Fall Redemption When we say [[What is Creation Spirituality|creation spirituality]] one of the main things that we're talking about is the difference between it and the more prevalent view of the fall redemption. Spirituality. Fall redemption Christianity teaches that the world is evil, the world is degenerate, and the world is a foul dark, dark dismal place. We disagree. We very wholeheartedly disagree with that because we believe as the original writers of the Hebrew Scriptures believe that the world was created Ki tov. It was created good. It was created very good and the world itself is our [[Original Blessing|original blessing]]. Now having said that we do believe in what we call the original wound. For me I believe this is something that happens to most of us in childhood. The moment that we lose our innocence. The moment that we leave our personal Garden of Eden and realize that the world is not all sunshine and roses. It happens to people of different ages and it affects us for the rest of our lives. So having said that one of the things that I wanted to do with this first episode on [[What is Creation Spirituality|creation spirituality]] in general is kind of take a little bit of time and discuss the differences between [[What is Creation Spirituality|creation spirituality]] and the fall redemption tradition that you may be used to when you hear people talk about Jesus or you hear people talking about Christianity in general because there are a lot of differences. And it's, you know, something that we should really try to make it clear that people understand. Ok, so let's start with who are the key proponents of this ideology. Well you can find traces of it if you really want to look in the Bible but it's not really there. You have to go to people like Aquinas and various other early Church Fathers. It really steps up in the medieval period and kind of comes to its zenith in the period of the Reformation where you have people like you know Martin Luther and John Calvin and Zwingli and the rest who become obsessed with the idea of the depravity of the world, the evil of the world, that there is no good in the world. There is nothing of value in the world which if that were true then the Psalmist would not tell us to sing with the Stars. The Psalmist would not tell us to look at the beauty of nature and see the glory of God. If the universe were evil it could not reveal the glory of God. And it does. So these people have projected their own sense of inadequacy onto the universe and onto the Divine. You find the creation centered tradition primarily in the Yahwist writer of the Pentateuch anytime time you see the divine name used. You're often hearing the voice of [[What is Creation Spirituality|creation spirituality]]. You find this spoken so clearly and eloquently in the Wisdom tradition and in the psalms as I was just saying, in the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus or Ben Sira which is one of my absolute favorite books of the Bible. You find it in the song of songs which is an erotic poem. Yes there is eroticism, there is a celebration of sexuality in the Bible. So how did we get to a place where sexuality is in and of itself demonized. Well, it's a projection. Lots of projection. You see this in the prophets the voices of Isaiah, and Jeremiah, the voices of Habakkuk and Micah. This voice that speaks out for the poor. This voice that speaks truth to power. This voice that tells us to take care of the widow and the orphan. This voice that tells us that God doesn't want our burnt offerings and sacrifices. He wants our love. "What do I ask of you. Oh mortal but that you do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before your God (Micah 6:8)." This is what the prophets tell us. That's not an abstract moral code. That's not an overly intricate religious system that tells us that we must sacrifice and give blood to appease an angry and vicious God. That is a prophet telling us that at our very nature we are to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before our God. That is all that God asks of any of us. It is the voice of Jesus. It is the powerful, the pervasive voice of Jesus, who in every one of his parables tells us look at the seed, look at the farmer, look at the field, look at the birds. He turns our eyes towards this glorious world. He tells us not to be anxious for anything. For if God takes care of the birds how much more will he take care of us. He tells us that we are loved and that we are part of the Divine Family. We see this in the works of Paul, who despite how he is often quoted, does not tell us how evil and foul we are. He says look at the law the law tells us how horrible we are. "Are we under the law. God forbid (Romans 6:15)!" we are under the liberation of the Spirit who comes to bring peace, who comes to bring ease, who comes to bring release to the captive. He tells us that whatever is not of conscience is sin. We see this in the works of St. Benedict, and Saint Hildegard of Bingen, and St. Francis of Assisi, and St Thomas Aquinas, and Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, St. Nicholas of Cusa, Teilhard de Chardin, Father Chenu, and so many others throughout the history and so many more today who are embracing this form of spirituality. Now the main difference between fall redemption spirituality and creation centred spirituality is this: St Augustine tells us that faith is thinking with assent. That you think about something and you assent to it. You just say you know I heard this thing and OK. That lets us off the hook. That's easy faith. That's cheap faith. That is, you know, Bonhoeffer talks a lot about cheap faith and how it corrupted and destroy the church of his own time. And I would tell you that it's doing the same today. But here we are still preaching this cheap faith. You just hear the words and you say OK, alright, I guess that's the way it is. No, in the creation centered tradition. Faith is trust. That's a big difference.