Ecological responsibility
Preserving creation
We are experiencing a time of ecological crisis and the result could be the end of human society as we know it. It's already the end of thousands of other species, and the IPCC predicts 1 million species will become extinct over the next decade. Species extinction, climate change, resource depletion, habitat degradation and overpopulation are the top five threats that will lead to collapse if we don't change our course dramatically. The time of superficial ecology is over and deep ecological measures are vital. How does Celtic-Christian spirituality integrate into the big picture of ecological philosophy and environmental movements? Arne Naess, a Norwegian philosopher, created the term Deep Ecology in 1973 for an ecological grassroots movement and provided a framework in which different philosophies and religions can provide basic conditions from which principles, general views and lifestyles, and practical decisions can be derived . 'Ecosophy T' is the name Arne Naess chose for his own ecological philosophy, the T refers to Tvergastein, a mountain hut where he wrote many of his books. Naess suggested that there could also be a philosophy A and B or a religion A and B that provide the basic requirements for deep ecology. The term 'Ecosophy C' stands for the philosophy of Christianity in the context of deep ecology. The levels of deep ecology are visualized in the so-called apron diagram.
The general level 2 Platform Principles of Deep Ecology are derived from the level 1 Premises of a specific Ecosophy:
- The well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman life on Earth have value in themselves. These values are independent of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes.
- Richness and diversity of life forms contribute to the realization of these values and are also values in themselves
- Humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital human needs
- The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of the human population. The flourishing of nonhuman life requires such a decrease.
- Present human interference with the nonhuman world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening
- Policies must therefore be changed. These policies affect basic economic, technological, and ideological structures. The resulting state of affairs will be deeply different from the present.
- The ideological change is mainly that of appreciating life quality (dwelling in situations of inherent value) rather than adhering to an increasingly higher standard of living. There will be a profound awareness of the difference between big and great.
- Those who subscribe to the foregoing points have an obligation directly or indirectly to try to implement the necessary changes.
These principles can be reduced to three simple propositions:
- Wilderness and biodiversity preservation
- Avoiding overpopulation
- Simple living (or treading lightly on the planet)
From the general platform principles, Ecosophy C (C=Christian) derives individual, non-specific lifestyles of level 3 and practical conclusions and recommendations of level 4. Although Ecosophy C should be based on the platform principles as much as possible, it would also be possible to define your own set of principles. As a philosophy, Naess wrote norms and hypotheses with "self-realization!" as the ultimate norm, from which further norms such as diversity !, complexity !, symbiosis !, local autonomy !, no exploitation! and self-determination! derived. Self-realization involves expanding and deepening the self and developing the Eco-Self. The traditional view of self development is to develop the ego self to the social self and from there to the metaphysical self, with the next level including the previous one. In this view, nature and animals are overlooked. The eco-self is developed through identification with the immediate environment with the effect that environmental activism is no longer perceived as an act of altruism for something outside of the self, but as an act of self-defense. The most basic norms and hypotheses developed by Naess start with norm N1, self-actualization! From this three hypotheses can be derived, H1: The higher the self-realization achieved by each, the broader and deeper the identification with others. H2: The higher the level of self-actualization that everyone attains, the more its further increase depends on the self-actualization of others. H3: Everyone's complete self-realization depends on that of everyone. This leads to the norm N2: Self-realization for all living beings!
A characteristic of the Celtic Church is the closeness to nature and therefore the ideal of the ecological self is obvious alongside the social and metaphysical self. We need to broaden our perspective from an anthropocentric and theocentric one to a holistic one, that is, the wholeness of nature, man and God. We realize this ideal by consciously seeking closeness to nature and, especially at the eight Celtic festivals, making contact with nature and the seasons. We become aware that nature is part of creation, just like ourselves. Nature and man belong to the same family, we form a symbiotic union as part of our mother earth. If we destroy creation, then we destroy ourselves. God has given us responsibility for creation, not that we should exploit it to the end, but that we should preserve it. God is present in his creation and thus makes nature holy. We must not desecrate them, and wherever it happens we must reverse the damage and rededicate and bless them. It also follows from this that we must fight against the destruction of nature and stand up for nature. The general deep ecology and the special ecosophy C gives us a framework in which we can define the environmental commitment of the Ancient Celtic Church and develop it on all four levels. This framework makes our environmental philosophy comparable and compatible with the ecosophies of other religions. One possibility to convert our ecosophy into environmental activism is “The work that connects” by Joanna Macy. In her book "Active Hope" she describes this path, which can be combined very well with Celtic spirituality and the annual cycle due to the thinking in cycles. You don't have to be a great prophet to recognize that this path lies ahead of us and that we must tackle it courageously.
The Ancient Celtic Church (Alt-Keltische Kirche) is a member of the Ecumenical Network Climate Justice in Germany (https://www.kirchen-fuer-klimagerechtigkeit.de/ueber-uns/mitgliedschaft) and supports the Christians for Future movement.
Tips for climate and environmentally friendly behaviour
- Buy electricity from an independent green supplier
- Switch to public transport and cycling
- Consume less meat and milk
- Avoid short-haul flights
- Buy organic food from the region
- Turn down the heating
- Only run full washing machines at low temperature
- Pay attention to the energy efficiency of appliances
- Do not leave appliances on standby, switch them off instead
- Use LED lamps
- Save water
- Avoid products that lead to the deforestation of rainforests, e.g. with palm oil
- Avoid waste, e.g. switch to shampoo soaps instead of shower gel in plastic bottles
- Consume less, but sustainably produced clothing
- Insulate houses and flats
- Reuse instead of buying new
- Avoid adding toxins and pollutants to the natural cycle
- Support tree planting programmes, e.g. 1 tree for 1 euro at One Tree Planted or regional programmes. With 10 trees per month, a German resident can neutralise the average CO2 emissions.
- Use Ecosia as a search engine, which invests its profits in tree planting
- Neutralise the CO2 footprint, e.g. by supporting tree plantings
- Join an environmental initiative and get involved
- Preserve and promote existing bioreserves
- Rewilding of land and the reintroduction of original animal species
- Create Miyawaki forests, i.e. Japanese-style mini-forests that can absorb enormous amounts of CO2
- Implement nature conservation in one's own environment, e.g. through nesting boxes, bee and insect protection
- Produce own food in permaculture and promote the permaculture movement
- Consider climate and environmental protection in the community and integrate it into prayer to raise awareness
- Pay attention to sustainability in financial investments
- Advocate for sustainability in society, politics and companies, e.g. the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
