24th June
Faith
Davison introduces us to some of the theology of St Bonaventure, vis that ‘the characteristic effect of faith is to transform the intellect, of hope to transform memory, and of love to transform the will’ and that these are the three main ways in which we bear the image of God. (P108)
Faith, then, shapes how we see the world, how we act within it, and how we understand the relationship between ourselves, the world and God. Faith them motives and shapes our desire that we live so as to ensure a sustainable and equitable future for all life on earth. Davison gives us a further insight from the teaching of St Augustine of Hippo. ‘[T]he Christian should value the world, with its good things, like a bride (or, we would add, bridegroom) values a wedding ring. Loving the ring more than the person would be weird and insulting, but so would despising the ring. The world is not God, and to value it over God would be a travesty, but it is also God’s gift, and treating it badly is it’s own kind of insult to the one who gave it.’ (p112)
I think one might add to that, the idea that a wedding ring is a sign of a covenant between the two parties.
Faith in God is inseparable from faith in God’s desire for a good Earth. Faith therefore compels us to care.
The Green Tau 