Anthropocentrism or Theocentrism?

St. Francis of Assisi Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

WORLD CONNECTIONS

• D.R.E.A.M.S
• Free the children
• Save the Children
• The good Shepard
• The Olive Branch
• Ronald McDonald
• St. Martins Manner
• Out of the cold
• The Salvation army

Background

• patron saint of ecology
• was born in a high class family, in the town of Assisi, Italy in 1182
• He left his high class life to help others - rebuilt run down or ruined churches, helped the sick/poor/helpless
• Perceived this vocation as one living out the gospel ideals of poverty and simplicity
• He gained followers by 1209, which was called the order of friars minor
• They preached repentance and the love of God, as well as served the needs of the poor.

St. Francis of Assisi

• our catholic tradition holds that creation shares with humankind the promise of salvation
• The Bible contains many references to nature as a metaphor for Gods beauty and majesty
• “Catholics see creation in a ‘sacramental’ way” - Alberta Bishops
• the abundance and beauty of God’s creation reveals to us something of the generosity of the creator
• respect of life needs to include all of creation
• the one whom our tradition holds out as an example of respecting the integrity of creation is St. Francis of Assisi

Anthropocentrism or Theocentrism

Theocentrism: Having God as the interest and ultimate concern.

Anthropocentrism: Considering human beings as the most significant entity of the universe.

What do YOU think YOUR WORLDVIEW is?

Anthropocentrism & Theocentrism combined

• Anthropocentrism is opposed to the christian theocentric, or God-centered worldview.
• The earth belongs to God, our lives and our being only find completion in the divine.
• As God has given us a special gift of consciousness , we have a crucial role to play in sustaining a world that is both blessed and broken.
• **While we have the ability to break the world as no other creature can do, we also have the ability to heal the world as no other creature can do.
• In the first chapter of Genesis, human creation is part of the whole sequence of creation.

Anthropocentrism Worldview

Worldview

• This worldview sees mankind at the center of all reality and relationships
• Came our of the possessive individualism of the seventeenth century
• Focus’s on the world as a resource base for human use

Definition

A set of per-suppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously) about the basic make up of our world

Predetermined

• our worldview seems to be decided for us, either by external factors such as family, our faith, the media and the people relating to our past experiences, beliefs, values and attitudes.

• We have ways of controlling these factors by choosing the people we interact with

Perception

• Our pattern of perception of how things are in our lives has been termed worldview.
• powerful factor, how we perceive reality, how we think the world works and how we fit into our perception.
• affects how we behave, in terms of how we deal with both people and events and how we plan and make decisions.
• Worldview has a major influence on our future. “Decisions today will decide our future tomorrow.”