INTRODUCTION
“God blessed them, and
God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue
it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air
and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." (Genesis 1:28)
God created the universe. He made everything here on earth and God saw
it and “it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
He created man in His image and likeness to rule over to His creation to
be steward and not to be destroyer. Natures
are God’s gift to mankind. Taking good
care of His creation is our gift to our Creator. To dominion the creation assigned to us by
God, is to become God’s vice-regent, steward, or manager to his creation. This should be the correct interpretation of
the biblical text from Genesis. But
mankind is misguided and takes the wrong notion of the meaning of
dominion. Hence, we need to “harmonize
with nature in order to have a better existence here on earth.”[1] Plus, “man’s vocation is to love the earth as
God loves it and to delight in the diverse creatures to our planet as God
delight in them.”[2] Because of man’s wrong notion of dominion and
misuse of freedom, it creates destruction to God’s creation, specifically in
the environment or ecosystem. It seems that nature is made simply for human
beings to exploit. Humans exploited
natures because of the profit-oriented mentality which is adopted from the
ideology of globalization. That is why when we talk about globalization it is
also talking about our environment.
Globalization has its good effect to the world but we cannot deny the
fact that has also has its bad effects not only to the small businessmen but
most especially to the environment. Thus this study aims to explain the effect
of globalization in the environment. And
to find what will be the response of man to the environment as steward of God’s
creation.
CHAPTER
1
GLOBALIZATION
AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Historical
Perspective of Globalization
Because
of globalization the face of the earth is change. It changes the life-style not only to the
human beings but also to the different species living here on earth and it also
changes the face of our environment.
However, globalization started with the “emergence of trade along the
silk road during the Han period in China (202 BCE-220 CE) and the Roman Empire
in the West (100 BCE-550 CE), the Eurasian continent was linked with other
world cultures for the first time.”[3] Then,
at the “age of exploration initiated by the Europeans, the planet became
gradually linked and the interchange of species, as well as goods and culture,
became more evident.”[4]
Because of explorations, the colonialization and industrialization began at
first in almost part of the world. At
the height of industrialization that was also the time of the rise of technological
advancement, likewise it was also the time of the environmental destruction. Thus, “in thinking about globalization in its
many forms, it is becoming increasingly clear that the environment emerges as a
key issue that will determine all others.”[5]
Meaning of Ecology
Human beings are part of the global
community. A community not only for
human beings but also for the animals and non-human beings. Everything is made for a reason and
purpose. Each one of us is
interconnected, since we are living in this earth. If we exploit the rivers or the seas the effect
will not limit only to the sea creatures but also to human beings. If man cuts all the trees in the forest, it
is not only the animal will suffer but man will also face the worse
consequences. “Everything here on earth is interconnected.”[6]
The word “ecology” actually comes from the Greek
oikos, meaning “household,” “home,” or “place to live.”[7]
Henceforth, “ecology attempts to understand the complex web of linkages,
relationships and interdependencies in a particular environment or
ecosystem. It reminds us that human
beings are part of the “house”.[8]
Therefore in everything we do to our Mother Nature,
it has always something to do with the course of humanity. The global warming is the concrete
repercussion of man’s exploitation to our Mother Nature. Furthermore, “human species has emerged as
the dominant species in almost all ecosystems.
This domination has led to the degradation of the natural environment.”[9]
Effects of Globalization to our
Environment
There
are two problems that we are facing today in terms of the effects of the
globalization to our environment. The
Climate change which was only a prediction before, now it becomes a reality
because of man’s abusive power over nature.
Second is the species extinction.
These two problems existed because of the “increasing industrialization,
destruction of ecosystem, raped use of resources, and population explosions.”[10]
How come that this population explosion create a
massive destruction in the environment?
“Increasing population does not necessarily have to mean increasing environmental
degradation.”[11]
But large number of people burdens the
ecosystem. This means that our natural
resources are limited and if there are so many people, our natural resources
cannot suffice the needs of the people. Furthermore,
reality speaks that there are more poor people than the rich ones. Poor people will somehow go to the urban
cities for survival purposes. Mostly
they will reside near at the rivers and somehow they will pollute the river
banks and kill the living species in the river. By throwing their garbage
anywhere and no proper comfort rooms inside in there home. Other side of the story if there are many people
it means there are also lots of shelters to be made. Since there are no more spaces in the urban
cities, constructor will build home on the mountain. Putting houses at the mountain means cutting
more tress and destroying another form of habitat. If there are lots of people
and our resources are then they will tend to use chemicals in there agriculture
to meet the demands of the market for supply.
Without knowing that putting chemicals to our crops can make the soil infertile,
“chemicals destroy the long-term natural fertility of soil,”[12] and
the environmental degradation will follow.
Second is about the technology. We cannot deny the fact that technological
advancements improve our human life and create economic growth yet it also
consumes huge amounts of energy and contributed most of the pollution in the
atmosphere and in the water.
“The impact of these technologies on
ecosystems has been enormous. Take for example, the forests of the earth. The technologies that have made the harvest
of ancient forest tracts possible in a short period of time are easy to
pinpoint. The chainsaw, road building
equipment draglines, and the truck revolutionized the harvest. Underlying these technologies were the skills
of the large equipment operator, the expert tree faller the accountant the
administrator, and the ideology of scientific management. Species and ecosystems have no defense
against this kind of power. Of special
importance to the degradation of forest communities and ecosystems is the road
building made possible by bulldozers, road graders, and other heavy
equipment. Where roads go, immigrants
go, forests go down, and forest dwellers go out.”[13]
Lastly is the anthropocentric
attitude of man which means human-centered.
Thus is says:
“Strong anthropocentric attitudes were
appropriate or at least did minimal harm to ecosystems when humans wielded
little power. They are inappropriate in
the present context when humans have the power to exploit all ecosystems. In this new situation utilitarian attitudes
lead to the devaluing of nature and consequently to exploitation.”[14]
Population explosion, technologies, and
anthropocentrism are not only the effects of globalization to the environment. There are lots of them. But these three probably the basic reasons constitute
globalization that will cause environmental degradation.
CHAPTER II
BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES ABOUT STEWARDSHIP
IN OUR ENVIRONMENT
Old Testament
In Genesis 1: 26, “Then God said,
"Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." This text suggests that we humans are
stewards of the earth. Genesis 2:15,
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and
keep it.” Human being is told to
“cultivate and care” what God has given.
It means that “human beings are part of the unfolding of creation,
called to participate responsibly in the dynamism of ongoing creation.”[15]
Deuteronomy 22:6-7, “If you come on a bird's nest, in any tree or on the
ground, with fledglings or eggs, with the mother sitting on the fledglings or on
the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. Let the mother go,
taking only the young for yourself, in order that it may go well with you and
you may live long.”; Numbers 35:33, “You shall not pollute the land in which
you live; for blood pollutes the land, and no expiation can be made for the
land, for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed
it.” Job 12: 7-10, “But ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of
the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will
teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these do
not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being.”
These texts tell us that God teaches humans through nature. Jeremiah 2:7, “I brought you into a plentiful
land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my
land, and made my heritage an abomination.” This text tells us that God expects
humans to be His stewards with nature.
New
Testament
John 1:3, “All
things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into
being. What has come into being.” This text means that God made
everything. Matthew 6:26, “Look at the
birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them.” this text indicates that God has a relationship
with all of His creation. Revelation
5:13, “then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth
and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, "To the one seated on
the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever
and ever!" This text indicates that
God calls all of His creation to worship.
Roman 1:19-20, “For what can be known about God is plain to them,
because God has shown it to them. Ever
since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible
though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.
So they are without excuse;” this text shows that God teaches Humans through
nature. Luke 16:2, 10, 13, “and he
called him and said to him, “what is this I hear about you? Give me an account of your stewardship, for
you can no longer be steward. He who is faithful
in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a
very little thing is unrighteous in much.
You cannot serve both God and mammon.” These texts show that God expects
humans to be His stewards with nature.
It
is now clear to us that God Created, blessed, and protected everything. As stewards of His creation we are called to
do no less. It is now our duty to
protect the other species and their habitat.
The bible is clear that creation expresses God’s wisdom and power.
CHAPTER
III
CHURCH
TEACHING ABOUT OUR ENVIRONMENT
Our
late Pope John Paul II has called for Christians to respect and protect the
environment, so that through nature people can contemplate the mystery of the
greatness and love of God. it is also
stated in the CFC that, “we are called to exercise in our daily activities which we can
rightfully consider as a prolongation of God’s continuing work of creating and
a service to our fellow men and women.”[16] Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, Pope John Paul II
encyclical stated that:
“We
even have to respect the natural world around us. We cannot use the different kinds of
beings-animals-plants-minerals-simply as we wish. We have to take their nature into account. We should realize that our natural resources
are limited. We should be aware of the
consequences for our health.”[17]
These are other teachings of our Church that
deal towards the environment.
The
message of Pope John Paul II during 1990, World Day of Peace:
“Finally,
the aesthetic value of creation cannot be overlooked. Our very contact with natures has a deep
restorative power; contemplation of its magnificence imparts peace and
serenity. The Bible speaks again and
again of the goodness and beauty of creation which is called to glorify God.”[18]
Ecclesia
in Asia: Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation of Pope John Paul II:
“When
concern for economic and technological progress is not accompanied by concern
for the balance of the ecosystem, our earth is inevitably exposed to a serious
environmental damage, with consequent harm to human beings. Blatant disrespect for the environment will
continue as long as the earth and its potential are seen merely as objects of
immediate use and consumption, to be manipulated by an unbridled desire for
profit. It is the duty of Christians and
of all who look God as Creator to protect the environment by restoring a sense
of reverence for the whole of God’s creation.”[19]
Evangelium
Vitae: Encyclical Letter of Pope John
Paul II:
“In
fact, the dominion granted to man by the Creator is not an absolute power, nor
can one speak of a freedom to ‘use and misuse’, or to dispose of things as one
pleases. The limitation imposed from the
beginning by the Creator himself and expressed symbolically by the prohibition
not to ‘eat of the fruit of the tree’ (cf. Gn. 2:16-17) shows clearly enough
that, when it comes to the natural world, we are subject not only to biological
laws but also to a moral ones, which cannot be violated with impurity.”[20]
Populorum
Progressio: Encyclical Letter of Pope
Paul VI:
“In
the very first pages of Scriptures we read these words: “fill the earth and subdue it.” This teaches us that the whole of creation is
for man, that he has been changed to give it meaning by his intelligent
activity to complete and perfect it by his own efforts and to his own
advantage.”[21]
To summarize it all, we
are called to be a steward of the whole creation. We will not abuse or exploit the whole
creation. Our power to dominion is to
cultivate and nurture the environment for man’s advantage to survive.
The environment and the
whole of ecosystems are self-expression of the Creator, therefore the whole
community of the “house” is an image of God.
For that reason we need to respect and love our “households” because
they are all image of God. Man is made
by His image and likeness and the whole of environment is an image of God. There
is only one perfect image of God, and that is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true image of God. He is the
first born of all things in creation. He
is the image of God not just for human beings but also for all creatures.”[22] Natures give us temporal life here on earth
but Jesus is the source of eternal life.
Both of them give life to human beings.
That is why the Church encourages and challenges us to promote life by
saving our Mother Earth.
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
There
is still hope in saving our “home” from dying. Human being desires to rule and exploit the
whole creation is the starting point of the devastation of our “home”. Human being is the primary cause for the
destruction of our environment. Only the human being can do this to the
environment. Therefore man is the only solution to solve the problem. When God created the world there was no
problem like this in our environment.
But when man started to innovate using his intellect, our environment
becomes more vulnerable to fragility.
There was a quote from the movie entitled ‘the day the earth stood
still’ that states, “the problem is not technology…the problem is you (human)…you
(human) lack the will to change.” Technologies
or machines can only do its purpose if man will use it in a proper way. But since man of today becomes more
profit-oriented and self-centered, machines and technologies become harmful to
the environment. The challenge then is
that man must change in their ways of living their life here on earth. To change the face of the earth is to change
ourselves first. How? By doing simple things that can contribute to
big things, we must think globally but act locally. Like recycling, conserve water, live simple
life-style, segregate and throw garbage properly, tree planting, regulate the
use of electronic devices and many more.
If all of us are serious for this cause probably our “home” will become favorable
place for living. Cooperation of
everybody is very important factor to help and prevent the longevity our
“home.” What is money then if we are no
place to live in? Moreover, if the
“environment will sink into degradation, the world economy will collapse.”[23] Leo Tolstoy said, “Everyone thinks of
changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” This is a challenge for everyone; change must
begin in ourselves and leave all the rest to God.
CHAPTER V
PERSONAL REFLECTION
It
is stated in the Viannista Credo that “I must be a steward of creation”. This is somehow indicates who I am as a
priest to be in our diocese. Priest not
only for human beings but also for all of God’s creation here on earth. As I do my reflection I remember what Fr.
Julius shared to us about the ten ideas on priesthood. That is why this reflection of mine will
somehow connect to those ten ideas on priesthood by George Oliver. Out of the ten ideas on priesthood I will
only get three images on priesthood for this reflection. As priest to be, ecological concerns ought to
be at the heart of my pastoral ministry. And promote creation spirituality and
simple lifestyles as a way of responding to the destructive impact of our
global consumer society.
The first image of priest is Imago Dei or
image of God. As priest to be I must be
the God whom I adore. A priest who love
his flock, never leave his flock, and protect his flock from the hunters. These ‘hunters’ are those people who exploit
the natural resources, illegal loggers, etc… It is my call to stop the ‘hunters’ by a
peaceful process like dialogue, as a sign of my pastoral care for my flock. It is also my call to teach and preach to the
people the importance of taking good care the environment. Accordingly, priest is called by God to help
the people’s redemption. By protecting
the natural resources in my diocese, is one way of expressing people’s
redemption. I was grade two then, when
Fr. Neri Satur was shot dead because of his campaign to illegal logging. But it was only during my college years I
value his cause. I realized then, how
important it is to protect the forest in Bukidnon and how noble he is as a
priest. I thought that dying because of
saving the forest is useless and nonsense but I was wrong about it. He sets a good example for me as a faithful
and loving priest not only to his vocation but also to the environment.
Second image is as a Pilgrim
Companion. Priest to be must be with the
people whom I am serving. Live with the
people and suffer with the people. A
companion who gives hopes especially those people who are victims of natural calamities. A priest who encourages the faithful to stand
up even standing is hard enough. A
priest who gives hope despite of all the bad things that are happening here on
earth. A priest who can inspire people
to change their heart by showing good example to them. As priest to be, it is
my duty to teach the people that natural calamities are not coming from God rather
it is because of man’s exploitation to the environment. And lastly a priest who will walk his talk;
if he encourages his parishioners for a change to save the world he must be the
first one who will act on it. In
addition, simple living is one way of showing that I really care and give
reverence to our Mother Nature.
Lastly the image of
Prophetic Person. As priest to be, to
prophesy is one of my missions. Because
of the complexities of our life today, technologies and worldly allurements
people forget the basic values. People
think that having material things are the real essence of happiness. People nowadays always think how to make a
profit, they are busy earning profit yet they forget the essential things in
this world. Because of this kind of
mentality people do not care anymore what are the effects of these things in
the society or to the environment. Man becomes anthropocentric. They think that creation is for man’s
satisfaction. That is why this is a big
challenge for me as a priest to be and as a prophet. I need to teach and preach the truth about
life and the wisdom of the sign of times given to us by God. This is my call, this is what I call for, and
this is what I am form to become a theologian at the same time ecologian to be
more effective prophet in my ministry. A prophet of Hope.
[1]
Khandi Ferrarez, Saving Our Environment for the Future, “Youngster 54, no.3” (October-November,
2009): 5.
[2]
Denis Edwards, Ecology at the
Heart of Faith (Maryknoll, New York, Orbis Books, 2008), 17.
[3]
J.A. Coleman, S.J., and W.F. Ryan, S.J., ed., Globalization and Catholic Social Thought (Maryknoll, New York,
Orbis Books, 2005), 87.
[4]
J.A. Coleman, S.J., and W.F. Ryan, S.J., ed., Globalization and Catholic Social Thought, 88.
[5]
J.A. Coleman, S.J., and W.F. Ryan, S.J., ed., 91.
[6]
Denis Edwards, Ecology at the
Heart of Faith, 1.
[7]
Stephen B. Scharper and Hilary Cunningham, The Green Bible (Maryknoll, New York, Orbis Books, 1993), xii.
[8]
Sean McDonagh, To Care for the
Earth: A Call to a New Theology (Sante Fe, New Mexico, Bear and Company,
1986), 17.
[9]
James B.M. Schramm and R.L. Stivers, Christian
Environmental Ethics: A Case Method Approach (Maryknoll, New York, Orbis
Books, 2003), 9.
[11] James M.B. Schramm and R.L.
Stivers, Christian Environmental Ethics:
A Case Method Approach, 11.
[13] James
M.B. Schramm and R.L. Stivers, Christian
Environmental Ethics: A Case Method Approach, 14.
[16]
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Catechism for Filipino Catholics (Metro Manila: ECCCE and
Word and Life Publications, 2005), 87.
[17]
J.G. Donders, ed., John Paul II: The Encyclicals in Everyday Language
(Philippines, St. Paul, 2001), 137.
[18]
J.A. Coleman, S.J., and W.F. Ryan, S.J., ed., Globalization and Catholic Social Thought, 102.
[19]
J.A. Coleman, S.J., and W.F. Ryan, S.J., ed., 103.
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