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Editorial
Who or what sets the agenda for the Jewish-Christian dialogue? Many of those engaged in it feel it is a divine imperative, but the commanding voice of God has to be heard. We search the Scriptures and the Tradition and listen to the Communities who live by them. But the Almighty is the God of the whole universe, the Creator of everything within it. Jews and Christians, singly and together, do not exist for themselves alone. They serve the Living God for God's purposes.
Today the world community faces a common threat of death. Air, waters and soil are polluted, the ozone layer is damaged, the denudation of tropical forests is destroying the habitat for thousands of living species. In the face of this reality all other items on our agenda take on a certain insignificance. Scientists, Geologists, Conservationists, attempt to discern the extent of the peril, assess its growth, explain the causes and point out the remedies. Politicians, Economists, Industrialists and every consumer must respond, change their habits and attitudes, make sacrifices to give priority to the earth and the environment rather than to the ease and comfort of human beings.
Though the centre-point of this crisis is the terrifying threat to the survival of planet earth, yet it is also a kairos for a new way to be. The realisation is beginning to dawn on religious communities of new horizons, of a dimension to life that goes beyond our conceptions so far. An appreciation of the interdependence we share with all other beings, of our interrelatedness with the environment, both local and global, elicits a respect for all aspects of creation, subordinating none for the sake of any privileged form.
The topic is too vast and too specialized for SIDIC to cover. However it has been pointed out that it is not merely practical measures (though these are essential) that are adequate to confront this crisis. There is need of a new vision, fresh intuition, a spirituality, (a mystique, as Thomas Berry names it)(1) that is powerful and compelling enough to overturn the overriding conviction of our century that all is subordinate to the needs and welfare of human beings. It is in this context that religious communities have a special part to play. In this issue of SIDIC our authors attempt to describe the elements in the Jewish and Christian sources that indicate the vocation of men and women in respect of the total creation and point out the way to follow.
In 1986 the World-Life Fund celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary by associating its work with the spiritual traditions of the world. Representatives of Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity came together at Assisi to declare how their traditions lead them to care for nature. In responding to the demand and need of our earth today, in summoning up the energy and will to embark on the "ecological age", the intuitions and insights of the Indian and far Eastern religions are a necessary complement to those of the Middle Eastern Religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The inter-communion of all the living and non-living elements of the earth community is being brought home to us today.
The Editors
1. Cf. Thomas Berry, "Creative Energy, "The New Story", "The Dream of the Earth", Cross Currents Summer/Fall 1987.
