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Ecology & Liberation: A New Paradigm
Taking cues from science as well as mystical traditions, Boff finds that interrelatedness forms the key to a new paradigm. He critiques common approaches to ecology and discerns in the growing ecological awareness, and in the search for spirituality and meaning, the seeds of an alternative to a world of alienation, inequality and escalating natural destruction.
187 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 9, 2012
Leonardo Boff is a Brazilian theologian and former priest who was one of the early proponents of liberation theology within the Catholic Church. After several high-profile feuds with the hierarchy, Boff left the church in 1992. Since then he has written extensively on the connections between environmental destruction, poverty and injustice. He remains fairly influential in Latin America and has close ties with a lot of social movements in the region. His goal for this book is to articulate (or resuscitate?) an ecumenical, post-Berlin Wall version of liberation theology and base it in the critical need to conserve the environment.
Boff's general focus and conclusions are good stuff, and there is a lot to like and think about in this book, but for the most part I found his method of writing frustrating and a little bit baffling. Boff is an exuberant writer, but not a precise one. He doesn't build up his arguments piece-by-piece with an eye towards convincing you that they make sense, instead he plucks declarative sentences from the sky and arranges them in front of you. You get stuff like "mysticism is life itself apprehended in its radicalism and extreme density" (p.161). If you're already on his same wavelength then maybe that's really deep and moving, but if you're not, well, Boff never offers much to help you figure what the heck he's talking about.
(Two caveats: one, the translation seems poor and perhaps it's more compelling in the original language, and two, from the little I've read of Cry of the Earth Cry of the Poor, that book seems tighter and more analytical. Also: I've not read much of this type of theological writing before, so maybe it gets easier with practice.)
I was most interested by the incorporation of science into this paradigm. He occasionally prompts eye-rolls when he cites the "weirdness" of quantum mechanics or relativity as direct support for his mystical worldview (Deepak Chopra would be proud). Other times he pushes a maximalist interpretation of legitimate scientific conclusions that is at odds with the cautious, evidence-based perspective of working scientists. To give one example, he claims "the basic concept of nature seen from an ecological standpoint is that everything is related to everything else in all respects" (p.10). Really? In all respects? This sentence takes a mundane insight of ecology (that life webs are rich and complex) and amps it up to the level of mystical revelation.
In Boff's defense, he is emphatically pro-science and is not one of those who is pushing for skepticism of scientific findings in the name of preserving religion. Indeed, the Big Idea in this work is that theology should learn from the insights of ecology, and that a truly ecological perspective brings us closer to the Divine. In addition, his advocacy of "mysticism" turns in part on a redefinition of "spirit" to avoid the long-standing problems of dualism. In other words, his mysticism is at least somewhat reconciled to science. He does finger "rationalism" and "scientific messianism" as the main culprits in environmental contamination, but is clear that this criticism does not extend to "science" writ large.
In the end, perhaps it is best to approach this book like you would a book of poetry, or a sermon, and on that front, Boff can be fascinating, beautiful and moving in places. YMMV.
Boff's general focus and conclusions are good stuff, and there is a lot to like and think about in this book, but for the most part I found his method of writing frustrating and a little bit baffling. Boff is an exuberant writer, but not a precise one. He doesn't build up his arguments piece-by-piece with an eye towards convincing you that they make sense, instead he plucks declarative sentences from the sky and arranges them in front of you. You get stuff like "mysticism is life itself apprehended in its radicalism and extreme density" (p.161). If you're already on his same wavelength then maybe that's really deep and moving, but if you're not, well, Boff never offers much to help you figure what the heck he's talking about.
(Two caveats: one, the translation seems poor and perhaps it's more compelling in the original language, and two, from the little I've read of Cry of the Earth Cry of the Poor, that book seems tighter and more analytical. Also: I've not read much of this type of theological writing before, so maybe it gets easier with practice.)
I was most interested by the incorporation of science into this paradigm. He occasionally prompts eye-rolls when he cites the "weirdness" of quantum mechanics or relativity as direct support for his mystical worldview (Deepak Chopra would be proud). Other times he pushes a maximalist interpretation of legitimate scientific conclusions that is at odds with the cautious, evidence-based perspective of working scientists. To give one example, he claims "the basic concept of nature seen from an ecological standpoint is that everything is related to everything else in all respects" (p.10). Really? In all respects? This sentence takes a mundane insight of ecology (that life webs are rich and complex) and amps it up to the level of mystical revelation.
In Boff's defense, he is emphatically pro-science and is not one of those who is pushing for skepticism of scientific findings in the name of preserving religion. Indeed, the Big Idea in this work is that theology should learn from the insights of ecology, and that a truly ecological perspective brings us closer to the Divine. In addition, his advocacy of "mysticism" turns in part on a redefinition of "spirit" to avoid the long-standing problems of dualism. In other words, his mysticism is at least somewhat reconciled to science. He does finger "rationalism" and "scientific messianism" as the main culprits in environmental contamination, but is clear that this criticism does not extend to "science" writ large.
In the end, perhaps it is best to approach this book like you would a book of poetry, or a sermon, and on that front, Boff can be fascinating, beautiful and moving in places. YMMV.
January 17, 2016
I think this book would have been more informative earlier in my life, but at this point it was nothing new and I'd read better. Boff is a great writer, this book was just not his best in my opinion. It was probably better received when it was published in 1995.
February 27, 2021
This was my first real introduction to liberation theology, and I loved reading it. It's not just that the ideas presented here are critical to the survival and creative experience of the poor of our planet; it's the poetic, imaginative, prophetic language Boff uses to present them.
The book begins with a Sermon from the Mount of Corcovado, a modern-day re-imagining of the Sermon on the Mount and a call towards establishing a just relationship with the land and each other. A much richer, more expansive definition of ecology than that provided in biology textbooks is introduced as a way of making the connectedness of ourselves to the world clearer. This worldview allows Boff and readers to develop a sense of solidarity with those who are suffering and an imagination of a different society. Together with Boff's introduction to mystical practices and how spiritual life becomes political action, this book is an important and beautiful exploration of theology.
The book begins with a Sermon from the Mount of Corcovado, a modern-day re-imagining of the Sermon on the Mount and a call towards establishing a just relationship with the land and each other. A much richer, more expansive definition of ecology than that provided in biology textbooks is introduced as a way of making the connectedness of ourselves to the world clearer. This worldview allows Boff and readers to develop a sense of solidarity with those who are suffering and an imagination of a different society. Together with Boff's introduction to mystical practices and how spiritual life becomes political action, this book is an important and beautiful exploration of theology.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews