(e)mergent Voyageurs

1 - Hi Jamie,

Beautiful, important, true, good stuff. This is probably the clearest exploration of this vital theological concept I've read. Thank you!

Now, at the risk of trivializing your wisdom (which I do *not* intend to do, but humor is important too), your final sentence (before the Note) compels me to provide the following link:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/45814

Seriously, I agree with you 100%, but I also think that link is pretty hilarious.

Peace, brother!

- Mike (Comment this)

2 - Mike,

Thanks for your kind words. Also, thanks for the hilarious links. Years ago, as I was studying missiology, I was inspired by St. Francis, so practiced my preaching to a group of Canada Geese. It was... a learning experience.

Peace,
Jamie (Comment this)

3 - Jamie,
Thanks for dropping by my site, and giving me the tip to your post here. Give me a day to digest your thoughts, and come up with some of my own.
Grace and peace,
db
 (Comment this)

4 - Hey Don,

Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you.

Peace,
Jamie (Comment this)

5 - hey Jamie, I'm just reading Sallie McFague's book, "Life Abundant: rethinking theology and economy for a planet in peril". i think maybe you'd like it. it resonates with a lot of what you're saying here

ellie (Comment this)

6 - I beleive God is trying to tell us more than ever to respect His creation. I am a city girl (Brooklyn, NY) I don't see much around me but buildings, factories and businesses in my daily routine.
I live by the shore. My husband and I often go to the terrace and look out at The Hudson and reflect on God's creation only to be disturbed by a cruise ship passing or our meditation in nature disrupted by the view of the apartment buildings surrounding us. We have done such damage to this world of ours. We don't appreciate what God has given us. How can a Brooklyn girl like me get "green". Where do I start? I want to show my appreciation for nature and I want to help preserve and protect it but I don't want to find myself in the midst of "Nature Worshippers." What to do. (Comment this)

7 - Ellie,

Thanks for the suggestion. I will keep my eyes open for it.

Peace,
Jamie (Comment this)

8 - Debbie - You can show your appreciation for the earth and work on tending to it amongst us Nature Worshippers without reason to be concerned. Our beliefs aren't a disease. Furthermore, out here on many of these blogs I think that I and others have demonstrated that we can get along and come to basic understandings even with fundamental differences. I suspect if you were helping to revitalize even a small corner of our planet, any of the "Nature Worshippers" you worked with would be pleased enough by your help and not harass you. For most of us, proselytizing isn't the way anyway. (Comment this)

9 - What I meant by Nature worshippers are people who will bow down to the creation and not the creator. I did not mean to offend. I hope I didn't offend. Thanks for the advice (Comment this)

10 - Jamie, Good to get us thinking along these lines. I'm probably guilty often of oversimplifying things. I do see creation as intrical to God's redemptive work in Jesus. After all he's redeeming his creation, of which we're the pinnacle.

Our failure as Christians, oftentimes, to realize this leads us to see all of creation except for souls as passing away, and therefore not worth our while in the here and now. But in reality, it's all worth our while, since God's work is new creation and in that, really, a making of all things created, new.

Thanks again for working this out in your presentation of the gospel. (Comment this)

11 - Hey Jamie, It sure is good to see people exploring this stuff. Really enjoyed and resonated with your words. Very refreshing! (Comment this)

12 - Jamie,
My comments are finally up over here:

Part I -

http://www.evaneco.com/2006/03/sacramental-ecology-i-jamie-dude-arpin.html

Part II -

http://www.evaneco.com/2006/03/sacramental-ecology-ii-link-to-first.html

Hope you get a chance to drop by. Thanks for the offer to comment.

Warm regards,
db (Comment this)