Michael Dowd delivered this sermon on 4 December 2016, just a month after the USA presidential election and on the weekend when events at Standing Rock (indigenous “Water Protectors”) came to a head. (Dowd makes reference to both.) Location: Tahoma Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Tacoma WA.
Three stances are foundational for a sustainable culture, and they all indicate that “ecology is theology”: nothing is more important: (1) Reverent Humility, (2) Reciprocal Gratitude, and (3) A Fierce Commitment to Future Generations.
Timecoded (linked) table of contents:
00:04 “Ecology Is the New Theology” (title, location, date)
00:22 “If ecology is not your theology, you are on an unsustainable path.”
00:52 Ecology is the science of living in right relationship to Reality
01:16 Wrong path: trivial understandings of God and otherworldly focus
03:11 Every sustainable culture shares “3 fundamental stances to reality”
03:35 STANCE 1: Reverent Humility (re relationship to Reality)
04:11 Ecological understandings of Good and Evil
04:43 Necessity of having a personal relationship to Reality (I-Thou)
06:24 Argument bt theism and atheism is a sideshow
07:27 Systems are primary; individuals within systems are secondary.
07:43 Theists & atheists share “techno-fetish religion of growth everlasting”
08:54 It is evil to pursue gain in ways that diminish or destroy the future.
09:25 The system itself is unsustainable (Titanic metaphor of chairs on deck)
09:48 STANCE 2: Reciprocal Gratitude
11:28 Thomas Berry Q: “Glory of human has become the desolation of Earth”
12:42 Core standard: Is it pro-future or anti-future?
13:33 Both political parties have been “throwing the working class under the bus”
14:14 Most important theological concept is “Grace limits” (carrying capacity)
15:11 Grace limits translated into “the sacred principle of enoughness”
15:33 Key role (and brief opportunity of) fossil fuels to power civilization
16:42 STANCE 3: A Fierce Commitment to the Future
17:17 Energy is primary; conversion to renewables cannot support industrial
18:18 Importance of finding your “tribe”
18:47 Peace & justice work will not transform this system, but carry into future
19:06 We are in “catabolic collapse” — cannot afford to maintain infrastructure
20:50 “We are looking at a future of less.”
21:01 Myth of perpetual progress v. Myth of Apocalypse: both are unhelpful
21:56 We are in this civilization’s dying phases; American Empire will end.
23:26 Facing a future of “LESS”: Less Energy/Stuff/Stimulation
24:11 Act not to transform the system but to plant seeds for a healthy future
24:54 Love something, Learn something, Let something go, Carry something forward
26:58 Mentor a young person; have legacy consciousness
27:20 SUMMARY: 3 STANCES
28:22 10 books used as ecological, economic, and historical references
via YouTube
