Politics of Climate Change

In his book, The Politics of Climate Change (2009), a leading interdisciplinary sociologist Anthony Giddens argues that the challenge of climate change is primarily political and not technological.  What is sorely lacking is long-term and innovative thinking and action on the part of political parties, leaders and ordinary citizens.  What is missing is the politics that can empower and guide the work of diverse groups toward climate change adaptation, within developing and overdeveloping nations, and which can ensure mitigation, especially progressive carbon emissions reduction, primarily within the overdeveloping nations in North America and North-Western Europe.

A politics “beyond left and right” is needed to stimulate an “economic convergence” in which economic and technological innovations for climate change mitigation could provide a competitive advantage, such as energy security or efficiency, to diverse users of the innovations, whether the users be households or corporations.  At the same time, the politics of climate change has to include “life politics,” or the politics of life-style and self-identity, which gives prominence to emotive and ethical concerns.  A change to low carbon life-styles will be easier for citizens who prioritize the effort to seek and sustain expressive and emotionally satisfying relationships over the effort to accumulate commodities.

The analysis of Giddens of necessary social innovations in our age of climate change can challenge and enrich a theological ethics that seeks a comprehensive understanding of the meaning and implications of the principle of sustainability.  His analysis and concepts can help sharpen the theological understanding of sustainability, development, “nature,” the environment, and the stewardship of creation.  Theological ethics can increase its social impact by engaging the field of public policy as a regular dialogue partner and thus understanding better the process of developing and implementing public policy in which politics is involved in an environment of diverse stakeholders.

Christ the Representative

Christ is the representative of God among us and our representative before God.  The nature of Christ’s work as Mediator is representation and not substitution.  Dorothee Soelle explained the distinction as follows:

“The ‘differentia specifica’ which distinguishes representation from substitution…[is] the perspective of time.  Representation regards man from the standpoint of time.  It gains time for man who is for the moment incapacitated…The chief thing which God does for us is to give us time, new and real time for living.” (“Christ the Representative”)

As our representative before God, Christ does not substitute for us: he does not take away our responsibility to fulfil the divine will to humanize humanity.  “The mediation of Christ…is the restitution of man as God’s free and active agent in God’s humanizing purpose” (Jose Miguez Bonino).

Through his life, ministry, death and resurrection, Christ gains time and historical space for people to participate fully in the completion of the divine purpose.  Christ inaugurates the new covenant, which does not abrogate but fulfils the divine-human partnership in the active care for the neighbour, society and history.  In the passion and death of Christ, the intimate participation of God in human death sealed the renewal of the divine-human partnership, and enabled the practice of altruistic self-denial to become fully humanizing.

 
Justification through Christ means forgiveness of sins.  The offer of forgiveness and the call to repentance, however, should be understood in close connection with the historical mission of Jesus to proclaim God’s Kingdom, preach good news to the poor, liberate the oppressed, and heal the infirm and the broken-hearted (Luke 4:18, 4:40-44, 5:17-26, 13:1-17).
 
In fulfilling his mission, Jesus opposed the dehumanizing legalism and greed of the religious and politico-economic authorities.  He showed that the forgiveness of sins calls for the comprehensive healing of persons and the courageous transformation of ruined lives and stark historical conditions.  Forgiveness is not only individual, and sin is not a private or one-person reality.  Sin can be public or interpersonal but never private.
 
The redemptive mission of Jesus to liberate those who are oppressed reveals the non-private reality of sin.  To sin is to dehumanize or, more concretely, to oppress the neighbour.  To sin is indeed to hurl an insult at God, but the insult does not immediately reach God.  The insult reaches God through the nearest and densest mediation of the divine presence.  This nearest and densest mediation is the Son-present-in-the-persons-of-the-lowliest-children-of-God (Matthew 25:34-45).

To sin, to insult God, is to oppress anybody of our fellow sons and daughters of God, especially the poor and the lowly outsiders.  The sinful condition is oppressive both to others and to oneself.  At the heart of sinful oppression is a mistrust of the other’s God-given capability to offer and receive love.  Through a deep mistrust of the God-given love-ability of the other(s), sinners mistrust God, and thus sin is unbelief.

The deep mistrust of both neighbour and God leads either to despair or to an excessive trust in one’s own capabilities or in the products of one’s capabilities.  Thus, the sinful condition, this deep mistrust, leads often to idolatry, either self-idolatry or the idolatry of man-made effects such as money, the free market, or the national security doctrine.  The forgiveness of sins through God’s Son involves the deep infusion of trust, liberation from oppression, and the downfall of idolatry.

 
To become God’s liberating representative among us, the Son was fully incarnated and humanized within history.  His life, death and resurrection is a perfect incarnation of divine Word and Power.  According to Miguez, this was not “a sort of abrupt departure from God’s ‘normal’ way of dealing with human life and reality.  On the contrary, the Incarnation becomes the clue for understanding all of God’s dealings with human history and with the whole of world reality.” (“Christian Political Ethics”)  The Incarnation definitively reaffirms the divine will to act through human means and to favour the meaningful autonomy of history.
 
This incarnational perspective challenges pastors and theologians to develop a down-to-earth sensitivity to actual human needs, struggles, and potentials.  It also deepens our understanding of divine omnipotence and transcendence.  According to Miguez:
 
“When we say that God is all-powerful, we do not mean that he substitutes for us, or prevents the existence of evil with a decree.  And while he reserves the freedom to definitively save his plan from failure, he still retains the capacity and patience to continue working and to complete his plan – that is our gift – throughout the frustrations and sufferings of history.” (“Room To Be People”)

Divine omnipotence empowers but does not overpower human activity and contextual freedom.  Furthermore, as in the crucifixion, divine power chooses not to magically or automatically overrule human injustice.  After every human tragedy, the living Word encourages us to begin anew, for divinity is a powerful persistence that aims not only to change things but more so to form full-fledged persons, who can be humanized and personalized only in concrete struggles and contextual freedom.

Postmodern Political Ethics

Can major proponents of postmodernism and deconstruction help evaluate and guide contemporary political practices?  Can they help thinkers and practitioners recognize “universal” standards for decision-making and action in order to resolve the complex conflicts of interests of diverse groups in society, whether local or global?

Emeritus Professor Georges De Schrijver, S.J. offers a positive answer to both questions through his study, The Political Ethics of Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jacques Derrida, (ISBN 978-90-429-2327-0) published by Peeters in Leuven, Belgium in 2010.  In a painstaking way, De Schrijver shows the deep influence of Jewish culture on both thinkers and explains their philosophical roots, in the case of Lyotard, in Immanuel Kant’s notion of the Sublime as an elevating experience of the clash between mind and nature.

In the case of Derrida, De Schrijver expounds his roots in Friedrich Nietzsche’s perspectivism, Emmanuel Levinas’ metaphysics of the infinitely other, and Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology of presence, which Derrida deconstructs.

The universal standards described by Lyotard and Derrida have a utopian character such as the former’s “unpresentable” idea of “justice of multiplicity” and the latter’s “impossible” justice beyond legality.

Lyotard’s justice of multiplicity listens to, respects and defends the heterogeneous voices and languages, including “strange” ones, in all cultures, keeps them in creative tension, and seeks imaginative outcomes of the tension other than unity or consensus, which in modernity is a fabricated or coerced consensus.  In an expanded Kantian sense, such justice is sublime and “unpresentable,” and it is unimaginable when one remains within the established criteria and rules of decision-making and action of the modern nation-state.

Derrida’s impossible justice expresses the deep, enduring and indefinable desire to give to each person, in his or her particularity or uniqueness, what is due to him or her.  Such justice is impossible owing to the dependence of modern political authority on written laws and their universal or general categories to decide on what is just and unjust.  Furthermore, beneath layers of laws and their evolution, the ultimate foundation of authority is violent action and the threat of it, without which a legal system cannot be enforced.

Public intellectuals and leaders who will take up the challenge of examining and digesting the ideas of Lyotard and Derrida and their careful correlation in De Schrijver’s study will be amply rewarded.  At least, they will be reminded that cherished words in society like justice, democracy, equality, and freedom communicate contested and contestable ideas. 

Also, leaders and intellectuals will have to consider the assertion of postmodern political ethics that it is possible periodically in this age and the succeeding ages to find better perspectives in understanding cherished words so that public policies, programs and practices do not end up excluding, coercing or doing violence to any social or cultural group.

Holy Land: Galilee Lake and Jordan River

May 27:  We went today to Ginnosar, a village in the Sea (Lake) of Galilee.  Around the towns of this lake Jesus did much of his public ministry and on this lake he calmed a storm and walked on the water.

We rode a boat for two hours to get a panoramic view of the lake and its towns and we were shown one way in which the ancient Galileans tried to catch fish using a net.  A crew member cast the net 3 times but caught no fish.  The Israeli government is regulating the fishing on the lake because of dwindling catch of tilapia and small fish that end up as sardines.  It is a good thing I drank Bonamine because at a certain point the motor was turned off so we can pray and meditate on the relevant gospel stories.  I was also sucking a lollipop.  The boat ride on the lake helps one understand better the gospel stories of Jesus' ministry.

 
We also went to a small museum run by a kibbutz in which there is a display of a 2,000 yr old fishing boat that was found in the lake in 1986.  It is called the "Jesus boat" even though no one can be sure that this was the boat Jesus and his disciples used.  The museum also relates the amazing way in which they took the boat out of the water without breaking it, because the wood was very soft from such long immersion in water and mud.  Exposure to air would also dry the wood and make it crumble into dust.

In the afternoon we had Pentecost Sunday Mass at the chapel of the Mt St Gabriel hotel.  The priest was an Arab Israeli who belonged to the diocese of Jerusalem.  He said that his nephew in the U.S. married a Filipina.

 
May 28:  In the afternoon, we arrived safely at the Maagan Holiday Village by the southern end of the Sea of Galilee where it meets the Jordan River.  This is where we had the best rooms for the whole trip.  It has a swimming pool, a mini-zoo, and water sports facilities for the lake, where you can also swim.

This morning we went to the other side of the Jordan River, which continues down to the Dead Sea.  We went to Yardenit, a facility where some Christian groups hold baptisms.  I saw people in white robes being immersed in the water.

We recalled Jesus' own baptism in the Jordan in the presence of John the Baptist, and afterwards Jesus went to the Judean wilderness to pray, fast and be tested for 40 days before beginning his ministry.

We sat by the river, while Glenn read some gospel texts and helped us meditate and sing songs. At a certain point, he invited us to come near the river by twos, get some water for blessing on the head, and say a blessing for each other.

It was very touching to see Pol and Nena bless each other and embrace.  I prayed that Deeda and I could grow old together like them.  I saw people breaking down in tears when they blessed each other and I too wept quietly especially since I have heard of the difficulties some of us have undergone.

Winnie Monsod called me and offered to bless me.  She can be very sweet.  She did it also for others who were "alone" on the trip.  I could see that she was also in near tears.  After the blessing, Winnie asked me to put my hand in the water and pray for a blessing on Deeda, Sophie and Dennis.  This was one of our best experiences in the trip.

 
The rest of the day was so hot (34 degrees).  By the time we reached Maagan, we were wilted.

Before Maagan, we went to the house of Peter (or his mother-in-law) in Capernaum, another lakeside town, and the gospels suggest that this was like Jesus' second home while he did his ministry around the lake.  Some ruins of the early church building on the site can be seen and a modern church, like a flying saucer, has been built above the ruins.

 

We then went to the ruins of Bethsaida, the hometown of 4 disciples mentioned in John’s gospel, and where Jesus preached unsuccessfully because he expressed frustration about it in the gospels.

Holy Land: Jericho, Dead Sea and Nazareth

May 25:  We visited Jericho, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.  Then we proceeded to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves.  I and some of my companions dipped in the Dead Sea, the lowest lake (below sea level) in the world.  We floated like corks because of the saltiness.  By the latter half of the afternoon, we proceeded to Nazareth and checked in at the Mount St Grabriel’s Hotel, which used to be a Greek Orthodox monastery.
 
May 26:  We went to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.  The Cave of Mary in the Basilica was brightly lit but gated.  You could see inside but could not enter.  We celebrated the Eucharist just in front of the Cave.  Near the end of the Mass, a Cardinal Koch from the Vatican came and the gate was unlocked for him.  There was even a camera man.
 
A small altar has been placed in the Cave and so many "improvements" have been made.  Scholars are 90% sure it was the cave of Mary, Jesus and Joseph because "grafitti" from pilgrims from as early as the 2nd century showed that it was revered as the cave of the holy family.

The Basilica is modern and beautiful.  It is the biggest Christian sanctuary in the Middle East, and the Roman Catholic Church, which alone has control over the site, has allocated resources to make the Basilica special.

Holy Land: Yad Veshem

May 24:  We spent the whole morning at the Yad Veshem, Holocaust Memorial Museum.  It was very sad to see man's inhumanity.  I spent a lot of time watching videos of survivors recounting their experiences.  The suffering of children and their separation from their parents moved me to quiet tears.  I have been to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC and I found this one in Jerusalem more powerful maybe because I am now older and a husband and father.
 
There was also a Children's Memorial Hall for the 1.5 million children who perished.  The hall was totally black except for a single candle that got reflected by a multitude of mirrors so that you seem to see a thousand points of light from the candle throughout the dark room and you hear the continuous enumeration of children's names, their ages and locales.

In the afternoon, I returned to the Old City and had a chance to enter the Holy Sepulchre Church Edicule, which is the revered spot of the burial of Jesus.  We were fortunate because the line was short.  We had a solemn moment inside.  It was a reconstructed marble resting place.  We also entered the Coptic Chapel of St Helena where I had a longer moment of prayer.

Holy Land: Nativity Basilica

May 23:  We returned to Bethlehem to enter the Basilica of the Nativity, which lays claim to being the oldest continuously operating Basilica in the world.  It is definitely the oldest in the Holy Land, because the current Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built in the 12th century after it was destroyed twice, in 614 by Persians and in 1009 by a mad Muslim ruler.

Legend says that the Persians who ruined the Sepulchre church did not destroy the Nativity Basilica in 614 because they saw at the entrance of the Basilica a mosaic of the Magi in Persian attire.

You enter the Basilica through the Humility Door, a very low door in which almost everybody has to bend to enter.  It reminds you of the low entrance of a cave as the birthplace of Christ.  The Basilica door was also made that way to prevent horses and camels from entering because some pilgrims and visitors did bring them in.

Similar to the Sepulchre Church, control of the Basilica is shared by three Christian denominations: Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian and thus similar problems.  The Basilica looks badly in need of repair and restoration, but it cannot be done because the 3 groups cannot agree on the sharing of the expenses.

We had another guide, Salwa, a Palestinian American who told us that Pres. Abbas of the Palestinian Authority has decided that his government would be the one to spend for the restoration and that experts from Europe and North America have already been tapped for the purpose.

Much of the Basilica is in the control of the Greek Orthodox church, but the Franciscans have the beautiful St Catherine church right beside.  I saw a unique mosaic in the Franciscan church which I instructed my companions to photograph.  It was a mosaic of St Joseph holding the toddler Jesus together with two scrolls, presumably the Torah and the Prophets, with Jesus touching one of the scrolls.  What is usual is the Madonna and Child, but this Father and Toddler with Scrolls mosaic again reminds me of a father's duty to raise and educate his child in the faith.

We proceeded to the Chapel of St Helena, which our guide says goes back to the original Basilica built by Empress Helena.  The current Basilica was built by Emperor Justinian in 565 AD after the original was burned during the Samaritan Revolt of 529.

At the Chapel we had Mass with another Filipino pilgrim group.  Afterwards we proceeded to line up at the entrance to a cave under the Basilica altar.  At this cave, a silver star on the floor marks the spot where Jesus was born, and to the side is a small shrine that marks the spot where the manger was supposed to be.

The problems began.  We ended up waiting in line one and a half hours because the Armenians had a ceremony in which they were following a different clock, and afterwards a Minister of Belgium came with camera men and escorted by Palestinian police and he was given priority. Two groups were ahead of us, Indian Muslims from Bombay, and they were patient and well-behaved. The birthplace of Jesus is sacred also to Muslims because Jesus is acknowledged as a powerful prophet in Islam and his mother Mary's virginal conception of Jesus is narrated in the Koran.

What irritated many of us were the Russians right behind us.  Some of them were steadily pushing and apparently trying to sneak ahead in the line.  At a certain point, we held each other's hands and formed a cordon to prevent the Russian invasion.

Various tour groups accumulated into a long line, and so when we finally were able to enter the cave, the ushers were hurrying us.  So we ended up spending a rushed minute in the cave praying, touching the star and taking photos. Some expressed their sadness afterwards, for they did not feel the expected atmosphere of solemnity.

I was a bit stoic about the unfortunate experience.  For one, I tend towards the opinion of several critical historians who think that Jesus was most likely born in Nazareth because only the gospels of Matthew and Luke mention Bethlehem as his birthplace, while Mark and John affirm that Jesus was from Nazareth.  Also Matthew and Luke disagree on crucial details that it seems that the Bethlehem story was created to show that Jesus was indeed a descendant of king David, whose hometown was Bethlehem.

We had our best lunch so far at the Tent Restaurant with a view of the hillsides of Bethlehem. Starters were pita with 7 different kinds of dips.  That was already a tasty meal for us.  But they still served roasted chicken and a mixture of beef, lamb and pine nuts.  We had a refreshing lemon mint drink, but I tasted the only Palestinian beer, brewed in a Christian village, since alcohol is forbidden to Muslims.  The dessert, a baklava, was too sweet.