Empathic Civilization

Brief description of Jeremy Rifkin's concept of Empathic Civilization [book by the same name]:

Being a Better Person

This clip is a reminder to me of how God affects us in terms of Jesus' connection to us. When we come to know what it is that God has rescued us from and what He has done for us through Jesus Christ and what we now have in terms of a life of relationship with Him - it simply makes want to be a better person.

This clip from the film As Good as it Gets says it all. Because of the wonderful woman that has come into his life, he has actually decided to take pills that allow him to control his OCD so that he can be in relationship with her rather than drive her away with his obssessiveness.

The parallel I see is that we lean on the Spirit that Christ has given to make us into the new humanity that Jesus has achieved for us and transformed us into. When we experience this "new humanity" we don't want to put up with what we were because of having tasted what we are in Him.

I see this particularly evident in chapters 5-8 in Romans as Paul explains "how much more" we now have in terms of what Christ has given us - no longer being slaves to sin but enjoying the relationship with God obtained for us through Christ drawing us into the circle of fellowship with the Father and the Spirit.

In light of our conversation after the Al Gore documentary, I thought I would give you some conclusions we can draw on in terms of responding to the global warming crisis that is so clearly evident in the documentary.

1. As students of the Bible, we need to pay attention to this problem because it indicates a very important issue regarding our world - it is in the control of leaders who are abusing both humanity and the earth for their own gain. In keeping with what we read from Revelation 18, the world powers will suffer the consequences of their arrogance, rapacious appetite, and lack of attention and care for the creation that God has given.

2. We can be influenced by the same evil that is driving world powers to continue their behaviour that is hurting creation - in some ways we may already be influenced in light of a survey of our past behaviour.

3. In reference to Revelation 21:1-6 and the desire for God to restore and renew creation - freeing it from evil influences - we can hope in that God will not let the earth self-destruct.

4. As people of the future - as Paul the Apostle encourages in his letters - we should behave toward the world as if it already is the renewed/new heaven and earth. We then should live in peace toward it and others, in harmony toward it and others, and in humbleness toward it knowing that humility honours God's ownership of our world. It is his world that he has given to us!

As we discussed, this has implications for our Evangelism:

1. If we don't take care of the world, there will be no humans to evangelize. I think this was embedded in Mitch's comment that people matter!

2. We should live like the material world matters as much as the spiritual world and avoid the gnostic claims of a lesser material world and therefore a poor theology of creation. [Thanks Nathan for bringing our attention to this]

3. Living "incarnationally" is to honour life around us. This is consistent with Jesus' behaviour while on earth and so should be consistent with ours. [several of you alluded to this in class]

4. Practical things we can do that honour creation - like taking transit rather than driving, recycling as much as we can, minimizing waste and learning how to harmonize better with our environment is an act of obedience toward God.

5. Be prepared to minister to millions of displaced people as effects of global warming continue.

I welcome your comments of other points that surfaced that I might have missed.

Why Creation is Important?

This banned Xbox commercial portrays the point that if all this world is about is focused on human beings then life would be a direct path from birth to death. From a theological perspective, the fact that we have been given space, time and purpose within the setting of creation contributes to our lives having meaning. This is a divine gift to us as human beings so that life is more than the direct path from birth to death but rather a path of growth, relationship, creativity and the opportunity to define one's space in this world.

Wanting to be Affirmed

The absence of people close to us who affirm our divine sense of calling frustrates God's purposes in our lives. Even in this frustration, God works through both parties to bring them closer to an understanding of our place in this world.

We need a Witness

The key to relationships, whether they be marriage, friendship or family is that we have a witness in our lives who acknowledges our significance in life and who affirms us in all that we do. This is the great privilege of relationship that gives us significance and wholeness.

Bono Interview with Bill Hybels

Bono and Hybels Part I




Bono and Hybels Part II

Bono and Hybels Part III

Bono and Hybels Part IV

Bono and Hybels Part V

Bono and Hybels Part VI