In the book of Genesis, dirt (or ground) and water are created in the first narrative of the creation story and “given” to humankind to have “dominion” over all creatures living in both earth and seas. This narrative reinforces the hierarchical and anthropomorphic understanding of God–”God the Father, Humankind the children, Creation the subject”. Diana Butler Bass invites us to change our understanding of God, quoting the 20th Century German theologian, Paul Tillich, and the teachings of 4th century BCE Taoist philosopher, Chuang-tzu:
We must abandon the external height images in which the theistic God has historically been perceived and replace them with internal depth images of a deity who is not apart from us, but who is the very core and ground of all that is. –Paul Tillich
Water is the blood of the earth, and flows through its muscles and veins… It is accumulated in heaven and earth, and stored up in various things of the world. It comes forth in metal and stone, and is concentrated in living creatures. Therefore it is said that water is something spiritual. –Chuang-tzu
Today we know that our planet is a living body, and that it groans in pain from the destruction that we cause. And we, created in the image of God–Imago Dei–from dirt and water, are stewards of all of what was created, not dominators.
We are invited to find God in the very creation that we were asked to care for.
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