2003 Ghost Ranch seminar offered a challenging Biblical vision for the future   [11-18-03]

Jane Hanna reports

A former president of the Witherspoon Society, Jane lives in Santa Fe, NM, and has for the past few years served as one of the major planners of a series of seminars at Ghost Ranch, co-sponsored with the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and Presbyterians for Restoring Creation.

Check out plans for the 2004 Ghost Ranch Seminar:  "The Liberty Bell Has a Crack in It."

The evaluations from the 2003 participants in the seminar at Ghost Ranch, "A Biblical Vision for the Future" - sponsored by Witherspoon, the Peace Fellowship, and Presbyterians for Restoring Creation - indicate it was exceptionally well received. The leaders, Jennifer Butler, Joseph Gerson, and Carol F. Johnston, were informative and challenging.

Carol Johnston, Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, shared biblical foundations for discussions about economic and environmental issues. She began by noting that creation is part of the covenant throughout scripture. Our environment is out of balance because we don't look at the whole picture or trust what God says in covenants meant to establish right relations with God and all creation. Pointing to the Sabbath and Jubilee chapters in Leviticus and Numbers, Johnston indicated the frequent references to God's instructions for building community that is good for all people, land, plants and creatures.

Johnston presented an excellent summary of economic theories and the shortcomings as well as the positive aspects of each - what has worked and has not for the good of all. Often our values and assumptions about humanity determine the economic theory we choose, and most economic theories, she said, discount their effects on humanity and the environment. She shared examples of churches helping people understand what the economy is doing in our culture, our overwhelming anxieties about security and how that can be overcome when people are there for each other.

Joseph Gerson, Director of Regional Programs for the American Friends Service Committee, New England Regional Office, supplied a helpful summary of the difference between Western attitudes about dominating nature and Muslim habits of praying five times a day, understanding God's intent for simple living and sharing resources. He also summarized the history of Christian attitudes toward Islamic cultures and the antagonisms that fuel US foreign policy decisions.

Gerson, who yearly visits Japan, dealt in depth with the consequences of nuclear weapons, including those used against Japanese cities, as well as plans for escalating the magnitude of the US nuclear arsenal and positioning it in space. He also pointed to the intentions of US leaders who believe it necessary for the US to retain its military and economic dominance in the world, describing how this national security strategy is being implemented. On the more hopeful side, Gerson summarized the strength of peace activities around the world, noting those we can join in our own communities to become part of a growing international movement.

Jennifer Butler, who directs advocacy and education programs for the Presbyterian United Nations Office and is the Presbyterian representative to the United Church Center at the UN, provided an encouraging message about the strength of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in world affairs. She described them as transnational, international movements that help balance the power of the US. As the severe unilateralism of the US negates the dream that the United Nations could help prevent war and seek political and social justice, the NGOs help keep those aspirations alive.

Butler shared her concern about the increasing influence of New Right think tanks, set up to work globally to shut down the United Nations and particularly to stop progress around reproductive rights, women's and children's rights. She claimed the media are distracting us from the truth, that people are struggling with the empire and domination goals of the US and that religious leaders are needed to help us resist this. A very helpful exercise Butler provided was a comparison of the New World order as envisioned by the US with that of our Book of Confessions. Seeing side-by-side the goals of the US National Security Strategy, the UN Development Program and the Presbyterian Book of Confessions was most revealing. Another paper positioned the myths of empire against the alternative message of Jesus. These are useful tools we can use with groups in our congregations to assist in awareness of how far from biblical roots our political and economic policies have moved our nation.

It was an outstanding week, participants wrote, with messages important to hear, assimilate and share in our associations back home.

--Jane Hanna

A little book-note added by Jane Hanna --

I have recently read a few books that I have found especially helpful. If any of you have suggestions for books, videos, programs, events, please pass them on to the rest of us.

A few I recommend:

Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict by Michael T. Klare (this was on the list Joseph Gerson gave us last summer)

Alternatives to Economic Globalization: A Better World is Possible, a Report of The International Forum on Globalization, co-chaired by John Cavanagh & Jerry Mander

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges

 

Click on any of the boxes below to order any of these books from Amazon.com --  and thus earn a little bit of extra support for your favorite progressive troublemakers.

   

[You can order these books through the Witherspoon website, and thus earn a little bit of extra support for your favorite progressive troublemakers.]