This is a contribution by Alastair McIntosh on his newest book entitled
Hell & High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition
(Birlinn, Edinburgh 2008, £8.99)
This book might be relevant to eco-congregations. It’s in two parts. The first summarises, in plain language, the current science of climate change. I look at the world situation and also, at the case study of Scotland. Towards the end of Part 1 the book becomes different from most climate change books. I move on to looking at arguments such as those which compare climate change with the “Spirit of the Blitz”, or abolishing slavery.Sorry to say, I have to conclude that the order of magnitude of change that’s required bears no comparison to these historical precedents.
In my view it’s all very well to pass aspirational climate change bills, but unless people really want radical change the politicians won’t be able to deliver what needs to be done.
As matters stand today, people will go along with small change. They’ll change light bulbs and insulate the loft at home or in churches. But we have to be careful not to make a fetish out of these practical steps. If they’re not carried out with a deeper spiritual analysis, they risk displacing our attention from the really big questions.
Part two of the book attempts to tackle those big questions. For me, they’re about the human condition and what it is that drives consumerism. Along with population growth, consumerism is the cutting edge of climate change. But to tackle it we must face up to human condition.
This is where faith groups can play a vital role. In my view, eco-congregations are selling themselves short if they only tackle the practicalities of outer life. To really make a contribution, they have to additionally remind us that “bread alone” is not sufficient. Jesus started his preaching by making sure that the people were fed, but he didn’t stop there. Similarly, in tackling the outer life practicalities of climate change, we must also reach through to the inner life.
That means the discomfort of recognising consumerism for what it is – a form of idolatry. Jesus called it the worship of Mammon. In Jeremiah 2 we read: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water….”
In place of the idolatry of consumerism we need to build the resilience – both at personal levels and in our communities. We need the practical and spiritual resilience to face the come-what-may of the come-to-pass. I end the book by suggesting that consumerism is like any addiction. It offers a false way of satisfying what is really spiritual need. Different people and different groups will have their own way of addressing this. Here’s what I propose in concluding Hell and High Water and in justifying its subtitle, “Climate Change, Hope, and the Human Condition.”
A 12-Step Programme for Climate Change
1. We must re-kindle the inner life
2. We must value children’s primal integrity
3. We must cultivate psychospiritual literacy
4. We must expand our concept of consciousness
5. We must shift from violent to nonviolent security
6. We must serve fundamental human needs
7. We must value mutuality over competition
8. We must make more with less
9. We must regenerate community of place
10. We must build strong but inclusive identities
11. We must educate for elementality
12. We must open to Grace and Truth
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Having read AM's book, I am generally in agreement with his remarks. Given the summer we've had with constant wind and unusually heavy, tropical-style rain, we are seeing the effects of climate change even here. He is so right that we need to do more and get out of our present comfort zone where recycling is seen as the ultimate aim. I like his 12-point plan, although I'm uncertain what he means by "psychospiritual literacy".. Unless we can influence many more people to stand up and do more - or use far less resources - I am very afraid for the future of our planet. Can EcoCongregation be a major player? I am sceptical, but will be glad to be proved wrong.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Morga's comments. This is certaily a life-style issue. We need to be very aware of our consumption becuase inevitably, everything we consume has used energy in its manufacturing, packaging and transport. We simply need to consume less.
ReplyDeleteHello Morag
ReplyDeleteI just picked up on your posting thanks to Adrian alerting me to the piece he had invited me to write being up on this blog. By "psychospiritual literacy" I mean learning, both individually and collectively, how to speak about psychological and spiritual issues. In the past people perhaps talked about angels or devils, and these terms had both theological and psychological meanings that were alive in the culture as a whole. Today, that sense of aliveleness has been largely lost, and in my veiw we need to re-kindle useful spiritual language. I discuss this more in my other recent book "Rekindling Community" though the essence of it is summed up in Hell and High Water.
I'm just back from holiday, and one thing that struck me is that today many people would dispute whether or not the soul exists. However, we need to push beyond that debate and not let it block us. We need to rediscover the soul not just intellectually, but also, spiritually, as an ogoing journey into the soul. I think that current-day concerns like climate change and the challenge it makes to the egotism of consumerism can help us to do that, and that this should be part of the witness of faith groups.
All the best, and thanks to you and Virginai for your comments.
Alastair McIntosh