I feel that every generation has what I call a “pride of the present”: we tend to believe that our thinking is sounder and our worldview more informed than the previous one—perhaps even all previous generations. This is especially apparent in regard to the natural world—which modern science believes it has virtually mastered. Because nature has been our easy provider, willing patient, and sometimes cadaver for so long, we have tended to lose respect for it. And what we no longer respect, we can easily come to abuse.
But that’s really not the point of this post.
I believe we modern followers of Christ have also become somewhat blind followers of science and have adopted the same utilitarian view toward God’s good creation that we see in much of science and industry. The utilitarian approach, however, is really the child of the Enlightenment and the subsequent Industrial Revolution, not of a true understanding of the theology of nature. Interestingly, two of the most significant Reformers, John Calvin and Martin Luther, had been quite successful in framing a sound biblical theology of nature in the 16th century that corrected the faulty dualistic theology of the Middle Ages that saw the material world as something low and degraded that needed to be escaped from (a view that goes all the way back to Plato and is also foundational to Eastern religions). Sadly, however, their followers became the champions of the “Protestant work ethic” that in part led to the Industrial Revolution and the ultimate devaluation of the creation that Calvin and Luther had helped to free from mysticism and dualism. See the Wikipedia article about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_work_ethic
Calvin and Luther both had a high view of the natural world that I think we need to recapture. I firmly believe we need to trade our pride of the present for humility and an understanding that other generations before us may have had a more biblically sound view of the creation than we do. I go into depth on that issue in the article “Listening To the Right Voices,” which you can get to by going to the “Articles” button at the top of the page. [Sorry you will need to do a bit of scrolling to find it. We are hoping to fix that soon.]
To whet your appetite on rethinking how Christians ought to consider the creation, let me drop in a couple quotes on this post that you can also find on this blogsite under “Creation Quotations”:
From Luthe
r:
“Now if I believe in God’s Son and bear in mind that He became man, all creatures will appear a hundred times more beautiful to me than before. Then I will properly appreciate the sun, the moon, the stars, trees, apples, pears, as I reflect that he is Lord over and the center of all things.”
From Calvin:
“In every part of the world, in heaven and on earth, he has written and as it were engraven the glory of his power, goodness and eternity…. For all creatures, from the firmament even to the center of the earth, could be witnesses
and messengers of his glory to all men, drawing them on to seek him and, having found him, to do him service and honor according to the dignity of a Lord so good, so potent, so wise and everlasting….For the little singing birds sang of God, the animals acclaimed Him, the elements feared and the mountains resounded with Him, the river and springs threw glances toward Him, the grasses and the flowers smiled.”
To be continued . . . .
See you outdoors,
Dean
November 7th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Wonderful post, Dean. I never had made quite the connections you’re making here. I do see how our priorities in general are out of whack. To think it’s more important about getting, getting, getting (money) rather than enjoying what the great and good Giver has already given us, is surely amiss.
Beautiful pics, by the way.
November 7th, 2008 at 10:25 am
While William Wordsworth tended to forget the Creator in his praise of the creation, I think he would agree with you, Ted.
“The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon,
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.
November 7th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Hi Dean, I can’t tell you how much I am enjoying the “Truth” of your Blog. I just finished reading all the Articles and was blessed and agree with what you wrote. I live in the rain forest (on a beach) in Costa Rica and every day see the growth of unchecked development causing unknown future problems and chaos in the plant,reptile, insect and animal kingdom. I can only imagine how it must grieve the heart of our creator as He sees His creation day by day being put to death. We, as Christians DO have a responsibality and may God help us to see that before it’s too late.
May God continue to use you to open more eyes to the enormous danger we are in if we don’t step up to the bar and take responsibility for what God, Himself has given us. “The earth is the LORDS and the fullness thereof” ( PS 24:1)and I would add to that, that we represent Him on this earth. Dios te Bendiga…
November 7th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Dean, do you think our great grandparents’ generation which I think were for the most part, agricultural: depending on the land, weather, pollination from insects, manure from farm animals to give them crops for human and animal consumption; trees to build their homes, barns and sheds; didn’t they have a high view of nature? These same folks hunted game for food and hides plus gathered wild edible plants, and plants for dyes and other uses.
We don’t do that much any more, we just go to the store and purchase what we need, or do without.
I wonder what folks would do if they had to go back to living like our ancestors?
I believe I would appreciate nature a lot more, and would be on my knees asking the Lord for the basics on a regular basis.
November 7th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Reply to rdrcomp:
I think that our ancestors were probably a lot like us–in that there must be a response within our own spirits to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in order to develop–and maintain–a high view of nature.
George MacDonald’s novels in particular were instructional to me on that–his living during the same era as our great-grandfathers. His characters demonstrated both sensitivity and extreme insensitivity toward the natural world. He, like William Wilberforce and John Wesley, was especially angered by cruelty to animals.
Being close to nature is no guarantee that we will have an elevated–i.e biblical–sensitivity to it. It took an encounter with the Holy Spirit twenty years ago to awaken me to the feelings and beliefs I now have about the value and meaning of the creation.
That, however, probably would not have happened if I had not opened myself up to the Spirit and sought earnestly to learn more about the meaning of the creation.
Many of the folks I know who share this sensitivity followed a similar path and tell dramatic stories of a sort of a further “conversion” where they are convinced the Holy Spirit did a work in their hearts to change their understandings.
November 10th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Dean, I came to know Jesus as Savior in the early 70′s, and He gave me a hunger for the things of God, especially for His Word, and it hasn’t let up.
For me, growth has been in stages, almost plateaus, where a particular truth hits home. I have been especially burdened lately to have a fresh encounter with the Lord, so this blog has not come about by accident.
I sense that what happened to you 20 years ago may be what I may need also, but I have never heard of before. I dig into the Word, and wrestle with the doctrines and my own sin and lack of depth of faith. I get totally involved with the ministry of the local church, and yet, there is something missing. I know I am saved, and heaven is my glorious destination, all because of Jesus’ death in payment for all of my sin. It is absolutely settled. And I know He is always with me through the good times and the bad, never to leave nor forsake. But….
So thanks for your insights. I do love the outdoors, so maybe seeking earnestly for the meaning of creation and relying on the Holy Spirit to instruct will pay dividends.