here’s a quote from it: “the cross is an image of disavowel, the resurrection is an image of insurrection and separation of the former, it is anarchy in its purest form. the radical kernel within christianity worth ‘saving’ is the one that continously overthrow’s ideological regimes, including its own…”

i think where it connects for me is what you said, “caring about creation for Christians does not make one “Green” or a “liberal” but a Christian.” in other words, not letting other labels define, or speak for, us.

it’s too early to think much more about this, but it’s been on my mind and i wanted to offer it up on the blog.

In regard to (b), I think there is certainly scriptural imperative for caring about creation. I think Romans 8:18-23 is important on this front. Revelation is too, especially 21:1-5 and 11:18, which has the sobering statement, “The nations raged, but your [God's] wrath has come, … for destroying those who destroy the earth.” What both Romans and Revelation (and John and Genesis) correct is the view that our destiny in God leaves creation behind. Romans 8 gives us the resources for “groaning with creation,” recognizing all is not as God intended and our longing for consummation. As Revelation 21 clearly says, God will make is home among human beings on an earth made new. I think pinning or commitment to creation on scripture is a surer foundation that adopting it as a response to a problem, such as global warming. I think Ellen Davis’ work is helpful here, such as her book Scripture,Culture, and Agriculture: an Agrarian Reading of the Old Testament as well as two of her chapters in Getting Involved with God, especially the introduction of the book. She argues that the New Testament assumes the Old and is often “silent” on some issues, such as creation, because the Old Testament already gives us the resources to think through it. I think that’s key, because some Christians will say “Well Jesus never talked about caring about creation.” I do think we need to look to creation to understand how best to live within it, so at some point, the issues of global climate change need some thought, as fraught with misinformation as that subject is in this country (and only this country).

Now I’m not sure I would, in turn, adopt the label “green.” Rather, I am committed to creation because I am Christian and scripture is authoritative for Christians. Thinking of it as being “Green” instead of “Christian” makes it seem optional. It also taints it with the certain American political associations, I think (Al Gore, “hippies,” etc). Again, I think rhetorical strategy is key to make this issue make sense for Christians. So while identifying as “Green” can gain some allies, it can also alienate others.

Which comes to point (c). I am not sure how part c helps your argument. For as self concious as your rhetorical strategy is to avoid pinning your commitment creation care on global warming, I think alligning it with “challenging the status quo” puts you right back into the same position. Someone who recoils at global warming would recoil at that as well. Instead, I think the more potent rhetorical deployment of status quo would be to say that what creation care means is a truer kind of “status quo” that is aligning our way of living in, from, and with creation to the bounds of its givenness. In other words, creation should teach us our limits as creatures. Our destruction comes from rejecting that “status quo” or trying to define it ourselves.

To summarize, Christians care about creation because God does (as Aaron said) as revealed in scripture. Thus, caring about creation for Christians does not make one “Green” or a “liberal” but a Christian. It is not optional. God did not create us to be limitless beings; God alone is infinite. We need to relearn our “creatureliness” to act with more humility and charity toward the rest of creation as well as learn to live within limits God has set in creation.

one thing that helped me a great deal in the last few weeks has been the use of a Mac application called SelfControl. here’s a link:
https://github.com/slambert/selfcontrol/wiki
it stops the flow of email and web sites of your choosing for a set amount of time that you decide. there is no app for mobile devices aside from the off button

i have found this little app to be very helpful. i set it for 1 hour at a time, and it stops me from checking facebook and twitter, stops email from coming in, and i can just focus on what i need to do. when the hour is up, i give myself 5-10 minutes, and then it’s back to work. for a self-employed person like me it’s really useful.

More students in college than in high school?
203,614 students were enrolled in public school grades 9 through 12 at the end of the 2009-10 school year. That’s from the SAAR Enrollment Report on the Department of Education website. – http://prichblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/more-students-in-college-than-in-high.html