Being that it is Christmas break, I have ultimately found time to read a book that is not related to classes, which is Kingfisher’s Fire by Peter Harris.  And, thanks to Christmas break once more, I ultimately get to write a blog post!
I have been wanting to read this book ever since I got it during the Renewal Conference in October (a gathering of students from around North America involved in creation care).  I got it on behalf of free because of the fact that it is written by the founder of A Rocha, which is the organization that I am helping to lead on Westmont’s campus.  For those of you that don’t know, which is probably 99% of you, A Rocha, which means ‘the rock’ in Portuguese, is an International Christian Conservation Organization.  So, being that I had about as much knowledge about A Rocha as any random person, I figured that it was about time that I read this book which chronicles the development of A Rocha.  On to the book.
This book was at one instance very straightforward, as well as in the other, portrayed a significant message to any who reads it.  The shape of it is basically a chronological description of the growth of A Rocha from one field center in Portugal to 17 national organizations.  This in itself was quite extraordinary to read because of the fact that of this happening in only about 25 years.  I really enjoyed this story of how A Rocha has progressed over the years.  At first, A Rocha was a field study center in Portugal ran by Peter Harris, his family, as well as others that were gathered with the same passions, that worked to conserve local habitat as well as involve the local community in these conservation efforts.  And all of these efforts are completely based in the incarnational work of Christ.  So, as the work in Portugal began to stabilize, A Rocha began to spread around the world as Peter Harris helped to start up other centers, as well as other interested Christians began to implement the practices of the original center.  A Rocha Lebanon helped to save a critical wetland  in a war torn country, as well as A Rocha Kenya initiated a ecotourist venture to save a forest as well as provide funds on behalf of children to attend secondary school.  It was so interesting to read about how A Rocha could take on different roles in each situation.
I really enjoyed the way that this book made me look at my posses goals as a Christian in conservation as well as the unique way that they approach the world as Christians.  It was so gratifying to read their theology in that it seems like they take a very holistic, as well as non-escapist Christianity to the table.  They don’t just care about creation in that they sacrifice human relationships in favor of saving species, as well as they don’t see creation as simply a means of satisfying human needs, as well as thus as dispensable in favor of human advancement.  They desire to give creation the same value as God gives it.  God desires that all species are fruitful as well as multiply, as well as He desires that we ’serve as well as keep’ creation.  He doesn’t desire that we trample creation in order to provide ever more wealth on behalf of ourselves, as well as he doesn’t desire that we worship creation as well as thus lose site of the creator.  A Rocha means to worship our creator God who desires that we give the same value to his creatures as he does, which means habitat destruction as well as environmental degradation in the name of human advancement as well as leisure won't cut it.  That kind of view does not have God at the center.  Yes, Jesus came to save, but He came to save all of creation, as well as creation is about relationships.  And that is why I respect this story of A Rocha so much.  It is less a story about saving one wetland, or one species than it is a story about Christians desiring to serve out their vocation as stewards of God’s creation.  A Rocha forms out of an individual or community of Christians with a vocation on behalf of stewardship, as well as then forms relationships with others in the community, with non-Christians as well, in order to bear the burden of God’s call to care on behalf of creation.  Some may say that this ignores the Christian call to convert, but I think that it genuinely fulfills the Christian call in that it desires to form right relationships with all of creation, not just humans.  I think that it is detrimental to human relationships when we endeavour to remove them from the rest of creation.  When we hurt our relationship with creation, we are inevitably hurting our relationship with God.  This doesn’t mean that everyone needs to become a conservationist, but I do think that Christians require to adopt a more biblical view of creation in that we must be aware of how our actions in everyday life can neglect our responsibilities that God has given us towards all of creation.
 So, I was very taken in by this book, in that it seemed very theologically refreshing, as well as substantially satisfying in its description of the work of A Rocha.  I definitely recommend it because of the fact that of its relevance to numerous issues of today, its examples of suffering as well as joy in Christian communities around the world, as well as its ability to put the Western mentality in a different light being that A Rocha is international.  Peter Harris does end up name dropping a bit, but it appears that he has formed so numerous relationships that he feels indebted to all of the wonderful people that helped to manufacture A Rocha a reality.  But, an estimated all of all, read this book because of the fact that it doesn’t just show the work of humans, but the work of God, which can be seen in so numerous ways.