10 for 10: Voting Vision not Division | On Climate - Faith and Our Responsibility to the Earth

In this episode, the Faith Commons team discusses how faith traditions call us to care for the planet and address the urgent challenges of climate change. Drawing on Jewish and Christian teachings, they explore how public policy can promote renewable energy, reduce carbon emissions, and protect vulnerable communities already facing the impacts of a changing climate. As Election Day approaches, this conversation challenges us to reimagine our role in environmental stewardship and the concrete steps we can take to safeguard the Earth for future generations.

What is 10 for 10: Voting Vision not Division? Starting on September 2, 2024 and continuing every Monday for ten weeks through November 4, Faith Commons is offering ten 10-minute reflections on topics related to the upcoming election through the lens of religion. Our premise is that religion should be used to unite people and groups of people rather than to divide them, and that the founders of our country shared our view.

Watch the video, here.

Mara (00:25):

Hi, thank you for joining us. I'm Mara Richards Bim, and I'm joined by my colleagues Nancy Castin and George Mason. And we are Faith Commons. Um, this is the next episode of 10 for 10 voting vision not division. And today's topic we'll be looking at is climate. So I will turn it over to Nancy.

Nancy (00:45):

Thank you, Mara. Um, so later this week, Jews around the world will be celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. And Roosh Hashanah is sometimes called the birthday of the world. This term is based in a phrase that we, um, have in our liturgy, our special liturgy that refers to Hayom Harat Olam, That today the world is conceived. That's the phrase, it doesn't say birthday, actually. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And so the liturgy isn't actually asking us to commemorate and mark the number of years since the, uh, the, the world was born. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. It is reminding us that God's creation is ongoing and that we are always being invited to imagine a new world that could be born. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And to work to do in the interim what needs to happen for that world of vision to be born. You know, um, this week and on our 10 for 10, we're focusing on how our faith can inform our positions on climate policy in the upcoming election.

Nancy (02:00):

And the climate is a perfect example of how human beings play a role in how the world, or more specifically the earth can be reborn. You know, in the beginning God created a lot. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, uh, but God didn't create automobiles and didn't create air conditioners, and didn't create single family homes and didn't create Roundup. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Um, so can we imagine a world in which we travel by bicycle and public transportation or maybe some new form of transportation that doesn't rely on fossil fuels? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Can we imagine a world in which we live in higher density residences and not in these single family homes that are so energy draining. Um, you know, we might not be able to right now imagine that kind of lifestyle for ourselves, but if we don't imagine those possibilities, we can't possibly make the changes that are necessary for our species to survive.

Nancy (03:01):

So right now, in this election season, we can support leaders who advocate for public policy that encourages investment in renewable energy, in cutting emissions, in recycling, and in reducing our individual and collective carbon footprints. Policies like these can mitigate against the negative effects of our habits and lifestyles, and they can also encourage new habits and lifestyles that protect our land and our water and our health for future generations. If we want to birth a world in which we take better care of our planet, then we also have to be in solidarity with other people, A: who work in industries who will be phased out because you can't keep doing the same thing and have different results `. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> a nd B: people who are currently, um, you know, facing the effects of climate change in really horrible ways for themselves and their families. And we also need to make sure that we support and fund strong government institutions that can shape and enforce good climate policy.

George (04:12):

Wow. Thank you so much, Nancy. Um, just as in the Jewish tradition, there is an emphasis on, uh, this idea of human responsibility and relationship to the planet and to the to creation. So in the Christian community, I would say we have that same responsibility, partly because we share Bible part of it. Uh, and the language of Genesis, of course, shows us this connectedness of all things at creation. The days of creation build on one another, and human creation, uh, is related to the rest of nature, partly because the rest of nature is a habitat in which we live along with everything else that is living. But partly because we know that our future is tied to one another, that we are material beings, that we all share the same, uh, life force. And so, uh, sometimes in Christian theology, we tend to separate human creation from the rest of nature, and we tend to think in spiritual terms that are not material or bodily as if our future is only in leaving this earth, not in being part of its, uh, continuing presence and wellbeing.

George (05:35):

But Genesis tells us that we are responsible stewards by God's command, that this is part of our human responsibility, is to help the rest of nature flourish. And so when we think about the future, the, the New Testament also talks about the new heaven and the new Earth. And that's new, not in number something else to come, but rather new in kind. That is a renewal of all things. In fact, the word for ecology comes from the word kos, which means household. And this means kind of the logic of the household that we all live together in this common world. So many of the problems that we see in immigration and in, uh, other sorts of misery that have to do with the changing climate patterns and the storms and hurricanes and the insurance costs of all of that, and the changing landscape of, uh, of where people can make a living and can't because of, of the, the, the earth heating up our product, of our failure to rise up and take responsibility.

George (06:48):

You mentioned that God didn't envision automobiles or air conditioning and all that sort of thing. Uh, well, sometimes we think, you know, God commended us to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. We've done really well at that <laugh> to the point where we have overpopulated the planet, and that has a crisis too. So we have to use reason and science as well as faith to, to trust that we can come to conclusions that will be in the best interest of everyone, not merely parroting ancient texts, but understanding the internal logic of them, which would lead us to better policies and more fruitful life together on a planet that needs our help right now. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, it needs our aid. It needs our, uh, our willingness to, uh, reduce our ambitions that are personal and human for the sake of the wellbeing of, of, of the planet. Mm-Hmm.

Mara (07:48):

<affirmative>. Yeah. And I would add, um, both of our traditions, um, we think about being a good neighbor Mm-Hmm. And that is, yes, people suffering, um, from the effects of climate disaster around the world, but it's also, um, at least in my view, um, the animals that we share this Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> this creation with. So

Nancy (08:09):

How prominent do you think the, um, even, you know, the sort of evangelical view of an apocalyptic,

George (08:18):

Can you talk a little bit about that? Yeah. I think this is, this is very important that many times, uh, in evangelical circles, some evangelical circles, uh, they envision the future where God's judgment is not just about purifying what is and holding people accountable for the sake of the renewal of, of the earth and relationships, but rather a complete destruction. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. That, that all, that the world is going to go up in flames, and that God is going to, uh, be finished with this creation. So the only thing that really matters is whether we will be rescued from it by our belief. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> our spirits leaving the body in death and ultimately going to a place called heaven when in fact, uh, that is destructive theology in our ethics in the way we live. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, we have one earth and one reality. God is part of it. We are all part of it. And, and the the future that I think is healthy for us to envision in our faith tradition is to think about the future as more the kingdom of God, the reign of God, the shalom of God, where everything is in harmony and is able to be what God intended it from the beginning. That's the future. Christians, uh, and people of all faith, I hope would lean into Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> as we think about how we live together. Mm-Hmm.

Mara (09:44):

<affirmative> and the book Revelation that many evangelical Christians take this, um, notion of leaving, uh, misreads, I mean in Revelation, um, the new earth, the new world comes down right to where we are right now. So, all right. Well, thank you so much for being with us again this week. Um, and we are just a few weeks away from the election, so whatever you do, please do vote.