Poor and Oppressed Unite

Poor and Oppressed UniteBy Jason Peters

Topics of DiscussionWhy worry about the environment?Broad topicTheology of creation carePoor and Oppressed UniteOur argument we will be focusing onRacism and Environmental OppressionSexism and Environmental OppressionDisconnection and Environmental OppressionConcluding Thoughts

Why worry about the environment?This is Predigers question and how he starts chapter 7 of his book For the Beauty of the EarthWhy worry about Galapagos penguins and the jack pine?So, why worry? Prediger says After all isnt all this concern for ecology just another passing fad? And, ultimately, why care for a world that will be completely destroyed when Jesus comes again? (Prediger, 2010, p. 156).Prediger goes on to talk about 10 reasons/arguments, some that are only going to be held by a believer and others that are not necessarily purely faith based. He finishes his intro with two questions. He says, So, what exactly are the arguments? Why should we Christians speak for the trees (Prediger, 2010, p. 157)

Theology and creation careImportant to review some passages before we beginGenesis 1 Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. (Genesis 1:26-28)

Theology and creation careGenesis 2The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it (Genesis 2:15). Colossians 1The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1:1-3).

(Creation Care Bible Study and Discussion)

Theology and Creation CarePrediger affirms that redemption has come through Christ for us and also for all of creation and it is through him and by Gods grace we are saved and through him also that all of creation is being reconciled to God. Prediger says, Because Christ took on human flesh, we believe that matter matters. Because Christ died on a cross, we eschew domination and, by contrast, rule by serving others, including the earth (Prediger, 2010, p. 117)

Poor and Oppressed UnitePredigers 4th argument: Poor and Oppressed UniteThis 4th reason that Prediger brings up affirms a link between various forms of oppressionThis argument is also known as the ecojustice argument because it is founded on the cry for justiceOppression is defined as the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner (Oppression, 2015).

Racism and Environmental Oppression Prediger affirms that Ecological sustainability and social justice must be seen as interdependent goals (Prediger, 2010, p. 162). Social oppression of racism Reverend Benjamin Chavis Jr., the former leader of the NAACP, coined the term environmental racism in the early 1980s. He described it as "racial discrimination in environmental policy-making and enforcement of regulations and laws; the deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic-waste facilities; the official sanctioning of the presence of life-threatening poisons and pollutants in communities of color; and the history of excluding people of color from leadership in the environmental movement (Davis, 2003). Researchers argue that to limit the understanding of racism to prejudicial and discriminatory behavior misses important aspects of racism. Racism is also a system of advantages or privileges based on race (Environmental Racism, 2009).

Racism and Environmental OppressionPrediger also talks about racismHe writes, Commenting on the revealing 1987 study Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States, Charles Lee states, The racial composition of a community is the single variable best able to explain the existence or non-existences of commercial hazardous waste facilities in that area. Racial minorities, primarily African-Americans and Hispanics, are strikingly overrepresented in communities with such facilities (Prediger, 2010, p. 162).The fact that this is going on is well established and has been for some timeHere is a quote that may strike a spark!More African Americans will die from environmental causes than from police brutality this year, yet there is no movement to stop the environmental racism that invades our neighborhoods and homes (Ellison, 2015).Racism keeps lower- to middle-income people of color stuck in danger zones, says Bullard. African Americans making $50,000 to $60,000 per year are way more likely to live in a polluted environment than poor white families making just $10,000 per year (Ellison, 2015).

Sexism and Environmental OppressionPrediger quotes Christian feminist Theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether who says, we cannot criticize the hierarchy of male over female without ultimately criticizing and overcoming the hierarchy of human over nature (Prediger, 2010, p. 162). What Ruether is referring to is the oppression of women by men and the oppression of nature by manThe argument is that they are linked and that the struggle to stop the oppression of women is dependent upon the struggle to stop the oppression of the environment

Sexism and Environmental OppressionThe term ecofeminism was coined as a result of this discussionCombining the words ecology and feminism, ecofeminism embraces the idea that the oppression of women and the oppression or destruction of nature are closely connected (Metz). Mary Mellor define ecofeminism this way, Ecofeminism is a movement that sees a connection between the exploitation and degradation of the natural world and the subordination and oppression of women (Mellor, 1997).Ruether claims: Women must see that there can be no liberation for them and no solution to the ecological crisis within a society whose functional model of relationships continues to be one of domination (Prediger, 2010, p. 162).Ruether rightly sees both problems linked by a wrongly placed set of values

Disconnection and Environmental Oppression This third type of social oppression or perhaps better described as social breakdown is universal And that is disconnectionIn a talk, sociologist Brene Brown says, Connection is why we are here, its what gives purpose and meaning to our lives. This is what its all about. It doesnt matter if you talk to people in social justice or mental health or abuse and neglect, what we know is that connection and the ability to feel connected is neurobiological how we are wired, its why we are here (Brown, 2010). Connection plays a huge part in our well beings and in our society as a whole

Disconnection and Environmental Oppression Prediger touches on this when he quotes Paul Hawken who says, A Native American taught me that division between ecology and human rights was an artificial one, and that the environmental and social justice movements addressed two side of a single larger dilemma, The way we harm the earth affects all people, and how we treat one another is reflected in how we treat the earth. Prediger continues and says, The environmental movement and the social justice movement are two of the three basic roots (along with the movement of indigenous peoples against globalization) of the larger worldwide movement Hawken exhaustively catalogues and describes (Prediger, 2010, p. 163)

Disconnection and Environmental OppressionA similar kind of statement is made by environmentalist Bill McKibbenFor a hundred years we've been steadily extending the supply lines of our economy, becoming ever more globalized. But some have begun to question that trend, and even to form the foundations of a newer, more local economy. The main reasons are two-fold: our ever-growing globe-spanning economy is increasingly vulnerable to the ecological disruption it is causing, with global warming the prime example; and despite record affluence Americans report ever-growing feelings of disconnection and loss of community, trends that can only be reversed if we manage to rebuild local institutions that draw people together (McKibben).

Concluding ThoughtsPrediger finishes up his section called Poor and Oppressed by saying, Our passion for justice should embrace all creaturesfor their sake and for the sake of our human neighbors whose voices cry out for justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Prediger, 2010, p. 163)

This argument of Prediger brings up is valid and I think it does show us that in some way all oppression is linked. I think what Prediger left out (perhaps intentionally) is that the glue that links all the different types of oppression is sin and a fallen humanity. Paul in his epistle we call Galatians that if the people continue to bite and devour each other they will be destroyed by each other. Right before that he reminds them that all of the law is summed up in the one command, Love your neighbor as your self (ref. Galatians 5). In his epistle Paul also reminds the Galatians that they are no longer under the law but they are under grace and that they have new life in Christ, that they are freed from the law. He encourages them to stand firm in Christ, in his love, in the freedom that Christ died for and to love one another. Predigers argument titled poor and oppressed unite that focuses on the connection of social and environmental oppression is a good reminder that oppression is wrong and that it destroys us and the environment.

References

Bible (NIV). Galatians. http://biblehub.com/galatians/5-14.htm Brown, B. 2010. The power of vulnerability. https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability?language=en#t-227027 Creation Care Bible Study and Discussion. Restoring Eden: Christians for Environmental Stewardship. http://restoringeden.org/ Davis, I.T. 2003. Address to ELCAs 2003 Caring for Creation New Consultation. Lutheran Earthkeeping Network of the Synods. http://www.webofcreation.org/LENS/cfcdavislecture.html Ellison, 2015. Racism in the Air you Breathe: When Where You Live Determines How Fast You Die. http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2015/08/environmental_racism_when_where_you_live_determines_how_fast_you_die.html Environmental Racism. 2009. Pollution Issues. http://www.pollutionissues.com/Ec-Fi/Environmental-Racism.html McKibben, Bill. Local Economies. http://www.billmckibben.com/local-economies.html Mellor, Mary. 1997. Feminism & Ecology. NY: University Press.Metz, W.F. How Ecofeminism Works. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/ecofeminism.htm Prediger, S. 2010. For the beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care. MI: Baker Academic.