“Once we thought of human-made things and God-made things as separate,” says Kiara Jorgenson, assistant professor of religion and environmental studies at St. Olaf college. Jorgenson and other theologians want to help us rethink the point of view that centers humans near the top of an imaginary pyramid, with all the rest of God’s creation below. Jorgenson says that we need to move into a “deeper sense of relatedness, that we are participants in creation.”
From this stance, we can acknowledge the intrinsic worth of all creatures and our interconnection with nonhuman kin. Scriptures such as Romans 8:22 and Revelation 22:1-5 reassure us that God is waiting to redeem all creation, not just humans, and that the cosmos has a purpose beyond human utility. In other words, instead of simply seeing ourselves as beings that are “a little lower than God…[with] all things under their feet” (Psalm 8:5-8), perhaps we can open ourselves to a more participatory, relationship-centered view of our planet and its residents.
This message is excerpted from “Plastic really stands out” by Anne Basye in the September/October 2024 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Simon and Jude, Apostles.
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