What does technology have to do with the opening chapters of Genesis? At first glance, the creation story seems to speak only of the natural world – skies and seas, fish and birds, stars and planets. However, the first chapters of Genesis provide a crucial frame for understanding the context for all our human cultural…
I grew up in a typical Canadian household through the 1960s. Major appliances were expected to last 20 years or more. Our small town had an appliance repairman and two TV/electronics repair shops. People didn’t throw things away unless they absolutely couldn’t be fixed. We had one telephone – a rotary dial. It hung in…
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and those who live in it.” (Ps. 24: 1 NRSV) In the context of a discussion on environmental stewardship, a Pentecostal friend recently posed a question. “If you came upon a burning house,” she asked, “what would you do first – try…
Canadians waste thousands of dollars of food each year. Roughly 60 percent of the food grown in Canada is never eaten, and 30 percent never even makes it to grocery stores. This latter group, known as “lost food,” is often thrown out because it is deformed, too ripe or costs more to harvest than it’s…
This is my Father’s world. This is a meaningful phrase to me as I garden, go about my days, and focus my prayers. This line forms the start to a familiar hymn that was inspired by the Niagara Escarpment as its author, Pastor Maltbie D. Babcock, took frequent walks along the beautiful ridge in Lockport, New York 120 years ago.
Have you ever noticed that it’s cheaper to replace certain appliances than to fix them? Have you wondered what types or how much garbage your household produces? Digging into these questions can help us figure out how much of the waste we produce is preventable. And the good news is that it’s not hard! COVID-19 has irrevocably altered our daily routines. Maybe this will help speed up current trends in recycling and reducing waste, as we all figure out new methods of sustainability.
Mid-March, the world seemed to come to a dramatic halt. Planes stopped flying, borders closed, factories shut down, rush-hour traffic vanished. “What if you thought of it / as the Jews consider the Sabbath?” Lynn Ungar asked in her poem Pandemic. “Cease from travel. Cease from buying and selling / just for now,” she suggested. As humans have been forced into this time of extended Sabbath to avoid the spread of COVID-19, you might wonder whether the earth is getting a much-needed sabbath from us.
As I write this, our front yard is full of birds. One of my favourites during this late part of April is the white-crowned sparrow, which is making its massive spring migration to the north. My friend Mel Colson says that the male’s mating call is this: poor-Will-peeeeed-his-pants. I wouldn’t forget that mnemonic device soon. (Remember that word to impress your teacher or parents.)
I am not an early technology adopter. I obtained my first “smart” phone from one of my daughters about two years ago. She had emailed me to say not to try to phone her since her cell phone was inoperable. She had dropped it in the toilet. She begged me not to ask for the details.
This perspective raises concerns for me. First, we believe that Christ is Lord over all creation; there is no square inch that is not our Lord’s. Therefore, science too is subject to our Lord’s ownership. Does this change how we do science? Do Christians and atheists approach science differently? Does our worldview matter in science?
Once freed, Thornhill falls in love with a piece of land on the Hawkesbury River. He has a visceral desire for ownership that can be known only to someone who has never been allowed to own anything, and has grown up in a culture where ownership of property confers dignity upon a man. It never crosses Thornhill’s mind that this sense of entitlement to a hundred acres of “free” land might be misplaced because it is already occupied.
But I wonder: are we also paying attention to our responsibility for creation? The very broad consensus among climate scientists is that human activity is having a significant effect on the world climate.
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