Idolatry within From Nature to Creation

Alexandra Mann

Religion and Ecology

Ch. 2 Idolatry

In From Nature to Creation, in chapter two “Idolizing Nature,” Wirzba discusses idolatry. He says that humans struggle between glorifying themselves and their creator. My question is why do we want to be our own God, if it seems so much simpler to get someone/something else rule? In my opinion, I believe that humans have made very big mistakes throughout history. We could look back at times when slavery was seen as an acceptable act. Also, we are actively partaking in deforestation, excessive oil mining, using a large amount of plastics and plenty of other harmful acts that have not been mention. All of these things are leading to negative results within our world. This should lead us to let God have ultimate authority. Wrizba continues by saying that only God can meet the expectations that we have as humans. He is the only one who can provide and sustain (pg. 48). If we understand these statements, then why do we still try to be our own Gods? A lot of the time, I believe that we (society) think that we can do it better than God or that it is easier to give ourselves the authority. Wrizba concludes his argument by saying, “We should not be surprised that modernity’s idolatry has led us to so much moral confusion and worldly destruction” (pg. 55). When Wirzba makes this point, I think he is saying that idolatry leads to the destruction of the earth. The more we try to do it ourselves, the more we fail. The more we give ourselves the authority, the more destruction that occurs.