat too much to read it, but from what I've heard the awakening it brought about in our consciousness seems to be the desired effect of The Omnivore's Dilemma. That I would know the difference between beef from a cow that was fed corn and one that was fed grass and why the difference matters. That I would understand what "organic" actually means - if it means anything.
I'm loving the book, but at the same time wondering if there's a way to go on eating the same way after I finish reading it. I feel like what we eat is a tremendously important thing, for our health but also the health of the planet. And yet I think most of us are completely ignorant about our food. I am hopeful that this book and other movements will bring about momentum to steer us back to a time when people knew exactly what they ate, primarily because it was in their backyard.
Weekly Green Thought
"Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead, He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?" Augustine (354-430), De Civitate Dei, Book 16
Well, not me. As an omnivore I desire variety. And the question of what to eat or what I want to eat plagues me. Even with unlimited options, sometimes it takes me what seems like an eternity to decide. But even when I decide what to eat there's an underlying problem of getting the food. The problem stems from the fact that I am not a farmer or a hunter. I am at best a gatherer, but my gathering takes the form of picking up things and putting them in a grocery basket. But where did the grocery get the food that I'm buying and eating?
This is the ultimate question of the book: "Where does our food come from?" I've never read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. I like both Chicago and meat too much to read it, but from what I've heard the awakening it brought about in our consciousness seems to be the desired effect of The Omnivore's Dilemma. That I would know the difference between beef from a cow that was fed corn and one that was fed grass and why the difference matters. That I would understand what "organic" actually means - if it means anything.
I'm loving the book, but at the same time wondering if there's a way to go on eating the same way after I finish reading it. I feel like what we eat is a tremendously important thing, for our health but also the health of the planet. And yet I think most of us are completely ignorant about our food. I am hopeful that this book and other movements will bring about momentum to steer us back to a time when people knew exactly what they ate, primarily because it was in their backyard.
Weekly Green Thought
"Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead, He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?" Augustine (354-430), De Civitate Dei, Book 16
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)