Christian Education and Ecological Concerns | BME02

Unit – 7 (4): Christian Education and Ecological Concerns

Introduction

Humans these days are quite concerned about the environment, the same environment which they have been consistently misusing as long as they can remember. When an individual hears more about the delicate balance of nature and of the dangers to man’s survival on earth, he/she become aware of how little he/she understands about the world in which he/she lives. But often his/her perspective is dimmed because he/she looks at the prospects of the future simply in terms of scientific knowledge, which is important but is not the full story. There are some people who believe that their religious perspectives have encouraged the exploitation of nature. Because of an inadequate doctrine of creation and a lack of understanding of man’s responsibility to his environment, man has not been enlightened about the nature of God’s world.

This paper presents a brief exposition of the problems of ecology, its relation with Christian education and as how Christian education may be used to save ecology.

1. Definitions and Meanings

1.1. Ecology

Ecology is derived from the Greek term, oikeo, which means ‘‘to inhabit.’’ Literally, then, ecology is ‘‘the knowledge (logos) of inhabiting.’’¹

1.2. Educate

In the mid-15th C., educaten, means to “bring up (children), to train,” from Latin educatus, past participle of educare “bring up, rear, educate” (source also of Italian educare, Spanish educar, French éduquer), which is a frequentative of or otherwise related to educere “bring out, lead forth,” from ex- “out” (see ex-) + ducere “to lead,” from Proto Indo European root *deuk- “to lead.” ²

2. Ecological Disease – A Theological Problem

While it is certainly true that much of the present ecological disorganization is the result of man’s ignorance that is not the whole story. As Lowell Sumner has remarked, “A few dangerous situations confronting mankind today may result from ignorance, but most of them stem from socially destructive attitudes chiefly self-serving or hostile ones.”³

Paul Sears says, “In Western thought the natural world and its resources had become commodities to be used, used up, or destroyed, as man desired.”⁴ And Summer notes that “. . . from biblical times, if not before, some human populations conceived the notion that they lived at the center of the universe and that it all had been created for their use and comfort as conquerors.”⁵

Lynn White⁶ has pointed out that Christianity inherited a story of creation stressing man’s dominance over the animals and in which all else in creation exists to serve man, who is not simply part of nature but is made in God’s image.⁷

Man’s repression of his feelings of unity with nature have led quite directly, some writers feel, to the idea that nature may be raped, ravaged, and plundered, in the name of “progress,” production, and profit, by whatever means technology may provide. This, in turn, has led from ecological disorganization to social malaise.⁸

3. The Role of Christian Teaching in Responding to Ecological Crisis

Ecological crisis is fundamentally a spiritual crisis. In other words, it is a dysfunction of human spirituality that has led to the unrestrained exploitation and destruction of ecosystems. Recovery of a proper relationship between humans and the rest of God’s creation is thus the key to preserving a full and harmonious universe. It is in this area of restoration that Christian education is suggested to have a distinctive role and mission.⁹

Pope Benedict XVI says that “The Church has a responsibility towards creation and she must assert this responsibility in the public sphere. In so doing, she must defend not only earth, water and air as gifts of creation that belong to everyone. She must above all protect mankind from self-destruction. There is need for what might be called a human ecology, correctly understood. The deterioration of nature is in fact closely connected to the culture that shapes human coexistence: when ‘human ecology’ is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits. Just as human virtues are interrelated, such that the weakening of one places others at risk, so the ecological system is based on respect for a plan that affects both the health of society and its good relationship with nature.”¹⁰ Christian Education is thus a medium of reaching the church and thereby encouraging them to be involved in the solution making process of ecological crises.

Christian higher education is the fostering of value-based leadership in administrators, faculty, and students, who will serve and contribute to understanding and justice in their societies. It is education that is also accessible to the less advantaged. Christian higher education is not exclusively by and for Christians, but is committed to Christian values: liberal and humane education; education of the whole person; moral development of students and faculty…, it is education that addresses social, human, and environmental issues… Christian higher education nurtures not only the formation of Christian students, but also the formation of students of other religious and cultural backgrounds, to understand their own religious tradition as well as the religious traditions of others.¹¹

4. Christian Presence in the Higher Education System

4.1. Christian Education

Making the church aware of the alarming ecological issues is a mandate for the church leaders. It is very much important for them to teach the church as how humanity is responsible for the damage caused to the environment and encourage them to strive for the protection of the environment and solve this issue of ecological crises. Various measures needs to be undertaken by the church at various levels in order to achieve the task.

4.2. Higher Education System

Looking at the history of education and higher education in India, it can be observed that most of the premier educational institutions which includes schools, colleges and universities were once started by Christian missionaries. This education not only gave knowledge about science and facts, arts and literature, but also taught the students moral values. It empowered the students to boldly face the realities of life.

Education can be considered to be a process of transformation. The mission of higher education is to prepare students for leadership in society by means of research, instruction, and service. According to a statement issued by the 1982 United Nations World Conference on Higher Education Partners, “At no time in human history is the welfare of nations so closely linked to the quality and outreach of their higher education system and institutions.”¹² These challenges, to highlight just a few, include the eradication of poverty, the establishment of justice, the attainment of peaceful coexistence of nations and peoples, and of course, the achievement of sustainable development and eco- justice.¹³

5. Purpose of Christian Education

Po Ho Huang suggests 6 purposes of Christian Education as mentioned below:¹⁴

Present the basic representations, meanings, and symbols of the Christian faith and life
Realize that God loves humanity and the world in general
Discover the meaning and the timeliness of the gospel in relation to private and social life and civilization
Cultivate the mind and order to act with true solidarity, peace, and justice, to respect religious particularities, and to co-exist with the “different”
Assess the need to respect and protect the environment as well as our country’s and humanity’s cultural heritage
Understand the importance of being an active member of the church community

6. Pattern and Curriculum of Christian Education

Based on researches and findings of Randolph Haluza-DeLay, the church leaders should facilitate workshop, retreat or Sunday school sessions, and give lectures or Sunday sermons to a broad spectrum of religious groups. Study of relevant biblical passages and theological exposition on the meanings of these passages and religious themes must be taken into account. Background of contemporary environmental issues could address specific issues (endangered species, environmental justice), or a range of issues, and with more advanced groups placed environmental issues in the context of political-economic systems. All sessions must include self-reflection, and sometimes include group goal-setting or planning for action and accountability. These elements must be adjusted according to the length of time with the group (e.g., a single Sunday school session or a longer series), and the age or denominational group type. Adult or high school Sunday school sessions typically must include 5 and 12 people and must be structured around information sharing and discussion. Sermons or lectures generally allows less or no interaction. Hence, a “coffee social” gathering or question period can be held afterwards. The groups and event types should vary considerably.¹⁵

Larry Rassmussen’s 7 streams of Christian approaches to human relations with the rest of creation can be considered as part of the curriculum.¹⁶

Dominion – the domineering model; the typical “command and control” model that predominates contemporary society.
Stewardship – benevolent management; for the good of the creation, as stewards for the true owner (God).
Partnership – which decentres humans, placing them as part of nature.
Sacramentalism – signs of the divine presence; recognizing the immanence of God in all things (but not to the extent of pantheistically identifying the divine with the created order).
Eco-feminism – whose chief contribution has been an analysis of power relations and domination of all forms including nature.
Prophetic-Teacher – an urgent moral calling and activism.
Evolutionary – drawing on scientific insights coupled with natural theology.

7. Parts of Christian Education

Christian Education plays a dual role in school: informative (gnoseologic) and experiential (life experience).¹⁷

7.1. Informative

The purpose of information (gnoseology) is to offer students the right knowledge so they can¹⁸

Manage everyday problems created by contemporary life.
Express a responsible view and react responsibly on crucial everyday issues in order to promote dialogue in society.
Be responsible so that they can get pure knowledge.
Form moral standards and attitudes.

7.2. Experiential

The purpose of experience is to enable students to:¹⁹

Experience the truths of Christianity that are taught at school.
Be able to evaluate socially accepted ways of life.
Form their own personalities.
Achieve their spiritual elevation.

8. Teaching methods

Moderate disposition
Catechism
Teaching moral principles
Religious indoctrination, understood positively
Focus on a doctrine as a cognitive element that is susceptible to some interpretative elaboration

Conclusion

This paper presented a glimpse of the relation of the humanity to ecology and how man has misused it. Also, a Christian education was looked into as an aid to solve this alarming ecological crises.

Bibliography

Ayres, Jennifer R. “Memories of Home: Theological Education, Place Based Pedagogy and Inhabitance.” In Grounding Education in Environmental Humanities Exploring Place- Based Pedagogies in the South Edited by, Lucas F. Johnston and Dave Aftandilian. New York: Routledge, 2019.

Sears, Paul B. Where there is Life. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1962.

Journal

“Ecology and Religious Education.” 1971. Religious Education 66 (1): 14–61. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA0000729383&site=ehost-live

Botas, Athanasios. 2012. “The Orthodox Ecological View as a Tool in Environmental Education and the Care of the Ecumenical Patriarch for ‘Green Development.’” The Greek Orthodox Theological Review 57 (1–4): 81–104. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA0001965860&site=ehost-live

Haluza-DeLay, Randolph. “Churches Engaging the Environment: An Autoethnography of Obstacles and Opportunities” Human Ecology Review (15/1), 2008

Huang, Bohe 2013. “Whom to Blame?: An Inquiry of the Theological Roots of Ecological Crisis and the Challenges of Christian Higher Education in Asia.” Theologies and Cultures 10 (1):8–24. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA0001990162&site=ehost-live

Rasmussen, Larry. “Toward an Earth charter” The Christian Century 108 (1991), 964-967.

Sumner, Lowell ‘The Good Barth and the Golden Rule,” National Parks Magazine, January, 1970, 4.

Presentation

Lynn White, Jr., ‘The Historical Roots of our Ecologie Crisis,” (Paper presented at the 133rd meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D. C, December 26, 1966), 6.

Web Source

‘Educate’ Online Etymology Dictionary https://www.etymonline.com/word/educate (10 July, 2020)

Dorsey, Piccirilli. “The Book of Nature: One and Indivisible” Humanum: Issues in Family, Culture & Science (2016). https://humanumreview.com/articles/the-book-of-nature-one-and-indivisible (24 July, 2020)

UNESCO (20 Sep 2010) http://www.unesco.org/en/higher-education/ (12 July, 2020)

United Board, http://www.unitedboard.org/programs.asp

Footnotes

Jennifer R. Ayres, “Memories of Home: Theological Education, Place Based Pedagogy and Inhabitance” in Grounding Education in Environmental Humanities Exploring Place-Based Pedagogies in the South eds., Lucas F. Johnston and Dave Aftandilian (New York: Routledge, 2019), 52.
‘Educate’ Online Etymology Dictionary https://www.etymonline.com/word/educate (10 July, 2020)
Lowell Sumner, ‘The Good Barth and the Golden Rule,” National Parks Magazine, January, 1970, 4.
Paul B. Sears, Where There is Life, (New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1962), 90.
Sumner, 6
Lynn White, Jr., ‘The Historical Roots of our Ecologie Crisis,” (Paper presented at the 133rd meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D. C, December 26, 1966), 6.
“Ecology and Religious Education.” 1971. Religious Education 66 (1): 14–61. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA0000729383&site=ehost-live
“Ecology and Religious Education.”
Bohe Huang, 2013. “Whom to Blame?: An Inquiry of the Theological Roots of Ecological Crisis and the Challenges of Christian Higher Education in Asia.” Theologies and Cultures 10 (1): 8–24. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA0001990162&site=ehost-live
Piccirilli Dorsey, “The Book of Nature: One and Indivisible” Humanum: Issues in Family, Culture & Science (2016) https://humanumreview.com/articles/the-book-of-nature-one-and-indivisible (24 July, 2020)
http://www.unitedboard.org/programs.asp, Sept. 20,2010
UNESCO (20 Sep 2010) http://www.unesco.org/en/higher-education/ (12 July, 2020)
Huang, “Whom to Blame?”
Athanasios. Botas, 2012. “The Orthodox Ecological View as a Tool in Environmental Education and the Care of the Ecumenical Patriarch for ‘Green Development.’” The Greek Orthodox Theological Review 57 (1–4): 81–104. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lsdar&AN=ATLA0001965860&site=ehost-live
Randolph Haluza-DeDelay, “Churches Engaging the Environment: An Autoethnography of Obstacles and Opportunities” Human Ecology Review (15/1), 2008
Larry Rasmussen, “Toward an Earth charter” The Christian Century 108 (1991), 964-967.
Botas, “The Orthodox Ecological View”
Botas, “The Orthodox Ecological View”
Botas, “The Orthodox Ecological View”
Botas, “The Orthodox Ecological View”

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