T
Thomas_White
Guest
Consider the source.
- Status
P
pnewton
Guest
The more that man talks, the happier I am I abandoned his show a few years back.
U
Usagi
Guest
Fortunately, that would be impossible by definition, since atheists don’t acknowledge any gods, and therefore would not consider the earth a god.The Pope’s advisor doesn’t have to be Catholic but he shouldn’t be an atheist who believes mother earth is a god!
Like several respondents on this thread, I suspect that the guy was using metaphorical language. While there are people who literally worship an earth goddess, most of us (including Christians) refer to Mother Earth without actually believing that the planet is a conscious entity.
Usagi
T
truetofaith
Guest
He makes a lot of sense in most instances.
L
lynnvinc
Guest
Then he wouldn’t be an atheistThe Pope’s advisor doesn’t have to be Catholic but he shouldn’t be an atheist who believes mother earth is a god!
Also we need to reach out to our non-Catholic, even non-Christian brethren, so I’m thinking it best not to knock their religions (esp to their faces), but embrace them with Christian love.
As they say, you can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Or as St. Francis said (at least some version), “Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary use words.”
Catholics, by putting forth effort to mitigate AGW and other serious environmental harms – and thru other charitable works – could be very effective in converting people to our faith.
Right now there are lots of atheists and non-Catholics of various religions, concerned about life of earth, who are delighted with the Pope’s encyclical. This could be an opportunity to win friends and converts. I was a convert myself 45 yrs ago, and I have to tell you there is a lot of hatred out there against Catholics & Catholicism, of which Catholics are largely unaware.
Some 10 yrs ago when I posted my LITTLE WAY OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALING (see below) on a global warming blog, I got some positive responses from some Catholicism-haters, who said that bec of what I wrote they no longer hated Catholicism.
THE LITTLE WAY OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALING
We are faced with enormous environmental problems that harm people, and destroy property and wildlife. Everyone needs to help solve these.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus teaches us the Little Way of Spiritual Childhood. She felt she could not perform the big mortifications of the saints. We also feel we cannot go back to a lifestyle without cars and modern conveniences.
St. Therese, though, was determined to become a saint. She read, “Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter into it.” Following this, St. Therese in childlike simplicity offered God all of her small deeds of ordinary life, and placed all her trust in God to help her scale the cliffs of perfection and avoid temptations. This is the Little Way. “Not everyone can fast, or wear hair shirts, or spend hours in prayer,” she used to say, “but everyone can love!” One thing alone is needful: all must be done for love of God.
What is needed to solve the big environmental problems is a life of many small deeds done out of love for God. We need to offer many small prayers to help us understand the problems and find solutions, and then more prayers to carry out our actions in daily life.
We need faith that our small deeds will, with God’s grace, amount to more than a meaningless drop in the bucket, letting Jesus multiply our fish & loaves; Mother Teresa said our love makes our small deeds infinite. We need hope that we will one day be rejoicing with God in heaven, so we need not be too concerned with worldly riches, comforts, and status. And we need the charity of joyfully sharing God’s bounty and beauty with others around the world and in the future by helping to save the Earth.
L
lynnvinc
Guest
But it is good, at least that’s what God thinks.
P
pnewton
Guest
Creation is good. The Earth belongs to the Lord. It is not ours. Think of it like an account that we are given to use the interest for our needs, then pass it on to the next generation. What we are not supposed to do is burn through the principle so there is little for others.
As to pantheism, I think some folks (including pundits) do not understand the difference between pantheism and omnipresence, or they deliberately obfuscate the difference for political gain.
P
PoorKnight
Guest
Thank you all. I appreciate the responses.
M
MrSnaith
Guest
This is just a sidebar, and not meant to derail the thread, BUT…
St. Francis never actually said this, but rather explicitly said that speaking about the Gospel is necessary to the evangelistic mission.
L
lynnvinc
Guest
Here’s something to show that even if there was some pantheist advisor, that did not make any dent on Catholic theology in the Encyclical and the idea that God is transcendent beyond His creation (as well as immanent or “with us” in a transcendent way). See esp the bolded, underlined part:
#88 of the Encyclical: "The bishops of Brazil have pointed out that nature as a whole not only manifests God but is also a locus of his presence. The Spirit of life dwells in every living creature and calls us to enter into relationship with him.65 Discovering this presence leads us to cultivate the “ecological virtues”.66 This is not to forget that there is an infinite distance between God and the things of this world, which do not possess his fullness. Otherwise, we would not be doing the creatures themselves any good either, for we would be failing to acknowledge their right and proper place. We would end up unduly demanding of them something which they, in their smallness, cannot give us."
#88 of the Encyclical: "The bishops of Brazil have pointed out that nature as a whole not only manifests God but is also a locus of his presence. The Spirit of life dwells in every living creature and calls us to enter into relationship with him.65 Discovering this presence leads us to cultivate the “ecological virtues”.66 This is not to forget that there is an infinite distance between God and the things of this world, which do not possess his fullness. Otherwise, we would not be doing the creatures themselves any good either, for we would be failing to acknowledge their right and proper place. We would end up unduly demanding of them something which they, in their smallness, cannot give us."
G
GUYMAN
Guest
Herr Schnellhuber may not be a “Pantheist” but he is hardly someone that Roman Catholics or “other” Catholics like me should want to have the ear of the Pope…
L
lynnvinc
Guest
Didn’t know Schnellhuber was a part of it. The dickens! Well, hope he didn’t get the Pope’s ear much. I think he’s one of those climate change denialist industry guys, like from the Heartland Institute or maybe Acton, both of which are heavily funded by fossil fuel industries.
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, OTOH, is great: Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Chair of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). The very person you’d want on the team of an environmental encyclical to help make sure the science end was correct.
- Status