This was first published as a guest post on Tyler Tully's blog "The Jesus Event" on March 11, 2014.
Martin Luther, along with many other reformers, founded the
Reformation on the phrase Sola Scriptura
(only scripture). Over the years the Church had developed rites and practices
that were based on tradition more than scripture. Many of those practices were
abused and according to the reformers, idolatrous. Reformers admonished their
flocks to return to reading the scripture for their spiritual practices instead
of worshiping images and saints. Whereas the Holy Bible previously was only
available in Latin, the reformers translated it into the common languages of
the people, making the printed word accessible to everyone, not just the
learned clergy.
The printed page became the basis not only for the reshaping
of the church, but also the reshaping of the mind. Linear thought, the
scientific method, and individual rights grew from the influence of the new medium
of print. It was the foundation of what became the Modern Age. Sola Scriptura was the perfect rallying
cry of the Reformation.
The printed page, although still around, is loosing
influence to images, which are becoming more and more important as screens
replace books as the medium of choice for most people. Images are more
ambiguous and less linear that the written word. Sola Scriptura, as a written form, is loosing its ability to retain
the imagination of seekers of God in a post-modern world.
Perhaps, like John Eriugena, a teacher of Celtic
spirituality, we should look to another form of Scriptura. “God speaks to us in two books,” taught Eriugena. “One
is the little book, the book of scripture, physically little. The other is the
big book, the book of creation, as vast as the universe” (Newell, 2008, p. 50).
The book of creation as God speaking to us has largely been ignored since the
Industrial Revolution. Nature was to be exploited and used for our material
gain, not something deserving reverence. This misuse of creation has caused
untold devastation and alienation.
Pelagius, one of the original Celtic theologians, debated
with Augustine about creation. Augustine thought that God created the world ex nihilo; out of nothing. Pelagius
countered that God created the world ex
Deo, out of the very essence of God. How much different would we treat
creation if we considered it coming from the very essence of God rather than
out of nothing? J. Philip Newell contends that Augustine’s view of creation is
materialistic, and as such, served the Roman Empire well in exploiting the
natural resources it needed to extend its empire. Every empire since has
exploit the earth’s resources in similar fashion. Augustine’s view of
creation ex nihilo became the standard
belief of Christendom and the reformers accepted it as well. Pelagius was
condemned as heretic.
The objectification of nature and its exploitation has taken
a huge toll. Many younger people are worried about what will happen to their
future and their children’s future if something isn’t done to restore creation
to God’s original intention. The big book, God’s good creation, “has been
groaning in labor pains until now” (Rom. 8:22 NRSV). God is calling us through
creation. It is time for the next Reformation to begin. It is time for God’s
children to rally around a new emphasis on Sola
Scriptura, the big book of scripture: creation. Creation that comes out of
God’s very essence.
J. Philip Newell calls this reading of the creation
“listening to the heartbeat of God.” “If God were to stop speaking,” wrote
Newell, “the whole created universe would cease to exist” (Newell, 1998, p. 35).
We need to stop and listen to this eternal song, which is found in all of
creation, ourselves included. “The deeper we move in the body of creation and
in the inner landscape of the human soul,” writes Newell, “the closer we come
to the Presence. Christ carries a tune that is at the heart of matter.” (Newell,
2008, p. 97)
In order for us to take the Scriptura of nature seriously, we need to quiet ourselves and
listen to its tune. We can listen within, where our souls bear the stamp of our
God-imageness. We can listen to our neighbors and get in touch with their
God-imageness. We can listen all around us, to the rhythm of the seasons, the
beat of the animals or the song of the wind. There is a longing within us and
within all of creation for wholeness, for restoration, for resurrection (Rom.
12:8). Listening to the “Heartbeat of God” within the cosmos, which Celtic
spirituality teaches, helps the restoration.
“When we hear the Heartbeat of God, whether in our own soul
or in the heart of another, whether in the body of creation or in the vast
expanses of the cosmos, we experience ourselves as being called ‘by name’” (Newell,
2008, p. 120).
Sola Scriptura.
Time to allow ourselves to be reformed by the other book of scripture.
J. Philip Newell, Listening
for the Heartbeat of God: A Celtic Spirituality (Paulist Press, 1998).
J. Philip Newell, Christ
of the Celts: The Healing of Creation, 1st ed. (Jossey-Bass, 2008), p.50.
