Abstract:
Both education and religion need to ground themselves within the story of the universe as we now understand this story through empirical knowledge. Within this functional cosmology, we can overcome our alienation and begin the renewal of life on a sustainable basis. This story is a numinous revelatory story that could evoke the vision and energy required to bring not only ourselves but the entire planet into a new order of magnificence. (Berry, "The Great Work" 71) Thomas Berry, a cultural historian and eco-theologian proposes a need for a new story; an Earth story that connects cosmological, scientific and spiritual narratives. I share Berry's interest in rethinking the interface between science and spirituality where so an equilibrium between empiricism and numinous wonder may be attained. The dominant ideology held in the West for many centuries has been rooted within the Christian story; a story portrayed through the idealistic paintings of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The visionary triptych, 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' (1490- 5010) by Hieronymus Bosch presents an apocalyptic depiction of the Christian narrative: beginning with an earthly paradise and ending in a dystopian wasteland of human greed and decline. In many ways this apocalyptic vision could be perceived as a forewarning against the destructive capabilities of humanity, or as some believe, the predestined Apocalypse or Armageddon. How has this grand narrative influenced our perception and connection with the earth? It seems that the Christian narrative of looking forward to one day leaving this corrupt and fallen world to a heavenly kingdom hasn't helped in our care for the earth. We need a new understanding of our essential connection to and reliance on the earth and its life force. Transcendence must give way to immanence and scientific reductionism to emergence and imagination. Jean Francois Lyotard, a prominent postmodern thinker, uses the term 'metanarratives' for grand narratives that have been the underlying foundation guiding society over several centuries. The enlightenment and its driving force of human progress in the West which led to the capitalist narrative of the rise from poverty to wealth through technological development and individual initiative was one of these meta-narratives. Others include the Christian story of redemption from sin, the "dialectics of Spirit," and the Marxist narrative of "the emancipation of the working subject" from exploitation and alienation of the rational or working subject. Lyotard wanted to replace grand narratives and all-encompassing viewpoints, he argued for a multiplicity of discourses. Lyotard favoured the localised narrative bringing into focus the singular events. (Browning 25) In considering how we can reconnect with the earth as an extension of ourselves and away from the dualistic default of the enlightenment I will discuss the role of storytelling and mythology in Maori culture, and how this leads to a belief in the land and its stories as sacred. I am not supposing a nostalgic or romantic yearning for the past in these mythologies as much as seeing their inherent value. The Maori belief of walking back towards the future gives insight and understanding on how we might position ourselves on earth and leave an inheritance for the generations to come. I will also consider selected European art practices - Anselm Kiefer, Adam Lee, and Mark Rothko and the work of Pasifika artist John Pule, and discuss how each artist approaches narrative, mythology, cosmology, ecology, and collective memory.