Comparing Two Authors as Commentators on the Human Condition

¶ … Human Condition

Both The Great Work by Thomas Berry and Sacred Energies by Daniel Maguire suggest ways in which human beings can change the destructive path they are on. The two works take a cosmological approach to the problem, the former focusing on the earth as sacred, while the latter uses religion as a possible remedy to the situation.

The three major themes upon which The Great Work is based, comprise the current situation of the human community, how this came to be, and the possible future of the human community. Berry blames Western science and religion for the state of the world today. The reason for this is that science and religion have become separate in human consciousness, rather than integrative forces. Religion is therefore no longer seen as either a fundamental or concrete force on which to base life. In the same way humanity has become separate from every other form of life, and from the earth itself.

The fundamental problem, according to Berry, is the human attitude towards the earth. The integrated Christian attitude is one of human domination over everything on earth. This, coupled with the fact that religion and science have been separated, constructs a separation from the very force that gives human beings and everything else life. The latest manifestation of this is the rapid advance of technology and its inherent destruction of natural resources. Berry points out that this is a destructive attitude that will eventually lay waste to the earth.

As a remedy for the crisis on earth, Berry suggests a different paradigm. He names the earth as a sort of "Garden of Eden" among all the other uninhabitable planets of the universe. Human beings should therefore recognize that the earth gives life, and that ecology should be the basis of everything else. Without the earth there is nothing. Dealing correctly with the earth has become more than merely a matter only of spirituality or morality, according to the author. It has become a matter of concrete human survival. To reconnect with the earth is then to reconnect with the very forces that give human beings their humanity. This is the meaning that Berry describes for human beings in their relationship with cosmology. Everything is integrated with the earth - the primary life giver. Nothing can dominate. Thirsting for dominance is ultimately self-destructive.

In terms of spirituality then, Berry emphasizes the importance of finding the sacred in a science-based earth "religion." The idea of a transcendent God towards whom all human beings must strive encourages the destructive paradigm of separation from the earth. Human beings should turn towards the earth and its spirituality instead. In this way a respectful symbiosis could be achieved even better than in ancient times, made possible by scientific advances.

In Sacred Energies Maguire agrees with Berry in his assessment of the ecological situation: the earth finds itself in a crisis. Human beings have destroyed much of the earth's resources, and science is being used to remedy mistakes rather than to sustain what is left. Like Berry, Maguire assesses the culprit to be humanity's lack of spirituality. He however does not call for a divorce from major Western religions such as Christianity, but rather a rekindling of the best qualities of both Western and Eastern religions, to form a symbiosis within religions.

Thus, rather than in the earth itself, Maguire's suggested cure for the earth crisis is in an integration of existing religions to combat the destructive paradigms of capitalism and consumerism. The problem is thus not the original message within any of these religions, but rather the fact that they were side-tracked by the above-mentioned paradigms.

By taking the best qualities of both Western and Eastern religions and integrating them, the destruction spawned by religious fanaticism is countered by a fundamental understanding of humanity, the earth and how each can work to benefit the other.

According the Maguire, there is a fundamental awareness that something needs to be done about the ecological crisis of the earth. He identifies the emotion attached to this awareness as a necessary fear. Berry places this awareness in scientific research. Science, according to Berry, reveals the sacredness of the earth and the truth of the philosophy identifying the earth as life giver. Human beings in their scientific capacity are aware of this, while Western religion is a force separating them from the realization of this awareness. Conversely, Maguire requires the presence of religion as an inescapable human paradigm.