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In this conversation, Christine Sine and Mark Wallace explore the intersection of faith, ecology, and the divine. Mark shares his journey from a traditional evangelical background to a deeper understanding of the relationship between religion and the natural world. They discuss the concept of the creatureliness of God, emphasizing how God is embodied and represented in nature and the implications of environmental destruction on spirituality. The conversation also highlights the importance of figures like John Muir in bridging faith and nature, and the need for a spiritual reconnection to the earth in the face of climate change.

Takeaways

• Mark emphasizes the importance of mystery and awe in faith.
• Religion and ecology are deeply interconnected.
• The loss of biodiversity reflects a spiritual crisis and damage to God.
• The Bible uses earth-based imagery to refer to God.
• John Muir saw no contradiction between faith and nature.
• Killing animals impacts our relationship with God.
• Worshiping nature can be a form of spiritual practice.
• The current environmental crisis is a tragedy for God.

Mark I. Wallace is the James Hormel Professor of Social Justice in the Department of Religion at Swarthmore College. At Swarthmore, he directs the ChesterSemester Fellowship in which college students work alongside Chester PA city partners in high-value internships focused on education and environmental justice. He has been a visiting professor at The University of Pennsylvania, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Japan International Christian University, and is core faculty for the U.S. State Department's Institutes on Religious Pluralism at Temple University. His many books include When God Was a Bird: Christianity, Animism, and the Re-Enchantment of the World (Fordham University Press 2019), awarded the 2019 Nautilus Gold Award for best book in Western religious thought; and Green Christianity: Five Ways to a Sustainable Future (Fortress 2010). His research has been supported by the American Council of Learned Societies, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Eugene M. Lang Foundation, the American Academy of Religion, and the National Endowment of the Humanities.

To reach Mark I. Wallace, he/him:

• James Hormel Professor of Social Justice, Dept. of Religion, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore PA 19081, 
• [email protected], 
• https://swarthmore.zoom.us/j/5095249320,  
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_I._Wallace

Find out more about Christine Sine on
Walking In Wonder on Substack
and on her website Godspacelight
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