Sallie McFague Consider the Lillies Consider how the wild flowers grow They do not labor or spin Yet I tell you not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these Luke 1227 ID: 593377
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Slide1
Encountering Nature
Sallie
McFague
: Consider the
Lillies
Slide2
"Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these
.” Luke 12:27Slide3
Two ways of looking at nature
The way we
look at nature has a significant impact on how we relate to nature.
Everyday
awareness: I see the rock.
Sacramental
awareness: I see the rock and it functions as a “stepping stone” or “pathway” to the Sacred.
McFague’s
concern: In both cases, we end up valuing nature in terms of what it can do for
us
.Slide4
A third way of seeing nature:
The way of “incarnation”.
“Incarnation” comes from within the Christian tradition, and literally means taking on flesh or embodied in flesh, and is used to describe the idea of God coming to us in human form. Within the Christian tradition, this means that each human being him/her self is to be seen and valued as being sacred.
McFague
is making what might be seen as the radical proposal that we look at nature in the same way: as incarnating the sacred.
She writes: “We should love nature by relating to it in the same basic way we relate to other people: that is with respect and care. We see these earth others as we see the human beings--- as made in the imago
dei
(image of God)—and therefore as both subjects in themselves (incarnation) and as intimations of God (sacramental).”Slide5
The importance of paying attention
Looked at from this angle, we don’t view the natural world just in terms of what it can do for us, or the use we can put it to, but we value it for what it is in itself.
That means we need to approach nature with a genuine interest it really looking at it, seeing it for what it really is, and “knowing” it.
To do that we have to begin by carefully
paying attention
.
“The answer emerging is that we must pay attention---detailed, careful, concrete attention---to the world that is around us but is not us. We must do this because we cannot love what we do not know.”Slide6
What does “paying attention” mean?
The Loving Eye
The Arrogant Eye
Subject-Subject
Subject-Object Slide7
The Main Difference
The difference between the two lies in how the person doing the viewing relates to that which is being viewed: as object or as subject. It is important to realize that these
two different ways of seeing
also imply
two different ways of
knowing
and lead to
two different ways of relating.
What do I mean when I say I see you?
What do I mean when I say I know you?
How does the way I answer those two questions impact how I relate to you?
Slide8
Relating to something as object
Objectifies the
other
Sees them in terms of the use to which they may be put
Relating is characterized by
control
My needs and interests remain the reference point
“Otherness” or “difference” is not valued
.
Simplifies, denying complexity and mysterySlide9
Relating to something as subject
Sees and values “otherness”(the “other” is not me
)
Appreciates complexity and
differences
Recognizes self-other
boundaries
Interests of other are not always my
own
Relating is hard word: look. Listen, check, question.Slide10
CompareSlide11
Questions
Aren’t there some situations where I need to see things as objects?
A rock doesn’t have a self, so how can I treat it as a subject?
I just learned about looking at things with “sacramental awareness”? Am I supposed to not do that now?Slide12
McFague’s Conclusions
Human beings will continue to use both eyes; there are times when we need to objectify what we are looking at, there are things to be gained by doing that.
McFague
is wanting us to attempt to get to know nature as subject, rather than as object.
In the end,
McFague
notes that it is possible to combine a sacramental point of view with an incarnational point of view, when it comes to nature.
“…. It is possible to appreciate things in themselves, for themselves,
and
to see them as signs of God .”
“ The focus of this eye (the loving eye) is not on seeing God, but on seeing the tree ( this particular tree) , which , in its own way, as itself, is also in God.”Slide13
Implications for the Course
In light of what has been discussed in the lecture, look again at some of what was in the reading assignment for this week:
Sam Keen’s “Dialog with a Rock” serves as a perfect illustration of what
McFague
is discussing.
Gerard Manly Hopkins poem, “God’s Grandeur” and Francis of Assisi, “Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon”. Which of these is more representative of a sacramental point of view and which represents more an incarnational perspective?
Next week we will be focusing on encountering the sacred in relationship, and using the work of Jewish philosopher, Martin Buber, and the contrasting concepts of “I-It” and “I-Thou” relationships to help us do that. Buber can be hard to understand, but understanding what
McFague
has said will really help with that.