Creation and Environmentalism

The Earth Moans When We Make Unjust Use of its Fruits

"'If my land has ever cried out against me, or if its furrows have wept together.' Therefore, neither the land cries out nor weeps. What does he mean? Certainly the land does not really groan, but inanimate beings perceive injustices. As the prophet asserts, 'The earth stood up and shuddered.' Now the earth moans every time we make an unjust use of its fruits." -- St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on Job 31.35-40

Language of Creation

"To begin, it is worthwhile to ask why God did not say, when the heavens were created, 'Let us make the heavens' but instead, 'Let there be a heaven.... Let there be light,' and similarly for each other aspect of creation. 'Let us make' suggests deliberation, collaboration and conference with another person. So what is it whose pending creation is granted so great an honor? It is humanity, the greatest and most marvelous of living beings, and the creation most worthy of honor before God.... There is here this deliberation, collaboration and communion not because God needs advice-God forbid saying such a thing!-but so that the very impact of the language of our creation would show us honor." -- St. John Chrysostom

Notes on Adam

"There are thousands of patristic references to Adam – an immeasurable chaos. However, it will be hard to locate a verse that refers to Adam in an absolutely univocal manner; i.e., a verse that cannot but imply a specific person.

"An endeavor like this is a difficult one, for two reasons:

"a) Because the Fathers had no cause to outrightly state (per our rationale) that Adam 'is not a symbolic person'. Such an issue had not been put forward as a theory during their time, which is why they did not preoccupy themselves with something that they regarded a given fact; and

"b) Because in the case of Adam, a multitude of symbolisms do also apply, however without them annulling his literal existence as a person – as the hypostatic beginning of mankind." -- Fr. John A. Peck, "Was Adam an Actual or Symbolic Figure, According to the Fathers of the Church?", GoodGuysWearBlack.com