Of Lions and Lambs: The Ecology of Things

Last updated on: March 7, 2016 at 12:23 pm By Jason M. Brown

In a recent blog post at A Rocha, an International Christian organization that does amazing work around the globe, the author discussed their dismay at the violence and predation that inevitably occurs within ecological systems. They asked how this reality could reflect the character of an all loving God that made His creation “Good.” There were three possible explanations: The “Fall” as described in the book of Genesis was an historical event; resulting in the entrance of evil and suffering into... Read more

Sacred Groves and Clear Cuts

Last updated on: February 29, 2016 at 12:44 pm By Jason M. Brown

In what ways does my life make more clear cuts necessary? Does my spiritual practice include careful attention to some sacred place, wild or not? Read more

The Way: First Century Jewish Sects as Parable

Last updated on: February 14, 2016 at 3:44 pm By Jason M. Brown

when Jesus says "I am the Way" in John 14:6, perhaps we can see this as a rejection of any one path. Jesus is the way which is made up of all ways and the way forward is many ways at once. Read more

The Seeds of Lent

Last updated on: February 11, 2016 at 5:11 am By Jason M. Brown

For the past several months I have been on the road for my dissertation research on the spirituality and landscape management of Catholic monastic communities in the American West. Over the holidays, I stopped over in Southern California as I always do, to spend my birthday and Christmas with family. Coming back to the home where I grew up is always interesting. My stable identity as student and scholar gives ground to the shared identity of brother, son and uncle.... Read more

Canopies

Last updated on: February 10, 2016 at 3:14 pm By Jason M. Brown

A new crescent moon chases the sun over the jagged western horizon. A canopy of 12th century stones reborn whisper the ancient chants of Spanish monks. The monastery bells ring for Vespers. And dozens of turkey vultures orbit in silence. Roosting in the tops of the tall cloister trees. Read more

Landscapes of Return: A Former Mormon Missionary in Catholic Dominican Republic

Last updated on: February 10, 2016 at 10:28 am By Jason M. Brown

Returning now, 13 years later, I was less fluent in Spanish, but more fluent in the cultural landscape of Catholicism, and the ecology of forested and agricultural landscapes. Read more

The Iconography of Climate Change

Last updated on: January 16, 2016 at 11:12 am By Jason M. Brown

The God of Nature is in trouble; the Nature of God is in doubt. In an era of apocalyptic Climate Change, the imminent death of God and Nature are inducing the birth pangs of the Anthropocene. Climate Change is not an entity, not a disturbance from outside the system. Climate Change is a force of humanized Nature. It is not the meaningless Natural object onto which we project our faith and doubt. Timothy Morton suggests that Climate Change, like other... Read more

Review: The Revenant: The Hero’s Journey and White Saviors

Last updated on: January 10, 2016 at 8:06 pm By Jason M. Brown

[Spoiler Alert] Thanks to some generous marketing people over at Patheos, I was asked to see The Revenant, staring Leonardo di Caprio and write a review. The film adaptation of Michael Punke’s novel was directed by notoriously gruesome Alejandro G. Iñárritu and isset in 1823 Montana and South Dakota. The film follows the grueling Hero’s Journey of mountain man Hugh Glass, who is guiding a Rocky Mountain Fur Company expedition that is attacked by Arikara warriors. After being mauled by a bear... Read more

Thoughts on whether Christians, Jews and Muslims worship the same God

Last updated on: January 7, 2016 at 3:14 pm By Jason M. Brown

Perhaps God is not a being whose parts and passions we can compare in a table; rather, God is Being itself. Read more

What it Means to be a Spiritual Ecologist

Last updated on: December 31, 2015 at 3:32 pm By Jason M. Brown

For many of the rising generation, spirit is not so much a shimmery version of ourselves that lives inside us like the driver of a car. Spirit is anima, breath. Spirit is Life. Read more