March 9 , 2001
Dody Donnelly, The Ecology of The Great Work: Thomas Berry and the New Cosmology

The Great Work, according to Thomas Berry, is to carry out the transition from the human-devastation period to a mutually enhancing earth-human relationship. The current period of devastation that we find ourselves in is partially caused by a certain attitude on the part of human beings. This attitude touts a radical discontinuity between humans and animals where all rights go to human beings. There are 4 Rulers (interacting with one another) that fuel this human attitude of discontinuity: government, corporations, universities, and religions. Each of these institutions is responsible for claiming that this radical discontinuity between human and non- (among other discontinuities) is Real. That is, they confuse interpretations/current understandings of reality with Reality. Once we buy into their interpretations of reality, these become the ultimate filters for our own Realities.

For instance, corporations (and to some extent governments, universities, and religions) are all guilty of subsuming all interpretations of reality to the reality of the (increasingly) global market. Power is determined in terms of monetary wealth. A few corporations control the majority of monetary wealth, thus these corporations trump claims on life by other humans, other animals, and the earth itself. The world-view that these corporations tout, as do western institutions of education, government, and (sometimes) religion, is that humans are isolated individuals that enter into relationships with other things. It is basically up to the individual as to whether or not he/she "makes it" in the Market Economy.

Fear and ignorance are what keep us in line with these four major rulers. It is hard to go against the flow created by these 4 rulers. It is hard to go against the status quo; to admit that the dominant worldview is does not encompass Reality, is to admit that there are deeper issues that we must deal with; it is to admit that life on earth is out of balance, a realization that is overwhelming in nature, and that we must work to change. It is to admit that no one source of knowledge can encompass all of reality; there are uncertainties and ambiguities in life; there are many shades of gray. Thus it is easier to remain ignorant of the systems of oppression and destruction caused by these four rulers.

There are also 4 Wisdoms of Healing, according to Thomas Berry, that will guide us in the transition to mutually enhancing earth-human relationships: the wisdom of indigenous peoples, the wisdom of science, classical wisdom (as found in the worlds religions and philosophies), and the wisdom of women.

Dody then brought other resources to bear on how we might begin to heal the earth. One was a book by Henryk Scholimoski, a Polish philosopher, called Living Philosophy: Ecophilosophy as a Tree of Life. This book explores the "ecological person." He argues that we must move from arrogant humanism toward ecological humanism. He discusses power relations viz. a viz. these two types of humanism and posits that eco-consciousness is the next stage of human evolution.

We then discussed the difference between faith, theology, and spirituality. The definitions we explored were:

Faith as a saying "yes" to what is and/or saying "yes" to being loved
Theology as trying to put into words the faith experience, and
Spirituality as a way to live your faith and theology

Together these three aspects of life help to create our worldview; a worldview that, in Dodys words, can never be more than "somewhat adequate for now." We must remind ourselves that the worldviews constructed from various sources of information including the natural sciences and the worlds religions, can never be more than "somewhat adequate for now." When a worldview is equated with "The Way things Are" then that worldview becomes dangerous to the balance of life. The 4 major rulers are guilty of equating a certain worldview with "The Way things Are."

If we are committed to an ecotheology that is aware of the new cosmology, the new story of the universe, then it must be constructed from a place of great humility. The Great Humility, viz. that what we know can never be more than "sufficiently adequate for now," must be recognized across all disciplines. As Dody stated, "I am sufficiently adequate for now and so are you, lets share our humility and move toward truth as we can know it for now."

A final note on Thomas Berry's book is that he believes "worship," in our time, means to work to save the planet. This is the charge that we have been given.

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