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December 24th, 2021

12/24/2021

RELIGION AND ECOLOGY

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE 13TH CENTURY FOUND EUROPE FACING A WORLDWIDE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS SIMILAR TO THE CRISIS WE FACE TODAY. THEY WERE EXPERIENCING RAPID GROWTH IN THE POPULATION, A SHORTAGE OF RESOURCES AND RECOVERING FROM A PANDEMIC KNOW AS THE BLACK DEATH. THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH MAINTAINED ITS POWER AND EXERCISED ENORMOUS INFLUENCE OVER THE PEOPLE’S LIVES, FROM THE KING ON HIS THRONE TO THE PEASANT IN THE FIELD. THE CHURCH WAS THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S WILL AND PRESENCE ON EARTH, AND ITS DICTATES WERE NOT TO BE QUESTIONED. THE CHURCH REGULATED AND DEFINED AN INDIVIDUAL’S LIFE, LITERALLY, FROM BIRTH TO DEATH. MAJOR CHANGE CAME IN THE POWER OF THE CHURCH FOLLOWING THE PANDEMIC, WHEN THE PEOPLE BEGAN TO DOUBT THE POWER OF THE CLERGY WHO WERE UNABLE PREVENT THE PEOPLE FROM DYING OR THE SPREAD OF THE PLAQUE.
THE LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF LIFE SUSTAINING RESOURCES AND THE STRICT RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE, TRIGGERED A SEARCH FOR NEW LANDS. THE DISCOVERY OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT IN THE LATE 14TH CENTURY, INTRODUCED HOPE AND A START OF MIGRATION OF EUROPEANS TO FIND A BETTER LIFE WITH RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. THESE PEOPLE WERE HARD WORKERS AND DEPENDED UPON THE LAND FOR SUSTENANCE. THEY ENCOUNTERED THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WHO’S ANCESTORS HAD LIVED AS A PART OF NATURE FOR AT LEAST 30,000 YEARS. WITH HELP FROM THE NATIVE PEOPLE, THE SETTLERS SET OUT TO DEVELOP A NEW LIFE BASED UPON THE RICH LAND AND, WHAT SEEMED UNLIMITED, NATURAL RESOURCES. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, A LAND RICH WITH RESOURCES AND A LAND WITH NO DOCUMENTED OWNERSHIP; WAS BEYOND EXPECTATION. THEIR DEPENDENCE ON THE LAND LED TO A SPIRITUAL APPRECIATION FOR THE NEW LAND.
THIS IS HISTORY FAMILIAR TO US, BUT PROVIDES THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING REQUIRED TO BEGIN CONSIDERING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN RELIGION AND ECOLOGY. A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF THE CREATION STORY ESTABLISHES THE FACT THAT THE ENTIRE UNIVERSAL COMMUNITY FUNCTIONS ON RELATIONSHIPS. IF THE EARTH WERE A FEW MILES CLOSER OR FURTHER FROM THE SUN, LIFE COULD NOT EXIST. THE ROTATION OF EARTH, THE ENERGY FROM THE SUN AND OUR ATMOSPHERE; PROVIDE FOR MILLIONS OF LIVING ORGANISMS, THE CHANGING OF THE SEASONS AND THE REQUIRED CLIMATIC CONDITION THAT SUSTAIN LIFE.
WITH THE NUMBER OF EUROPEAN SETTLERS INCREASING RAPIDLY, THE DESIRABILITY OF INDEPENDENCE AND THE FORMATION OF A GOVERNING BODY BECAME PRIORITY. IN 1744, IROQUOIS CHIEF CONASATEGO, LEADER OF THE ONONDAGA NATION, RECOMMENDED THE SETTLERS FORM THE FEDERATION OF THE THIRTEEN COLONIES. COLONIAL LEADERS STUDIED THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERATION WHICH PROVIDED THE BASIS FOR A NEW EGALITARIAN DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT AND ITS CONSTITUTION. THE NEW CONSTITUTION WAS ALSO BASED ON JUDAEO-CHRISTIAN IDEALS AND VALUES.
THE NEW RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND THE PEOPLES DEPENDENCE UPON THE NATURAL RESOURCES FOR SUBSISTENCE, STRENGTHENED A STRONG SPIRITUAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND. OBSERVING THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THEIR WISDOM ABOUT NATURE, OFFERED FURTHER SUPPORT TO THE SACREDNESS OF THE NATURAL WORLD. UNFORTUNATELY, THE SETTLERS SAW THE VAST FOREST COVERED LANDS AS A HINDRANCE TO THEIR AGRICULTURAL NEEDS, RESULTING IN THE CLEARING OF MILLIONS OF ACRES FOR CROPS AND LIVESTOCK GRAZING. THE 1850’S STARTED THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, RESULTING IN A SHIFT FROM AN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY TO AN INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY. THIS INTENSIFIED HUMANITY’S BELIEF THAT WE WERE DIRECTED TO TAKE DOMINION OVER EARTH. IF NATURE WAS NOT PROVIDING OUR NEEDS, WE COULD MANIPULATE, CONTROL AND CHANGE NATURE TO MEET OUR REQUIREMENTS. WE ARE SO INTELLIGENT, WE CAN EVEN GENETICALLY ALTER PLANTS TO PRODUCE MORE AND BETTER-LOOKING FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND GRAINS, SOME OF WHICH ARE NOT AS DIGESTIBLE AS THE ORIGINAL AND HAVE RESULTED IN OBESITY AND EVEN INCREASED MEDICAL PROBLEMS.
WE ARE LEFT WITH NO ALTERNATIVE BUT TO MAKE MAJOR CHANGES IN OUR LIFE-STYLES AND WORK TO RECOVER OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH AND SUPPORT FOR THE NATURAL WORLD. SINCE OUR BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF CREATION INITIATED WITH RELIGIOUS IDEALS, IT APPEARS LOGICAL RELIGION IS WHERE WE MUST TURN FOR LEADERSHIP IN RECOVERING OUR ORIGINAL CONNECTION THE NATURE!
TODAY, WHEN I DISCUSS WITH PEOPLE WHY THEY ARE NOT ACTIVE IN THE CHURCH, THEY TELL ME THE CHURCH IS NOT MEETING THEIR NEEDS, AND THERE IS SO MUCH DEMAND AND COMPETITION FOR THE HOURS IN A WEEK, THEY HAVE TO PRIORITIZE WHAT THEY CAN PARTICIPATE IN. THEY TELL ME OF THE NEED FOR COPING SKILLS AND RELIGIOUS SOLUTIONS WHICH DEAL WITH TODAY'S ISSUES AND CONCERNS. CLERGY NEED TO LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT SITTING IN THE PEWS EVERY SUNDAY, AND DISCOVER THEIR EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS. PROVIDING HOPE AND UNDERSTANDING THROUGH RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS IS ESSENTIAL FOR HUMANITY’S FUTURE.
THE LARGEST ISSUE MANKIND HAS EVER FACED IS OUR CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL SITUATION, AND PAST CORPORATE AND POLITICAL FAILURES TO RESOLVE, SUGGEST THE FUTURE DEPENDS UPON WORLDWIDE RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP. THE LIFE SUSTAINING RELATIONSHIPS DESIGNED INTO EARTH’S CREATION, ARE ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTANDING AND IMPLEMENTING REALISTIC SOLUTIONS TO EXTENT LIFE ON EARTH. OUR DOMINANT BELIEF IN INTELLIGENT DESIGN, CONFIRMS THE RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD FOCUS ON OUR RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
ECOLOGY IS THE STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS, AND WAS ONCE CALLED NATURAL HISTORY. YOU CANNOT BEGIN TO STUDY THE COMPLEX STORY OF CREATION WITHOUT REALIZING THE NECESSARY CONNECTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO SUPPORT LIFE. I REALIZE THERE ARE A FEW ECOLOGY SPECIALISTS AND NATURAL RESOURCE STUDIES THAT REQUIRE A COURSE OR TWO IN ECOLOGY, BUT AN IN-DEPTH APPRECIATION FOR THE MULTITUDE OF CONNECTIONS AND RELATIONS THAT PROVIDE FOR LIFE ON EARTH, IS LACKING. IF WE ARE GOING TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES REQUIRED TO PROLONG LIFE ON EARTH, OUR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DEVELOP A STRONG ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATION FOR THE STUDENTS TO BUILD THEIR CONTINUING ACADEMIC STUDIES ON. WE MUST EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN TO BE ENVIRONMENTALISTS RATHER THAN CONSUMERS! THIS WILL REQUIRE RELIGIOUS AND ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS TO SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER, IT MEANS THE RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR WORLDS MUST SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY.
THE STORY OF CREATION FORMED THE BASIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGIOUS IDEALS AND BELIEFS, AND CAN ONLY BE UNDERSTOOD THROUGH ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRINCIPLES. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN RELIGION AND ECOLOGY PROVIDES THE FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE MANAGEMENT OF THE NATURAL WORLD. THERE ARE SOME WHO INSIST ON TOTAL SEPARATION OF THE RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR WORLDS. I RECENTLY GAVE A PROGRAM TO ELEMENTARY STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS, AND WAS TOLD IT WOULD BE IMPROPER TO USE THE WORD CREATION. HOW CAN WE TEACH OUR YOUTH ABOUT THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS IF RELIGION AND SCIENCE MUST REMAIN TOTALLY SEPARATED?
I AM SORRY, BUT IF WE ARE UNWILLING TO SPEAK THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW EARTH HAS DEVELOPED AND HOW HUMANS HAVE DESTROYED THE NATURAL WORLD, THERE IS LITTLE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE! RELIGION AND ACADEMIA MUST FORM A STRONG PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUS IDEALS AND ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES, IF WE CARE ABOUT HUMANITY’S FUTURE! IF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS MEANS RELIGION HAS TO CHANGE, IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT OVER THE CENTURIES RELIGIONS HAVE DEVELOPED POWERFUL RESOURCES TO HELP US UNDERSTAND AND RESPOND TO CRITICAL FORMS OF SUFFERING AND INJUSTICE. THERE IS A POINT TO LIFE BEYOND ACCUMULATION! IS IT NOT A SIN TO COMMIT A CRIME AGAINST THE NATURAL WORLD, TO CAUSE THE EXTINCTION OF SPECIES OR TO DESTROY THE BIODIVERSITY OF CREATION?

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December 02nd, 2021

12/2/2021

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          ECOLOGY, RELIGION AND THE SCIENCE OF FORESTRY
                                            CHAPTER TWO

THERE IS MORE TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF CREATION THAN THE CONNECTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MILLIONS OF ORGANISMS THAT MAKE UP LIFE ON PLANET EARTH. AS I SAT IN MY DEER BLIND AND OBSERVED THE MAKEUP AND ACTIVITY WITHIN THE DIFFERENT FOREST COMMUNITIES, I FINALLY BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND THE NECESSITY OF DIVERSITY. THE DIVERSITY OF THE SITE AND THE SOIL TYPES AND CHARACTERISTIC CHANGED, THE VARIETY OF ORGANISMS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES ALSO CHANGED. I THOUGHT BACK TO MY EARLY YEARS ON THE MARK TWAIN NATIONAL FOREST IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI, AND MY EFFORT TO IDENTIFY AND RECORD THE DIFFERENT TREE STANDS ON THE 200,000 ACRE WILLOW SPRINGS RANGER DISTRICT. MY EFFORT WAS TO DEVELOP A DATA BASE OF SITE-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR EACH STAND, WHICH WOULD IDENTIFY TREATMENT NEEDS AND PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRIORITIZE THE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS FOR FUTURE YEARS. WHILE I INVENTORIED THE VEGETATION ECOSYSTEMS, A SOIL SCIENTIST INVENTORIED THE SOIL AND SITE CHARACTERISTICS. WHEN COMPLETED AND OVERLAY-ED THE TWO MAPS WERE UNBELIEVABLY VERY SIMILAR.
I WAS ALSO REMINDED OF MY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE FIGHTING WILDFIRES, AND HOW WE STUDIED VEGETATION CHANGES TO IDENTIFY WHERE TO APPLY VARIOUS SUPPRESSION EFFORTS. WE KNEW THE FIRE BEHAVIOR WOULD CHANGE AS THE VEGETATIVE TYPES CHANGED AND WE MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE TO GAIN THE UPPER HAND. IGNORING THESE COMMUNITY DIFFERENCES AND CREATING LARGE PLANTATIONS, I REALIZED WAS DESTROYING BIO-DIVERSITY AND SETTING THE STAGE FOR FUTURE CATASTROPHIC EVENTS.
MY EXPERIENCES AND OBSERVATIONS REQUIRED A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF CREATION AND DIVERSITY. IT BECAME OBVIOUS, THAT DIVERSITY WAS ANOTHER ESSENTIAL ELEMENT DESIGNED INTO CREATION. MY MARK TWAIN PROJECT HAD DEMONSTRATED THAT INDIVIDUAL FOREST COMMUNITIES WERE THE RESULT OF THE SITE CHARACTERISTICS THE VEGETATION WAS GROWING ON. SOILS, SLOPE, ELEVATION, ASPECT AND MOISTURE AVAILABILITY; ACCOUNTED FOR TYPE AND DIVERSITY OF SPECIES WITHIN EACH COMMUNITY.
IN THE EARLY 1960’S, THE RESEARCH DIVISION OF THE FOREST SERVICE, SUGGESTED ADOPTING THE SILVICULTURAL SYSTEM OF CLEAR-CUTTING AS THE PREFERRED TREATMENT METHOD FOR ALL TIMBER TYPES. IT WAS ENACTED BY THE AGENCY, EVEN THOUGH THE SUGGESTION WAS BASED STRICTLY ON HARVESTING EFFICIENCIES AND PROFITABILITY, NOT HEALTH AND DIVERSITY. I DID MANAGED TO IMPLEMENT AN AMENDMENT FOR “CENTRAL HARDWOOD” TYPES THAT SOFTENED THE USE OF CLEAR-CUTTING FOR THOSE STANDS, BUT CLEAR-CUT AND PLANT BECAME THE DOMINANT PRESCRIPTION.
I HAD HEARD THE TERM BIO-DIVERSITY ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, BUT NEVER TOOK THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANT OR WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT IN FOREST MANAGEMENT. THE MORE I OBSERVED FROM MY DEER BLIND THE MORE I BEGAN TO REALIZE THE IMPORTANT ROLE DIVERSITY PLAYED IN THE FOREST COMMUNITY MAKEUP AND ACTIVITIES. I FINALLY REALIZED DIVERSITY WAS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT, DESIGNED INTO CREATION, THAT SUPPORTED LIFE WITHIN THE VARIOUS FOREST COMMUNITIES. IT BECAME APPARENT THAT DIVERSITY WAS NOT ONLY CRITICAL IN FORESTS, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN THE ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONING OF EVEN HUMAN COMMUNITIES. I COULD NOW SEE THAT DESTROYING BIO-DIVERSITY WITHIN ANY ECOSYSTEM RESULTS IN COLLAPSE AND FAILURE. THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN COMMUNITIES, REGARDLESS OF SPECIES, BECAME APPARENT AND THE RELIANCE OF HUMANITY ON THE NATURAL WORLD AND ITS DIVERSITY WAS CONFIRMED. AT THIS POINT, MY FOCUS CHANGED TO A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF HUMANITY’S CONNECTION TO THE NATURAL WORLD. I NOW REALIZED THE EXTENT OF DIVERSITY IS THE MEASURE OF PERFECTION!
THERE WAS STILL MORE TO THE MAGIC OF CREATION. EVERY YEAR WE TRANSITION FROM THE NEW LIFE OS SPRING TO THE PURIFICATION PERIOD OF WINTER, AND ARE PRIVILEGED TO OBSERVE THE REGENERATIVE POWER OF MOTHER EARTH. ONCE AGAIN THIS IS AN ELEMENT THAT HAS BEEN DESIGNED INTO THE CREATION OF THIS MAJESTIC PLANET. IT IS THIS ELEMENT THAT OFFERS HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. WHAT WE DO TO EARTH, WE DO TO OURSELVES, AND THE DAMAGE WE HAVE DONE TO EARTH WE CAN ASSIST IN REGENERATING.
YES, THE STORY OF CREATION OF PLANET EARTH IS TRULY    MAGICAL, AND THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS THAT EIGHT BILLION HUMAN BEINGS HAVE HAD ON NATURE, HAS DRASTICALLY REDUCED EARTH’S ABILITY TO SUSTAIN LIFE IN THE FUTURE. THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR REMAINING FORESTED LANDS MUST CHANGE TO A FOCUS ON UNIQUE FOREST COMMUNITIES AND INCORPORATE ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES THAT PROTECT THE RELATIONSHIPS VITAL TO HEALTHY AND DIVERSE COMMUNITIES. RELIGION, WHERE THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF CREATION ORIGINATED, MUST STEP FORWARD TO LEAD THE PUBLIC TO A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEXITY OF CREATION. ACADEMIA MUST EMPHASIZE AND PROVIDE THE ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATION THAT ENLIGHTENS FUTURE GRADUATES OF THE VIDAL RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE NATURAL WORLD. WITH OUR CURRENT WORLD POPULATION, NATURE REQUIRES HELP. THAT HELP MUST MAKE DISCUSSIONS BASED ON FULL KNOWLEDGE OF ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND THE VIDAL CONNECTIONS THAT ALLOW LIFE TO CONTINUE TO FUNCTION.
WE ARE CURRENTLY OBSERVING OUR COUNTRY’S POLITICAL INSTITUTION’S INABILITY TO UNDERSTAND AND IMPLEMENT A FEW SIMPLE EFFORTS TO ATTEMPT TO LIMIT CHANGING CLIMATE CONDITIONS. ACTUALLY, CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONLY A SYMPTOM OF THE UNDERLYING PROBLEMS. THE TWO ISSUES REQUIRING RESOLUTION ARE POPULATION EXPANSION AND DEFORESTATION.
OUR FUTURE DEPENDS UPON A STRONG PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ECOLOGY, FOREST SCIENCE AND RELIGION. MOTHER EARTH WILL RESPOND TO THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AND SUPPORT OF THE PUBLIC! WE CAN DO THIS EVEN THOUGH SCIENCE TELLS US TIME IS RUNNING OUT. AN APPRECIATION OF ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES, INFORMING THE PEOPLE OF A GREEN GOSPEL AND PUBLIC DEMANDS FOR REALISTIC SOLUTIONS AND ACTIONS, IS THE WAY TO A DESIRABLE FUTURE! THE STATUS- QUE IS UNACCEPTABLE!

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