Blog: Ecozoic Cafe

For the past several months, I’ve been experimenting with another blog which may be of interest to followers of this one. I’m calling it Ecozoic Cafe, and I’ve copied its About page below. All feedback is welcome!

Jonas Barciauskas,
Christian Spirituality Studies blog moderator

About

Why the title Ecozoic Cafe?

Ecozoic is a term proposed by Thomas Berry (1914-2009), C.P, Ph.D., a Catholic priest of the Passionist Order and a scholar of cultural history and world religions. Berry intended Ecozoic to indicate a new era where humanity can choose to live in greater harmony with the earth than it has in recent centuries. Ecozoic is less a scientific term identifying a past geological age (e.g., Cenozoic) than one offering a hopeful vision for our current and future time. According to Berry and his co-author Brian Swimme in their book The Universe Story, the Ecozoic is “a new mode of human-Earth relations, one where the well-being of the entire Earth community is the primary concern.” (The Universe Story, p. 15)

More information can be found on the web about what might be meant by the Ecozoic Era (see Ecozoic Times for example). Discussions on this blog will explore various threads in contemporary Christian and other spiritualities which can contribute toward realizing the kind of earth community envisioned by Berry and others.  Humanity needs to understand and experience itself to be in deep spiritual relationship with the earth before it can  address the challenge of climate change in any meaningful way, and there are many signs suggesting that such an understanding is beginning to emerge.

As for the Cafe part of the title, there are few better ways to stimulate creative thinking and conversation than a good cup coffee (or the beverage of your choice). Please feel free to leave a comment by clicking on the “Leave a comment” link at the end of each post.

(See also the first blog post.)

 

Blog tags