Women, Earth, And Creator Spirit Johnson
In her book, Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit, Elizabeth A. Johnson investigates the close connection between society's domination of women and mankind's domination of the earth. Johnson begins her book with a thorough description of some of the many ways that mankind has exploited the earth. She notes that we continue to poison our water, air and soil, and thereby "making the planet unfit for life" (p. 5). She continues, noting that our industrial activities are destroying the earth, and that we are rapidly causing the extinction of "more than half the species created by God" (p. 7).
Johnson makes a convincing case that women have traditionally been marginalized both in greater society and within the church, and that the exploitation of women is linked to man's exploitation of the earth. She notes that this exploitive attitude is characterized by a belief that humanity is separate from, and superior to, nature, and that man is separate from, and superior to, woman. To Johnson, this exploitation of the earth and the marginalization of women is linked to the lockout of the creator spirit.
In the end, Johnson calls for a profound reworking of the interaction between the earth, women and the third member of the Trinity. To Johnson, this new emphasis could revitalize the Christian community, and create a new recognition of the creator spirit in the Christian community.
Overall, Johnson's thesis is thought-provoking and often disturbing. As a woman, I am particularly struck by Johnson's vision of change and her positive perspective of how a reshaping of mankind's essential beliefs can make for a better future. While Johnson clearly defines the problems of environmental destruction and the marginalization, she goes far beyond laying blame for the current state of the world. Instead, in Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit, Johnson creates a hopeful and positive vision for our future, and the future of our planet and the Christian religion itself.
References
Johnson, Elizabeth A. 1993. Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit (1993 Madeleva Lecture in Spirituality). Paulist Press.
