Ecotheology and After Life
No matter what we believe or think about life after this life, the way we think about it can help or hinder our care of the Earth.
I'm sure that many of us remember the TV series
on the History Channel, Life After People.
It was an interesting series of programs.
The premise was the question:
What would happen to our world
if we humans all suddenly disappeared?
It was an unusual idea for a series,
and it made for thought provoking viewing.
I would say the idea is based on a kind of speculation
most of us engage in at one time or another:
What will happen in our world
and among our people
when we are no longer around?
The word "we" as I'm using it
does not only refer to the human species.
It refers also to us as individuals.
So, again, what happens here
when we are no longer around?
It's an important question,
and it forms the heart of many things
for us to think about.
On the most basic level,
it leads us to make wills and estate plans.
On another level, the question of what will happen
to us and what is ours
applies to our digital lives.
Many of us have a presence online
in social media, email and other forms.
An interesting program on Science Friday on NPR
considered that question last week.
The episode was called,
"Protecting Your Digital Afterlife,"
and there is an online article about it:
https://www.npr.org/2011/01/10/132617124/after-death-protecting-your-digital-afterlife
You can search for it on the NPR website,
or the URL is in the online publication of this sermon
on my blog, http://spirithand.blogspot.com/
The question of what will happen when we are gone
has tremendous impact
on our attitude about the environment,
here and now as well.
It's also an important aspect of ecotheology.
Theology addresses the question of life
after this life.
Ecotheology addresses the question of the life
of the natural world
now and after any or all of us are gone.
The most important thing for us to remember
is that in about 100 years or less (maybe much less),
it is likely that none of us who are in this room now
will still live and move around on this planet.
We need to keep that reality in perspective
for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, choices we make today
will still continue to have impact
long after we are gone.
What we think about our own personal survival
and the survival of our unique consciousness
after the death of our bodies
will affect the choices we make here and now.
Even more, HOW we think about
the survival of our consciousness after death
will affect our choices.
All of us tend to be somewhat self-centered.
We think and act, sometimes we even speak,
as though we really did think that we ourselves
are the most important people in the world.
After all, each of us is the most important person
in our own personal world.
If we don't outgrow that rather narcissistic attitude,
we may think, "Who cares what happens
after we are gone?"
If we take that attitude,
we deny our ecotheology so strongly
that it becomes almost useless for us.
On the other hand,
we can use any belief we may have
in life after this life
to help us care very much
about what happens when we are gone.
Here's how that can work:
If we have any awareness of events in the world
once we have crossed over the threshhold of death
- and there is some evidence that we just might -
then we will care very much
about what happens
to the world and the people
we leave behind when we die,
and yet...
there will be very little
we can do about it
from the other side.
That sounds much too much like Hell to me.
My feeling is that the experience
is well represented
by the myth of Tantalus
whose desires are always near
yet also always out of reach.
We would want to help the world,
but we would never be able.
If we want to help,
we have to do so now.
Even without the fear of Hell and of being tantalized,
our ideas about life after life
can help focus our thoughts, words and actions
in helping to protect the natural world.
Whatever our ideas about life after this life,
the most important consideration for us is love.
At its foundation, love is caring.
If we care, we will act in positive, helpful ways.
The help and positive direction
need not be limited to the immediate present.
Caring about the Earth, our universal Mother,
includes caring about things happening now
and also, equally, caring about the future.
We think about the people we love
and we hope to provide in some way
for their well being to continue
even after we are gone.
Some of us have far more resources
to use to provide for the long term well being
of the people they care about.
Some of us have far less.
Regardless of what we have or do not have
we want to do what we can with what we have.
Likewise in loving Mother Earth, Gaia,
we want to do what we can for her right now
and move things in helpful directions
for her long term well being
whether we are here to influence it or not.
In any case,
we do not always do the right thing
either for the here and now
or for the long term future.
The important issue at hand
is the question
of the direction of our commitments.
Our thoughts about life after this life
can help direct our commitments
in a good way.
If we believe
that our consciousness will survive death
then we will want to have hope and goodness
to think about
and maybe even perceive
after we have left
this plane of existence.
If we do not believe in any survival of consciousness,
we can still care, maybe even more,
about what we leave behind.
Far from not mattering to us,
what happens after we are no longer aware of it
becomes a thing to think about
and speculate about.
If we live with love in the here and now,
our love can continue in the unknown future
whether or not that future
will be known to us in any way.
The one thing we can count on continuing is love.
Whether we continue to feel it or not,
the ones we leave behind will certainly feel it.
They will continue to feel the love
we shared with them, no matter what.
You need only think about the expressions of love
in any kind of great literature
to recognize the truth of what I'm saying.
The feelings and commitments
written and remembered
continue to echo down the ages,
and the greatest of those is love.
In the long run,
we hope that our loved ones
will continue to experience our love for them
whenever they remember us.
We can hope, too, that our Mother Earth
will in some sense continue to experience our love
long after we are no longer here.
This is just as true for those who do not expect
a life after this one
as those who do expect it.
The question at hand, once again,
is one of commitment to love, here and now.
Will we direct our energies
in the positive direction of love
or will we do the opposite?
The opposite of love, contrary to popular belief,
is not hatred.
The opposite of love is not caring.
The choice here and now
which will affect the whole world
long after we are gone
is whether we will love the Earth
or not care about Her at all.
No matter what we think about life after this life,
(and I personally believe that there is such a life),
we can commit ourselves to care:
about our own lives,
about the lives of other inhabitants of our world
and about our world itself.
It is not too late to make the positive choice,
to choose for love.
It is not too late for any of us to focus on caring.
Amen
Ameen
Omeyn
So mote it be
Blessed Be!
No matter what we believe or think about life after this life, the way we think about it can help or hinder our care of the Earth.
I'm sure that many of us remember the TV series
on the History Channel, Life After People.
It was an interesting series of programs.
The premise was the question:
What would happen to our world
if we humans all suddenly disappeared?
It was an unusual idea for a series,
and it made for thought provoking viewing.
I would say the idea is based on a kind of speculation
most of us engage in at one time or another:
What will happen in our world
and among our people
when we are no longer around?
The word "we" as I'm using it
does not only refer to the human species.
It refers also to us as individuals.
So, again, what happens here
when we are no longer around?
It's an important question,
and it forms the heart of many things
for us to think about.
On the most basic level,
it leads us to make wills and estate plans.
On another level, the question of what will happen
to us and what is ours
applies to our digital lives.
Many of us have a presence online
in social media, email and other forms.
An interesting program on Science Friday on NPR
considered that question last week.
The episode was called,
"Protecting Your Digital Afterlife,"
and there is an online article about it:
https://www.npr.org/2011/01/10/132617124/after-death-protecting-your-digital-afterlife
You can search for it on the NPR website,
or the URL is in the online publication of this sermon
on my blog, http://spirithand.blogspot.com/
The question of what will happen when we are gone
has tremendous impact
on our attitude about the environment,
here and now as well.
It's also an important aspect of ecotheology.
Theology addresses the question of life
after this life.
Ecotheology addresses the question of the life
of the natural world
now and after any or all of us are gone.
The most important thing for us to remember
is that in about 100 years or less (maybe much less),
it is likely that none of us who are in this room now
will still live and move around on this planet.
We need to keep that reality in perspective
for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, choices we make today
will still continue to have impact
long after we are gone.
What we think about our own personal survival
and the survival of our unique consciousness
after the death of our bodies
will affect the choices we make here and now.
Even more, HOW we think about
the survival of our consciousness after death
will affect our choices.
All of us tend to be somewhat self-centered.
We think and act, sometimes we even speak,
as though we really did think that we ourselves
are the most important people in the world.
After all, each of us is the most important person
in our own personal world.
If we don't outgrow that rather narcissistic attitude,
we may think, "Who cares what happens
after we are gone?"
If we take that attitude,
we deny our ecotheology so strongly
that it becomes almost useless for us.
On the other hand,
we can use any belief we may have
in life after this life
to help us care very much
about what happens when we are gone.
Here's how that can work:
If we have any awareness of events in the world
once we have crossed over the threshhold of death
- and there is some evidence that we just might -
then we will care very much
about what happens
to the world and the people
we leave behind when we die,
and yet...
there will be very little
we can do about it
from the other side.
That sounds much too much like Hell to me.
My feeling is that the experience
is well represented
by the myth of Tantalus
whose desires are always near
yet also always out of reach.
We would want to help the world,
but we would never be able.
If we want to help,
we have to do so now.
Even without the fear of Hell and of being tantalized,
our ideas about life after life
can help focus our thoughts, words and actions
in helping to protect the natural world.
Whatever our ideas about life after this life,
the most important consideration for us is love.
At its foundation, love is caring.
If we care, we will act in positive, helpful ways.
The help and positive direction
need not be limited to the immediate present.
Caring about the Earth, our universal Mother,
includes caring about things happening now
and also, equally, caring about the future.
We think about the people we love
and we hope to provide in some way
for their well being to continue
even after we are gone.
Some of us have far more resources
to use to provide for the long term well being
of the people they care about.
Some of us have far less.
Regardless of what we have or do not have
we want to do what we can with what we have.
Likewise in loving Mother Earth, Gaia,
we want to do what we can for her right now
and move things in helpful directions
for her long term well being
whether we are here to influence it or not.
In any case,
we do not always do the right thing
either for the here and now
or for the long term future.
The important issue at hand
is the question
of the direction of our commitments.
Our thoughts about life after this life
can help direct our commitments
in a good way.
If we believe
that our consciousness will survive death
then we will want to have hope and goodness
to think about
and maybe even perceive
after we have left
this plane of existence.
If we do not believe in any survival of consciousness,
we can still care, maybe even more,
about what we leave behind.
Far from not mattering to us,
what happens after we are no longer aware of it
becomes a thing to think about
and speculate about.
If we live with love in the here and now,
our love can continue in the unknown future
whether or not that future
will be known to us in any way.
The one thing we can count on continuing is love.
Whether we continue to feel it or not,
the ones we leave behind will certainly feel it.
They will continue to feel the love
we shared with them, no matter what.
You need only think about the expressions of love
in any kind of great literature
to recognize the truth of what I'm saying.
The feelings and commitments
written and remembered
continue to echo down the ages,
and the greatest of those is love.
In the long run,
we hope that our loved ones
will continue to experience our love for them
whenever they remember us.
We can hope, too, that our Mother Earth
will in some sense continue to experience our love
long after we are no longer here.
This is just as true for those who do not expect
a life after this one
as those who do expect it.
The question at hand, once again,
is one of commitment to love, here and now.
Will we direct our energies
in the positive direction of love
or will we do the opposite?
The opposite of love, contrary to popular belief,
is not hatred.
The opposite of love is not caring.
The choice here and now
which will affect the whole world
long after we are gone
is whether we will love the Earth
or not care about Her at all.
No matter what we think about life after this life,
(and I personally believe that there is such a life),
we can commit ourselves to care:
about our own lives,
about the lives of other inhabitants of our world
and about our world itself.
It is not too late to make the positive choice,
to choose for love.
It is not too late for any of us to focus on caring.
Amen
Ameen
Omeyn
So mote it be
Blessed Be!
posted by pastorfred at 7:02 AM
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