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The re-enchantment of natureTHE RE-ENCHANTMENT OF NATURE Why is Christianity being blamed for the rape of the environment and seen as the cause of the ecological disasters we seem to be bringing upon our planet? This book shows, among other things, that the charge is incorrect and that those who make such claims just have not done their homework properly. Alister McGrath is well qualified to write a book such as this. With doctorates in both Molecular Biology and Divinity, he is currently Professor of Historical Theology and also Principal of Wycliffe Hall in Oxford. As he turned his expertise to the problems of the environment he became concerned at the level of misinformation about the Christian view of the natural world and, in fact, downright bias against Christianity. The positions that Christians are reported as taking were not to be found in the theology that he knew and had studied extensively. So where did they come from? Disdain of natureThe claim that it is the creation ordinance in Genesis 'to subdue' the earth that causes the disasters we see was most powerfully made by Lynn White of the University of California in an article published in 1967: 'The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis'. A short article but extremely influential, its basic message was that 'we shall continue to have a worsening ecological crisis until we reject the Christian axiom that nature has no purpose save to serve man.' McGrath, using his knowledge of historical theology, demonstrates firstly that this is not and never has been the viewpoint of traditional Christianity. One only has to think of St. Francis or Michael Faraday. McGrath traces the disdain of nature to the Enlightenment. If nature is merely something we can manipulate to our advantage, and we have also thrown off any restraints that the 'shackles of religion' impose upon us, then there is nothing to stop us doing just what we want to. The fact that science works should not come to mean that it is the only way of seeing things. That only what we can observe and measure is real. (One of the observations we are able to make is that many of the great disasters of the 20th century: the death of the Caspian Sea, Chernobyl, the gulags and the holocaust were caused by avowedly atheistic regimes). Science itself is not necessarily antithetical to religion but part of the appeal of White's message is the explicit rejection of religion as having anything of value to say about matters of science. Richard Dawkins jumped on this bandwagon with alacrity and proceeds with what McGrath describes as 'indecent haste' from the proposition that religion is not an appropriate vehicle for discussing matters of science to the conclusion that all religions are false in everything that they say about anything. This is not a conclusion derived logically from the proposition, merely an opinion. Problems with models'The Re-enchantment of Nature' contains a clear explanation of the differences between a 'model' and the fact of what is actually there. A model is a way of looking at a fact, not the fact itself. As an example, when one considers the gas laws it is very convenient to think of atoms as billiard balls, hard and incompressible. However, when considering atoms from the viewpoint of chemical interactions it is convenient to consider an atom as a solar system, mostly nothingness. Each model is appropriate to the use for which it was designed but neither is the fact of what an atom is. McGrath warns that one of the problems with modelling is that a model can come to be regarded as the only way of seeing something. 'The simple truth of the matter is that the more complex a system the more models are required to describe it - and hence the greater the distortion and degradation that results through the wooden insistence that only one of these may be used.' Different models can complement each other and are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Among the suggestions made are that we could appropriate Zwingli's approach to the bread in the Lord's supper - viz, that it achieves its significance from its surroundings - to suggest that nature achieves significance because it is created. This book is excellent in its analysis and diagnosis of the problem and those who are troubled by Richard Dawkins will find adequate refutation of his stance. Dr. McGrath is less strong on exactly what we put in its place. In one way this is only to be expected because it is the individual who has to acknowledge God's authority. I suspect too that the author also wishes to get his message across to as many people as possible and thus does not wish to be seen to stand too tightly cramped in any one position. However, to find a Christian book on nature that avoids mentioning the evolution-creation debate is, to say the least, surprising. There is such a thing as being too uncommitted. This is a somewhat postmodern weakness. In reality, not everything can be true and some things must be excluded. I feel there should have been stronger warnings about the misuse of models. I also question whether Lynn White's objection to Christianity has been adequately dealt with. The fact that the abuse of nature is not part of historic Christian theology says little to those who are making it a part of today's theology. The plea to rediscover our enchantment with nature does not in itself suffice to overcome bad theology and the abuses that arise from it. Neither does it speak to our sinful condition. However, my expressions of such concerns should not discourage people from reading this book. It is well researched yet not too technical. The need to take a fresh look at the way in which we view the world is very important. Dr. McGrath is an engaging writer and this is an impressively readable book, which will take you from creation into the present via Faust, Freeman Dyson and Frankenstein; via Prometheus, Aquinas and Douglas Adams; via Star Trek and Pandora's Jar. Read it. High points: Low points: John Barrs lives in the UK and has degrees in Science and Theology. He worked in university lecturing and doing research in Taxonomy and Ecology, as a Worker at L'Abri UK and as a senior software support analyst in commercial computing. Currently ill with ME/CFS. Married with three sons. (BSc Hons. in Botany, Southampton University, MDiv (cum laudae) Covenant Seminary, St. Louis, USA). © Evangelicals Now - July 2003 |