Anyone who has ever listened to a speech by Greta Thunberg cannot help but notice the guilt-inducing undertones[1]. The debate surrounding the new geological epoch of the Anthropocene[2] also highlights the anthropological origin of the current ecological crisis: climate change has a victim, who is also the culprit—it is man, it is us, it is me.
This moral aspect of the ecological crisis poses a problem in our modern society, where individuals have shed their sense of guilt and now decide for themselves what is good or bad, what is right to do in their lives. Touching on the sensitive issue of guilt risks triggering a rejection of the entire ecological discourse.
Some people, however, are receptive, and reality strikes their conscience. When the bad news is understood and accepted, far-reaching changes take place, like an ecological conversion. The ecological crisis and its moral aspect are then integrated into the emerging culture and passed on through education to children, the citizens of the future. A specific worldview develops with new norms, values, and a new way of guiding one’s actions.
It is this new worldview that I try to perceive and depict in “The ecological crisis: a return of guilt? [4]”. There is a dual objective.
The subject of ecology deserves to be treated seriously by Christians, just as seriously as they treat the subjects of social justice and resource sharing. The ecological crisis is a profoundly human crisis: it is because its consequences will have a major impact on all human societies that we must be concerned about the environment. It is a call to exemplary behavior and love of neighbor.
If, however, doubts remain, taking it seriously will become a necessity, because the ecological crisis will profoundly restructure society through the moral conscience and worldview of our contemporaries. This is already happening. Christians who fail to grasp this will find it difficult to connect with their neighbors and proclaim the Gospel to them in relevant terms. It is therefore necessary to take the ecological crisis seriously for the mission of the Church.
What are the bridges and breaks between a worldview marked by the ecological crisis and a Christian worldview? To find out, visit Missiologie.net.
*Mélanie Simon
Melanie is currently a student at the Free Faculty of Evangelical Theology in Vaux-sur-Seine. She has worked in industry for 10 years and in 2013 experienced an ecological turning point that led her to reconsider her career choices. She is a long-time friend and supporter of A Rocha.
P.S. The issue of Missiologie.net in which Mélanie’s article appears also contains other articles that are worth reading, including one by Rachel Calvert, president of A Rocha France, entitled: “What hope for a world at +2.4°C? The missiological challenge of the Anthropocene.”
Notes :
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bypt4H8K5dI, accessed on 23.02.2023
[2] https://fr.unesco.org/courier/2018-2/anthropocene-enjeux-vitaux-debat-scientifique, accessed on 23.02.2023
[3] For a look at the anxiety generated and cultural bias, see also https://www.imagodei.fr/ecoanxiete-ecologie/, accessed on 23.02.2023
[4] Mélanie SIMON, « La crise écologique : un retour de la culpabilité ? », Missiologie évangélique Vol. 10, n°2, 2022, Mission et écologie, art. p. 42-54