The theology that shaped my world more than fifty years ago had no room for any Holy Place. Back then in the second half of the last century the theme Holy People was all the rage. The Old Testament, as we called it in those days, was obviously, for my teachers, and therefore also for me, the narrative of “the mighty acts of God” in human history. The New Testament, in turn, was likewise, for many of us, the proclamation of what we called “the kerygma,” the Word of God announcing what God has done for all the people of the earth in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I still affirm those themes as my own, although in a way akin to what the great nineteenth century Protestant theologian, Friedrich Schleiermacher once said about how he claimed his home faith-base as his own: pietism (which historically has emphasized being “born again”). Said Schleiermacher: “I am a Herrnhuter of a higher order.”
Of myself, I would like to say: I am a Word-of-God theologian of a different kind. This angle of vision allows me, I believe, to accent the themes Holy People and Holy Place at the same time. Let me explain, by asking you a question.
What’s the Bible all about? That’s admittedly a huge question. But stay with me. I think I can offer you a relatively simple answer. Building on my Confirmation memory text, John 3:16, I think that it makes very good sense to say that, most fundamentally, the Bible’s about God saving the world (“cosmos” is the Greek word that’s used by John here). Note that John 3:16 does not say, much more narrowly, that “God so loved humans…” We humans, then, are clearly promised salvation by this text, but not just us. God so loved – the world!
This biblical theme is perhaps most poignantly illustrated by the Noah story. Whom was Noah commanded to take with him into the ark? Just humans? By no means. Humans and all the other animals. See them all parading into the ark, two by two.
More generally, for the Bible, when everything has been said and done, who is to be saved? Again: not just humans. Biblical faith envisions a new heavens and a new earth at the very End. God’s promise of salvation, biblically speaking, is thus – cosmic. Overall, then, for the Bible, salvation includes all creatures. Which, if you wish, you can put in this shorthand: place, for the Bible, is as essential in the greater scheme of things as people.
Could it be, then, that taking a walk in the woods on Saturday is as important, spiritually speaking, as going to Church on Sunday? More broadly, could it be that protecting the forests of our planet is as important, spiritually speaking, as responding to the needs of the poor of this Earth? For the Bible, I believe, the answer to both those questions is Yes. Place and people both matter.
*Dedicated, with gratitude, to Bill McKibben, who knows his Bible well.
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