We are watching the long version of Pride and Prejudice—the Colin Firth version, of course—and as I began to write this, Mrs. Bennett says this to Bingley,”When you have killed all your own birds, Mr. Bingley, I beg you will come here and shoot as many as you please.”
We could adapt that line for the way we are devouring so many of earth’s creatures. It seems there is always a new fad food that begins to deplete the earth’s stocks: Chilean sea bass, bluefin tuna, chinook salmon, and so many others.
Today I read this interesting interview in Christianity Today. Eugene Peterson, the author of The Message, and Peter Harris, talk about Christian environmentalism in a way I found unique and thought-provoking.
I encourage you to read all of it and then let me know through your comments here or on Facebook what you think of their thoughts, especially on urbanization and on how environmentalism and the Sabbath interconnect.
By the way, you’re not invited to shoot any of the birds in our yard.
Carol, I think I'll give it to you in bits: I'm intrigued by the idea of not just escaping to the wilderness since God's ultimate place for us is a city.
I also find it interesting to read that “much of our view of wilderness comes to us through the Romantic movement”. When in art school, I saw an exhibit of huge paintings by Albert Bierstadt. In his day, people would pay to stand in front of these beautifully romanticized wilderness paintings. His paintings are credited with helping to build the groundswell of support for the saving of American wilderness areas—a very good thing, but not the answer to everything. Animals can live there but except for a few hearty souls, we can’t. http://www.albertbierstadt.org/
Joan, the city thing was intriguing to me, too, because I love nature, natural settings, but I love the energy of the city. I like the idea of a city filled with nature, parks, trees, water, something like Central Park in NY (minus the homeless and the cigarette smoke).