Sallie McFague is an American, Christian theologian writer who has taught in Vancouver and now resides in British Columbia. Her experience in BC led her to employ a tourism slogan for the province as a title for her 1997 book about living with respectful ecological intention called Super, Natural Christians: How We Should Love Nature.
McFague begins by inviting us to pay attention because we cannot love that which we do not know. She then distinguishes between attention with the arrogant eye which looks at other beings (including other people) as objects which may be of use, and the loving eye, which looks at others as subjects with their own worldview, interests, and needs. She suggests that we need to look at both human and non-human beings with the loving eye.
BC valleys filled with forest fire smoke
This book had a strong influence on my thinking when it was published and it came to mind when I read that this is now officially the worst fire season in British Columbia. This gorgeous province has been ablaze for months and along with the destruction of thousands of hectares of forest BC is now shrouded in smoke. A friend lives in a community on the mainland where they've experienced a series of darkened days and restriction to their condo because of compromised air quality. She and her partner were going to head to Vancouver Island for a respite but it too has been enveloped by smoke even though it is supposedly upwind.
There are a number of factors contributing to fires in BC, as well as west coast states. Climate change is almost certainly one of them. Milder winters mean that tree-killing beetles survive in force to wipe out large areas of forest. Hot summers and the abundance of dead tree fuel result in intense and extensive fires.
We have lived with an arrogant eye as humans, and our hubris is destroying our planetary home. It seems that our politicians are paralyzed when it comes to making the right decisions for our future, and honestly, we are reluctant to push them because of the possible cost to our lifestyles. We have a premier in Ontario who is more focused on grinning about buck-a-beer than developing a strategy for climate change.
As Christians we must learn to see with loving eyes for the sake of all creatures. Any alternative is unacceptable.
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