Seeing Creation

I have been a student of the Scriptures my entire life.  As a pastor I teach a lot of Bible studies, something I enjoy immensely.  I believe the Bible is a very special book and that Christians should read and study the Scriptures on a regular basis.  Since the Bible is God’s revelation to us, one tip I often share with people is that when they read a passage they should pause to ask “What can I learn about God in this text?”   God seeks to make Himself known to us in His Word but if we fail to ask this question we might miss learning what God wants us to discover.

I think the same advice applies to God’s “second book,” the book of Creation.  As we observe the world around us—whether it be an animal, plant, or vista—we should pause to ask the question, “What can I learn about God from what is before me?”  Failing to ask this question may keep us from learning something God is trying to teach us about Himself through His Creation.

By being careful observers of Creation we can learn much about the Creator.  We quickly learn, for example, that God values diversity.  This is evident in the wonderful variety found in Creation.  He  has made lots of different animals and plants.  Some are large, some are small.  Some are colorful, others are not.  The God revealed in Creation is not into sameness; He is into diversity.

We learn by observing nature that God is compassionate.  He has provided each species with a purpose and that which it needs to survive.  The more I observe and come to understand the world the more I am amazed at God’s love and compassion.

In order to get the most out of a Scripture passage one has to invest a good bit of time and prayerful reflection.  Commentaries may need to be consulted, word studies might need to be pursued, and you may have to refer to any number of reference books.  It is much the same when it comes to seeing God in Creation.  You may have to put forth a good bit of effort to learn what He wants to teach you.  This may mean turning to field guides to learn more about the flowers you have seen or the creatures you have observed.  It may take watching some nature documentaries on television or reading a few good natural history books.  Learning about God, whether in the Bible or Creation, takes time and effort but it is well worth it.  It also takes remembering to ask the right question: “What can I learn about God from what is before me?”

–Chuck

(Whether it’s a field of asters or a lamb finding security near its mother, Creation has much to teach us about God.)

This past week there was a good bit of news coverage about Stephen Hawking’s new claim that “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”  Hawking has apparently moved to the point where he sees no need to posit a Creator.

I certainly respect Hawking’s intelligence and contributions to science but when he makes such a claim I realize this is simply his opinion.  He can no more prove that God was not behind Creation any more than I, or anyone else, can prove that God was.  In the end, both conclusions are faith statements.  They are what we have come to believe based on our observations and experience.

Ironically, on the same day that news of Hawking’s statement broke I received in the mail a new book by William P. Brown called The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder.   In this book Brown seeks to show how theology and science are not mutually exclusive and that both benefit from the other.  He recognizes that both disciplines “represent independent fields of inquiry” but that they also have “common points of interest.”  One common point of interest is wonder.

In the introduction to the book Brown writes: “Is science really hell-bent on eroding humanity’s nobility and eliminating all sense of mystery?  Not the science I know.  Is faith simply a lazy excuse to wallow in human pretension?  Not the faith I know.  What if invoking God was a way of acknowledging the remarkable intelligibility of creation?  What if science fostered a ‘radical openness to the truth, whatever it may turn out to be.’  The faith I know does not keep believers on a leash, preventing them from extending their knowledge of the world.  The science I know is not about eliminating mystery.  To the contrary, the experience of mystery ‘stands at the cradle of true art and true science,’ as Albert Einstein famously intoned.  ‘Whoever does not know it can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead.’”

I realize that many Christians today see science as the enemy but I concur with Brown that we need both theology and science.  I believe that he is on target when he says, “The God in whom ‘we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28) has all to do with the world in which we do indeed live and move and have our being.  The world subsists in God even as God remains present in the world.  It is, admittedly, a mystery.  But through science we become more literate in the mysteries of creation and, in turn, more trustworthy ‘stewards’ of those mysteries.”

Even though I disagree with the conclusion Stephen Hawking has come to, I’m glad that it has gotten people thinking once again about the relationship between science and religion.  In my humble opinion, when it comes to “seeing Creation” fully it will take both.

–Chuck

( I took the image of Mount McKinley and Wonder Lake shown above at Denali National Park in early September a number of years ago.)

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”  Psalm 150:6

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below.” (from  The Doxology)

In the book I wrote about on Sunday, Tending to Eden, the author allowed several leading voices in Creation Care to write small essays.  One of these was written by Tony Campolo and is called “Creation Care and Worship.”  In this brief essay Campolo argues that “we humans are not the only ones called to worship God.” He believes that the Bible teaches that all of God’s Creation was created to offer its Creator worship and praise.  There are certainly numerous biblical passages that back this claim.  Psalm 148, for example, says “Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds…”

If we understand that all things were created to worship God it will help us see Creation in a new light.  Perhaps it will even come to help us appreciate more our fellow worshippers and create within us a desire to learn more about them.  Recognizing that everything on earth was made to worship God will also affect how we treat the earth and its creatures.  We will do all we can to help preserve all species for, as Campolo says, whenever another species is made extinct “we have silenced a special voice of praise to the Almighty.”

In the final paragraph of his essay Campolo says, “To interfere with worship is blasphemy.  Thus, the obliteration of the environment has blasphemous dimensions to it.  Considering what we have done to nature, we need to repent, because we have hindered nature’s glorification of the God who created all things in heaven and on earth to praise his name.”

We can and should avoid blasphemy by being good stewards of God’s Creation and by making sure that we add our own voice in offering praise to God.  When all of Creation offers its praise to God what a beautiful song it must be!

–Chuck

(This cardinal and pika I photographed are just two examples of  those who join us in praising God.)

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

While on my recent trip to the Pacific Northwest I spent some time photographing in the Hoh Rain Forest found within Olympic National Park.  While taking pictures of a beautiful scene a woman walked up to me and said, “It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?  Just like something out of the movie Avatar.”  I responded in some polite fashion but after she left I found myself thinking that her thought processes were a bit backwards.  She was comparing the glorious beauty of God’s Creation with a high tech animated world from a hit movie.  It would seem that any worthy comparison would have to start first with Creation.  Perhaps this is simply a sign that we live in a world where reality and fantasy often overlap.

Later I thought some more about the woman’s comment.  I got the impression that it would take something as stunning as the Hoh Rain Forest to evoke awe in this individual.  I have a feeling that she is not used to seeing the beauty in her everyday surroundings.  This, of course, is a problem for a lot of people.  We are too busy to really take notice of the wonders of Creation all around us.  Or perhaps we are unwilling to look closer.

With these thoughts in mind I walked outside my house this afternoon and took three of the pictures you see here.  In the top picture what might look like an astral background in the movie Avatar is actually a close up image of a morning glory next to my house.  The second image that resembles a lunar landscape is the top of a mushroom growing beside my driveway.  The orb weaver to the left has been hanging out (literally) at our pool house for several weeks.   I guess she can represent the scary creatures we typically see in fantasy movies.    The bird photograph below was taken this past Saturday.  As we prepared to go swimming we noticed an alien creature stalking the pool.  Turned out it was only an immature green heron.  A friend told me the bird was migrating and likely stopped by the pool to see if there were any fish in it.

I enjoyed the movie Avatar and was encouraged by its environmental message.  The visual imagery was stunning.  Still, when it comes to beauty and excitement, I’ll take the wonderful world God has already given us any day.  For those with eyes to see, nothing can compare to God’s handiwork!

–Chuck

One of my favorite places is the Ancient Bristlecone Forest in California in the White Mountains. These are relatively dry mountains inbetween the Sierra Nevada and Death Valley. At altitude (meaning above 10,00 feet) are the ancient bristlecones.

These trees can be thousands of years old. The oldest are estimated to be around 4,000 years old. That just blows me away. When I am in the presence of one of these trees, I understand that it was alive, and probably old, before Christ was born. I understand that, but it is really hard to fully grasp down deep. From our limited human perspective, Christ was born a long time ago. So many things have happened in human and church history since then. Yet no matter what happened, this bristlecone pine went about its business simply living in a very challenging environment.

When most people hear of bristlecone pine, they think of these ancient trees. Yet, in many locations up in the mountains, bristlecone pine grow like most any other pine in forests that look like many other pine forests. There are unique conditions in the ancient bristlecone area. The soil has a lot of a stone called dolomite — this makes the soil filled with some minerals that discourage growth of many plants and slow the growth of the bristlecone. In addition, the soil dries quickly. Even more, these trees are growing at altitudes of 11,000 feet and more, so winter conditions are severe. That keeps other plants out, which would cut wind, and further adds stress to the bristlecones. So they grow slowly, but can be damaged on one side or the other so that side dies, yet the plant keeps growing. Conditions are too difficult for most diseases or rot-causing fungi.

That kind of gives a perspective about God. We always want things to happen quickly (that certainly is true of me!), yet here is one of God’s creations that simply lives seemingly forever. A year or two is nothing to an ancient bristlecone pine. A 50-year-old bristlecone in this area is but a baby.

In Bishop Tutu’s wonderful book, Made for Goodness, he talks about how we often feel we fail or succeed on very limited timeframes. He feels that God may have success for us in mind, but it is on His timeframe, not ours, because He knows more about the world and what happens in it than we will ever know. In that vein, one might look at a broken, half-dead bristlecone and think it has failed to survive in a tough environment. Yet, God created this tree to live in this environment, to be in this environment, so loss of part of the tree does not matter because the tree is also alive and has been for centuries. Perhaps there is a lesson in the bristlecone that time is relative and that our demands for “success” or “failure avoidance” may be way too limited in their timescale.

–Rob

Last week I shared with you the names of some very special photographers who have been mentors to me when it comes to seeing and photographing Creation.  There is yet another person I also have to point to as a mentor.  He died decades before I was born and as far as I know never took a photograph with a camera.  Yet through his writings I have probably learned more about seeing the spiritual side of nature than from anyone else.  That person is John Muir.

I discovered John Muir’s writings about the same time I decided to take up photography.  I immediately fell in love with his writings.  I admired the enthusiasm he exhibited as he described nature and how he frequently used scripture and theological language to express what he experienced in nature.

One of my favorite books is John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir edited by Linnie Marsh Wolfe.  The following passage, written by Muir on one of his voyages to Alaska, is a prime example of what drew me to Muir.

“All the wild world is beautiful, and it matters but little where we go, to highlands or lowlands, woods or plains, on the sea or land or down among the crystals of waves or high in a balloon in the sky; through all the climates, hot or cold, storms and calms, everywhere and always we are in God’s eternal beauty and love.  So universally true is this, the spot where we chance to be always seems the best, and it requires a distinct effort of the will to get oneself in motion for a change of place.”

Later, in the same entry Muir adds, “And thus we find in the fields of Nature no place that is blank or barren; every spot on land or sea is covered with harvests, and these harvests are always ripe and ready to be gathered, and no toiler is ever underpaid.  Not in these fields, God’s wilds, will you ever hear the sad moan of disappointment, ‘All is vanity.’”

I suspect many of you are already familiar with the life and writings of John Muir.  If not, I encourage you to become familiar with them.  I know no better guide to seeing Creation.

–Chuck

(The top image was taken at sunset in Mount Rainier National Park.  The tide pool  image was taken at Tongue Point on the Olympic Peninsula.)

If nature teaches us one thing about God it is that He values variety. In His Creation we see a magnificent diversity manifested in numerous ways. I was reminded of this on Monday when Pat O’Hara took me to the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. This is one of the most famous gardens in North America, and for good reason.

I told Pat when we entered the gardens that I felt like I was experiencing sensory overload. The sheer number of flowers and the amazing variety of colors was almost too much to take in. Seeing all of this beauty, however, moved me to offer thanks to God for creating so many different flowers. Just in this one garden we saw countless species with varying colors, shapes and sizes. It was a vivid reminder that God values diversity.

This reminder was reinforced by taking notice of the people who came to visit the gardens that day. There seemed to be almost all nationalities represented. There was a variety of skin colors, sizes, shapes and ages that mimicked the flowers everyone was viewing. In these people the marvelous diversity of the Creator was revealed.

The diversity revealed in Creation speaks volumes about the Creator. It tells of His unlimited creativity and power. It speaks of His love for us and reveals His delight in and preference for variety. As creatures created in the image of God I suspect our Maker intends for us to take delight in diversity too.

(All images were taken at Butchart Gardens this past Monday.)

It has been my pleasure to spend the past five days in Olympic National Park. An equal joy has been the opportunity to spend this time with Pat O’Hara and his wife Tina. Pat is a well-known nature photographer who has served as a mentor and source of inspiration for my photography for the past eighteen years. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to him!

Being with Pat this week has given me a chance to reflect on some of the people who have most helped me in the art or discipline of “seeing Creation” photographically. There have been numerous persons that have influenced me but three in particular come to mind.

I have heard more than one professional photographer say that Pat O’Hara has “the best eyes in the business.” He truly does have a gift for seeing the natural world from a unique perspective. My “eyes” will never be as good as Pat’s but his work inspires me to try to look beyond what others see.

Rob Sheppard, my blogging partner, has been yet another important mentor for me. Rob, too, has a unique approach to photography and seeing Creation. I’ve learned to see things differently reading his books and watching him practice his “down and dirty” approach to photography. He has also taught me to try to consider my surroundings more.

Bill Fortney is the third person I would identify as an important mentor. Bill’s photography is wonderful in many ways but I particularly admire the way he is able to isolate portions of a scene and create interesting compositions. He does this whether he is photographing nature, an old train depot or items at an antique store. He has taught me to look closer at the scenes before me.

–Chuck

(The Olympic marmot, Hoh Rain forest scene, and wildflower display were all taken this past week in Olympic National Park.)

A couple of days ago I read a chapter in a book that detailed how many Christians feel that environmental issues are not important.  One reason given is the belief that Christ is coming back soon and will establish a new heaven and a new earth.  As a result, they argue, why waste time and money caring for that which will shortly be replaced?  It was also pointed out that some Christians feel that the material world is evil.  Due to this belief some say the earth doesn’t need saving, we need to be saved from the earth.

I cannot express how frustrating it is to me that many who take the name “Christian” fail to see environmental stewardship as an important aspect of our faith.  Thankfully, not all Christians have such a truncated view of Creation and our role as caretakers.  The denomination to which I belong—the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)—encourages its members to affirm “the Alverna Covenant.” It reads as follows.

Whereas:

 *God has created the world with finite resources

*God has given to us the stewardship of the earth

*God has established order through many natural cycles

And it is evident that:

*We are consuming resources at a rate that cannot be maintained

*We are interrupting many natural cycles

*We are irresponsibly modifying the environment through consumption and pollution

*We are populating the earth at a rate that cannot be maintained

As a member of the human family and a follower of Jesus Christ, I hereby covenant that:

*I will change my lifestyle to reduce my contribution to pollution

*I will support recycling efforts

*I will search for sustainable lifestyles

*I will work for public policies which lead to a just and sustainable society

*I will share these concerns with others and urge them to make this Covenant.

Since I support the Alverna Covenant I would like to do what the last line says and encourage you to make this Covenant too.  I realize that there are lots of other things we need to do to be better stewards of God’s Creation but the Alverna Covenant seems to me to be a good place to start.

–Chuck

(The image above was taken at Paradise Meadows in Mount Rainier National Park.  I’ll be heading back there tomorrow.)

In his book, Rumors of Another World, Philip Yancey speaks of having undergone two conversions: “first from the natural world to discover the supernatural, and later to rediscover the natural world from a new viewpoint.”  The second conversion led him to try to make daily life sacramental.  This means attempting to see God in the world around us each day.

Yancey says, “Every day, every hour, every moment, I must exercise my calling to hallow God’s creation, whether it be leatherback turtles in Costa Rica or the irritating kid next door who peppers my yard with golf balls.  Holy sparks are potentially trapped in every moment of my day, and as God’s agent I am called to release them.”

I think a lot of us are in need of the second conversion Yancey speaks of.  We need to understand that the world God has created is indeed sacred.  Likewise, we need to grasp that God uses what He has made to reveal Himself to us.  There are lots and lots of “holy sparks” waiting to be released.  But before they can be released we must recognize that they are there and look for them.  In The Imitation of Christ Thomas a Kempis wrote, “If your heart were right, then every created thing would be a mirror of life, and a book of sacred doctrine.  There is no creature so small and worthless that it does not show forth the goodness of God.”

Yancey also speaks of another effect of his second conversion.  He says, “If I take seriously the sacred origin of this world, at the very least I must learn to treat it as God’s work of art, something that gave God enormous pleasure.”  Normally we treat works of art with great care.  Apparently many  today fail to see Creation as a work of art.  This is evidenced by the destruction of the planet’s rain forests, the pollution of streams and rivers, the careless elimination of animal species, and a host of other environmental degradations.  God’s incredible work of art deserves far better care than it has received!

Throughout Christian history there have been a number of “great revivals” or spiritual awakenings where thousands of people experienced the first conversion Yancey spoke of.  Perhaps what we need now is a great revival where people will experience the second conversion.  I pray that revival comes.

–Chuck

(The image above was taken at Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.)