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Making God Laugh: Human Arrogance and Ecological Humility
Making God Laugh examines the fundamentalist claim that we can know what God knows and that we can, therefore, speak with divine authority about God's plans for us and for the world. Such arrogance must surely make God laugh! But its effects are no laughing matter. Christians have long understood themselves to be at the center of the universe, an understanding which has legitimized the exploitation of the earth's natural resources. That exploitation has now reached alarming proportions. Anne Primvesi argues that the time has come to replace human arrogance with ecological humility and a scientific understanding of ourselves as interdependent members of the whole community of life on earth.
180 pages, Paperback
First published December 30, 2004
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December 3, 2022
This book is unfortunately not about the title and Dr. Primavesi all but says this in the Foreword. Her discussion of human arrogance and ecological humility comprises very little of the book but of the points she makes, they are well made. The human species is full of itself and our reward will be our own extinction. Unless we take the time to understand our place in the global ecology, we will in fact wipe ourselves out and how can this possibly define us as the "most intelligent" species?
One main point I took from the book, that I love and am now using, is the idea of other living things being "more-than-human". She cites David Abram as originating this absolutely true concept that humans tend to see anything that is not them as "less than" human when in fact non-human life is more precious and important to the global ecology. We all know that if the human primate was wiped out tomorrow, the earth would tootle along just fine and in fact, in far better shape. (All the human primate does in the end is insatiably consume).
What this book strikes me as (and this is the only one of hers I have read) is the divorce papers of a woman theologian divorcing conventional/traditional religion from every angle, side, and perspective she can. This is a theologian's theologian's book. It is completely academic and I admit to putting it down a few times because it is dense. I also didn't anticipate being tossed back into the Christianity of my childhood but this was the effect it had on me. I was raised in a strong Christian home back before Christianity was crassly politicized by American politics. This experience shaped who I am today though I no longer call myself a Christian. What growing up in that home at that time did was establish a strong moral and ethical foundation for my life, one my working class parents also modeled. Come around age 12 though, things got dicey with me at church. I became aware of the hypocrisy, the patriarchy, which Dr. Primavesi annihilates in this book, first published in 2004. I asked the same questions, pointed out the same contradictions, and exasperated my parents and I am sure, the clergy at the church. On the Sunday after I turned 16, both of my parents sat on the end of my bed and told me it was now up to me if I went to church or not. I was old enough to make my own decision. This affected me more than anything else in how I could view, explore my own spirituality which they released me to do that Sunday. It was amazing really, for those times.
It's a hard book to get through. It covers a lot of ground. It is written in academic style. It is a powerful treatise of one woman theologian tearing down the walls for the rest of us and for this, I am grateful. This is why I gave it five stars. Thank you Dr. Primavesi.
One main point I took from the book, that I love and am now using, is the idea of other living things being "more-than-human". She cites David Abram as originating this absolutely true concept that humans tend to see anything that is not them as "less than" human when in fact non-human life is more precious and important to the global ecology. We all know that if the human primate was wiped out tomorrow, the earth would tootle along just fine and in fact, in far better shape. (All the human primate does in the end is insatiably consume).
What this book strikes me as (and this is the only one of hers I have read) is the divorce papers of a woman theologian divorcing conventional/traditional religion from every angle, side, and perspective she can. This is a theologian's theologian's book. It is completely academic and I admit to putting it down a few times because it is dense. I also didn't anticipate being tossed back into the Christianity of my childhood but this was the effect it had on me. I was raised in a strong Christian home back before Christianity was crassly politicized by American politics. This experience shaped who I am today though I no longer call myself a Christian. What growing up in that home at that time did was establish a strong moral and ethical foundation for my life, one my working class parents also modeled. Come around age 12 though, things got dicey with me at church. I became aware of the hypocrisy, the patriarchy, which Dr. Primavesi annihilates in this book, first published in 2004. I asked the same questions, pointed out the same contradictions, and exasperated my parents and I am sure, the clergy at the church. On the Sunday after I turned 16, both of my parents sat on the end of my bed and told me it was now up to me if I went to church or not. I was old enough to make my own decision. This affected me more than anything else in how I could view, explore my own spirituality which they released me to do that Sunday. It was amazing really, for those times.
It's a hard book to get through. It covers a lot of ground. It is written in academic style. It is a powerful treatise of one woman theologian tearing down the walls for the rest of us and for this, I am grateful. This is why I gave it five stars. Thank you Dr. Primavesi.
June 26, 2024
A THEOLOGICAL PESPECTIVE ON ENVIRONMENTALISM
Anne Primavesi is an Irish systematic theologian focusing on ecological issues, who has worked with the World Council of Churches on ecumenical commissions and the meetings; more recently she was a Research Fellow at Bristol University, pioneering a course in Environmental Theology. She is also a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar. She has written a number of other books, such as From Apocalypse to Genesis: Ecology, Feminism and Christianity; Sacred Gaia: Holistic Theology and Earth System Exploring Earthiness: The Reality and Perception of Being Human Today, Our God Has No Favourites: A Liberation Theology of the Eucharist; Cultivating Unity: within the Biodiversity of God, etc.
She wrote in the Foreword to this 2004 book, “Two particular aspects of the continuing expansion of Christian fundamentalism increasingly concern me. One is the theological arrogance that lies behind the fundamentalist claim to speak on behalf of God… The other is the use of this claim to legitimate various forms of violence---in the name of God… The counterweight I propose … is to take God seriously: to let God be God. That means being aware that at best we make God laugh by our attempts to say something meaningful about the absolute mystery we address as God—and that at the very least we must strive always to make none weep. Therefore I explore at length the theological weakness of fundamentalist claims to speak and to act on God’s behalf.”
She acknowledges, “the truth is that every time I or any other theologian honestly approaches the subject of God, we are confronted by our limited conceptual and expressive capacities. In fact the longer I study the subject, the deeper appears my ignorance of it and the less ready I am to make absolute claims for the truth of whatever I venture to say on God’s behalf… Recognizing the absolute difference between these modes of speech encourages a theological modesty that is constantly aware of and consistently attentive to the gap between divine and human knowledge.” (Pg. 4-5)
She notes, “This brings us to the heart of the problem. How can we recognize who Jesus truly is in today’s world if he is boxed in by the excluding claims of churches which say they represent him?... The way forward is to accept the witness of his scandalously indiscriminate identification with sinners in sharing meals with them… The self-image and self-expectation of churches that make and interpret canons of righteousness for admission to eucharistic companionship are the submerged rock, the stumbling block… on which ecumenical efforts founder. But this rock can be shattered by our grateful awareness of a Jesus who welcomes us insofar as we welcome the hungry and thirsty.” (Pg. 38)
She points out, “it is possible to affirm a gradual though not widespread improvement in the regard accorded to women today. Now that the secular world has recognized the inherent injustice of sexism, it cannot publicly be claimed as a mark of the true church. But… sexism in the name of God still holds sway in the churches… Moreover, Christian hierarchical presuppositions about our relationship with Nature remain unchanged. Earth, personified as Nature, is still perceived as existing by divine decree solely for the sake of humankind. In a culture that envisions mastery as the realm of men, the male self comes to be identified with all that represents control, spirit, and transcendence of nature.” (Pg. 95)
She explains, “I have not invented a new sin when with the theologians of the poor of this earth I talk about sinful structures or structural sin… The central problem today… is the creation and maintenance of structures and centers of power… that effectively block all forms of loving our fellow earth-creatures… A second step … is to recognize that these structures have power on a global scale to enslave human beings… This step demands that we consider the mechanisms that turn us into participants in this sin. It is not just OUTSIDE us, for unwillingly or unwittingly, we are involved in it as accomplices… Hierarchical government… sanctions sins against the Spirit; it devalues and destroys the diversity that creates ecological community and that fills the earth with glory.” (Pg. 111-112)
She suggests, “Now, however, the wisdom of Gaia is slowly gaining prominence. From space we receive more and more images of the original ark we call Earth, one built over billions of years for the emergence and sustaining of life, floating in space, wrapped in abundant water and oxygen that give it its characteristic blue and white appearance. It comes more clearly into focus with our growing understanding of the bodily wisdom inherent in keeping its water, its crust and tis atmosphere in a living state of homeostatis.” (Pg. 157)
She concludes, “For Gaia is the ancestress, the contemporary, and the daughter of biblical Wisdom… She was and still is involved in building, rejoicing in, and maintaining the life of the whole Earth household. NO task is too high or too lowly for her. She cares for the worm and for the elephant, for microcosm as for macrocosm, and for poor and for the rich. All are held safely together by her within the shelter of life’s atmosphere. She rejoices in God’s work and in her maintaining its life. The wise today are those who know their place within Gaia and how to occupy it humbly and happily.” (Pg. 161)
This book will be of interest to those concerned with the intersection of spirituality and ecological concerns.
Anne Primavesi is an Irish systematic theologian focusing on ecological issues, who has worked with the World Council of Churches on ecumenical commissions and the meetings; more recently she was a Research Fellow at Bristol University, pioneering a course in Environmental Theology. She is also a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar. She has written a number of other books, such as From Apocalypse to Genesis: Ecology, Feminism and Christianity; Sacred Gaia: Holistic Theology and Earth System Exploring Earthiness: The Reality and Perception of Being Human Today, Our God Has No Favourites: A Liberation Theology of the Eucharist; Cultivating Unity: within the Biodiversity of God, etc.
She wrote in the Foreword to this 2004 book, “Two particular aspects of the continuing expansion of Christian fundamentalism increasingly concern me. One is the theological arrogance that lies behind the fundamentalist claim to speak on behalf of God… The other is the use of this claim to legitimate various forms of violence---in the name of God… The counterweight I propose … is to take God seriously: to let God be God. That means being aware that at best we make God laugh by our attempts to say something meaningful about the absolute mystery we address as God—and that at the very least we must strive always to make none weep. Therefore I explore at length the theological weakness of fundamentalist claims to speak and to act on God’s behalf.”
She acknowledges, “the truth is that every time I or any other theologian honestly approaches the subject of God, we are confronted by our limited conceptual and expressive capacities. In fact the longer I study the subject, the deeper appears my ignorance of it and the less ready I am to make absolute claims for the truth of whatever I venture to say on God’s behalf… Recognizing the absolute difference between these modes of speech encourages a theological modesty that is constantly aware of and consistently attentive to the gap between divine and human knowledge.” (Pg. 4-5)
She notes, “This brings us to the heart of the problem. How can we recognize who Jesus truly is in today’s world if he is boxed in by the excluding claims of churches which say they represent him?... The way forward is to accept the witness of his scandalously indiscriminate identification with sinners in sharing meals with them… The self-image and self-expectation of churches that make and interpret canons of righteousness for admission to eucharistic companionship are the submerged rock, the stumbling block… on which ecumenical efforts founder. But this rock can be shattered by our grateful awareness of a Jesus who welcomes us insofar as we welcome the hungry and thirsty.” (Pg. 38)
She points out, “it is possible to affirm a gradual though not widespread improvement in the regard accorded to women today. Now that the secular world has recognized the inherent injustice of sexism, it cannot publicly be claimed as a mark of the true church. But… sexism in the name of God still holds sway in the churches… Moreover, Christian hierarchical presuppositions about our relationship with Nature remain unchanged. Earth, personified as Nature, is still perceived as existing by divine decree solely for the sake of humankind. In a culture that envisions mastery as the realm of men, the male self comes to be identified with all that represents control, spirit, and transcendence of nature.” (Pg. 95)
She explains, “I have not invented a new sin when with the theologians of the poor of this earth I talk about sinful structures or structural sin… The central problem today… is the creation and maintenance of structures and centers of power… that effectively block all forms of loving our fellow earth-creatures… A second step … is to recognize that these structures have power on a global scale to enslave human beings… This step demands that we consider the mechanisms that turn us into participants in this sin. It is not just OUTSIDE us, for unwillingly or unwittingly, we are involved in it as accomplices… Hierarchical government… sanctions sins against the Spirit; it devalues and destroys the diversity that creates ecological community and that fills the earth with glory.” (Pg. 111-112)
She suggests, “Now, however, the wisdom of Gaia is slowly gaining prominence. From space we receive more and more images of the original ark we call Earth, one built over billions of years for the emergence and sustaining of life, floating in space, wrapped in abundant water and oxygen that give it its characteristic blue and white appearance. It comes more clearly into focus with our growing understanding of the bodily wisdom inherent in keeping its water, its crust and tis atmosphere in a living state of homeostatis.” (Pg. 157)
She concludes, “For Gaia is the ancestress, the contemporary, and the daughter of biblical Wisdom… She was and still is involved in building, rejoicing in, and maintaining the life of the whole Earth household. NO task is too high or too lowly for her. She cares for the worm and for the elephant, for microcosm as for macrocosm, and for poor and for the rich. All are held safely together by her within the shelter of life’s atmosphere. She rejoices in God’s work and in her maintaining its life. The wise today are those who know their place within Gaia and how to occupy it humbly and happily.” (Pg. 161)
This book will be of interest to those concerned with the intersection of spirituality and ecological concerns.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews