My Lion Lamb blog for Sunday (ya, I work ahead) is about Oxford Dictionaries' "word of the year," which is "toxic." Toxic is defined as "poisonous, venomous and morally destructive." I wonder in that post whether it is possible for Christians to "detox" the poisonous tendencies of our species, to counteract the grim truth that religion often contributes to the toxicity of our world.
I'm addressing "toxic" here in my Groundling blog in another context. We humans are literally toxifying the planet with astonishing speed and thoroughness.
In many places the air is so polluted that children can't go to school for days on end. In some cities of India and China it is standard to have air filters to make the air breathable. A couple of days ago Beijing experienced its worst air quality in two years.
We are very aware that our waterways and oceans are clogged with plastic, which ends up in the food chain. Tests on humans indicate that we have micro-particles of plastic in us.
Chemicals which have been touted as "miracles" for crop growth and weed suppression kill those who harvest and sometimes sicken consumers.
An e coli outbreak in 36 states was traced to Romain lettuce poisoned by to irrigation canals.
We may think of a "toxic environment" as a metaphor, but it applies literally to the one planetary home for all seven billion of us. The effects of environmental degradation and climate change are evident in virtually every place, including the once pristine Canadian arctic.
As dire as this sounds, we are regularly reminded by the scientific community that we can change for the better. Surely this must be the message of religions and faith groups? Virtually all religious texts describe God as creator and invite us to "tend the garden." It is our imperative to detox God's good Earth.
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