Administration Of Genesis 1:27 today

Outreach, an LGBTQ Catholic resource that offers news, essays, resources and community for LGBTQ Catholics, their families and friends, and those who minister to them in the Catholic church worldwide, has recently published some articles that may help us see that God’s plan for human sexuality is more than we may have previously considered.

Listening and care

Father Charles Bouchard, O.P., Dominican friar and the senior director of theology and sponsorship at the Catholic Health Association of the United States, suggests that the U.S.C.C.B.’s Administrative Committee may have wanted to say as little as possible. They urge that we employ “all appropriate resources to mitigate the suffering of those who struggle with gender incongruence.” This tells us to focus on what we can do for trans patients. 

We can listen, we can promote scientific research, we can provide pastoral and spiritual care and we can care for families. (It is noteworthy that the document uses the term “gender incongruence” while other parts of the Note seem to suggest that it is not a real medical condition that requires intervention.) 

Trans people are teaching us that human sexuality is more varied and complex than we might feel comfortable admitting. The bishops’ Note may open the door for serious discussions of the questions transgender experience raises. It may help us see that God’s plan for human sexuality is not entirely binary after all. Maybe we will discover that God is glorified by creation in more ways than we thought possible. (Bouchard, 2023)

Father Richard J. Clifford, S.J. , a leading Old Testament scholar, founding dean of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and the former dean of the Weston Jesuit School of Theology from 1983 to 1987, concludes that the expectation that this single verse (Genesis 1:27) can adjudicate modern controversies about gender is thoroughly misguided. There is no hint that the ancient author knew anything about the modern issue of gender identity. And the text gives no hint either. To use “male and female he created them” against (or for) contemporary discussions of gender is to read into the biblical text rather than read the biblical text.

Genesis 1 responds to the community’s doubts about their future by showing how God arranged that all animate beings would continue through their offspring. The text does this, in a strikingly original way, by affirming that God implanted in every living creature a seed (in Hebrew, zera‘) from which future generations will come. The word “seed” appears six times in the text, all occurrences referring to plant and animal life in Genesis 1.

God’s generous commitment to support human life is the proper context for interpreting “male and female he created them.”

For humans, however, the text uses an alternate expression to make the same point, “male and female he created them.” “Male and female” thus means that humans, by divine will, share the life-potency of other life forms on earth. God’s generous commitment to support human life is the proper context for interpreting “male and female he created them.”

In its context, it means that human beings have the same “seed mechanism” that assures them they will continue by begetting descendants to replace the generations that have gone before. Genesis 1:27 assures every human being, not only Israel, that God has implanted in them the means for continuing the future existence of the human race. (Clifford, 2023)

Pope Francis, in the encyclical “Laudato Si”, urges us to adopt a kinship relationship with nature.

Preference for Kinship

Our scientific study helps us to better understand the complex and wonderful role we have in the understanding and supporting all of Creation.

References

Bouchard, C. (2023, April 24). Catholic ethicist on U.S. bishops' directive: Transgender people teach us that human sexuality is "varied and complex". Outreach.faith. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://outreach.faith/2023/04/catholic-ethicist-on-bishops-directive-transgender-people-teach-us-that-human-sexuality-is-varied-and-complex/ 

Clifford, R. J. (2023, June 25). Richard J. Clifford, S.J.: Using "Male and female he created them" to adjudicate gender controversies is "thoroughly misguided". Outreach.faith. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://outreach.faith/2023/06/richard-j-clifford-s-j-using-male-and-female-he-created-them-to-adjudicate-gender-identity-controversies-is-thoroughly-misguided/ 

Focus on EV’s may not be top Climate Priority

Efforts to transition personal vehicles to BEV (Battery Electric Vehicles), or HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicles) from ICEV (Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles) may be a diversion from focus on more effective government action to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency.

graphic designed by Sam Parker

Selin Oğuz reports for Visualcapitialist that the International Energy Agency concludes the transportation sector is more reliant on fossil fuels than any other sector in the economy. In 2021, it accounted for 37% of all CO2 emissions from end‐use sectors. The graphic above, designed by Sam Parker, visualizes the life cycle emissions of battery electric, hybrid, and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

The Elements Visual Capitalist web page offers some other insights from the data that may not be as obvious at first. These insights help to identify areas of scientific and engineering efforts to further reduce emissions.

The production emissions for BEVs are approximately 40% higher than those of hybrid and ICE vehicles. According to a McKinsey & Company study, this high emission intensity can be attributed to the extraction and refining of raw materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel that are needed for batteries, as well as the energy-intensive manufacturing process of BEVs.

Electricity production is by far the most emission-intensive stage in a BEVs life cycle. Decarbonizing the electricity sector by implementing renewable and nuclear energy sources can significantly reduce these vehicles’ use phase emissions.

By recycling materials and components in their end-of-life stages, all vehicle segments can offset a portion of their earlier life cycle emissions. (Oguz, 2020)

The International Energy Agency found that using energy more efficiently was the single largest potential contributor to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Fiona Harvey, Environment editor at the Guardian, writes that the latest IPCC report highlights key measures countries must take to avoid climate catastrophe.

Renewable energy in the form of wind and solar power is now cheaper than fossil fuels across most of the world and the IPCC found that solar power, wind power and reducing the conversion of land to agriculture were the three measures with the strongest potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally.

• Reduce methane

• Stop deforestation

• Restore other degraded land, and stop it being turned to agriculture

• Change agriculture, and change the way we eat

• Solar and wind power

• Energy efficiency

• Stop burning coal

• Put climate at the heart of all decision-making (Harvey, 2023)

The key measures identified in the latest IPCC report do not put transition to electric vehicles in the top eight necessary measures to avoid catastrophe.  Personal action may not be as effective in meeting net zero goals as transformation of the way we use our natural resources, generate electricity with solar and wind, increase energy efficiency, and put climate change at the core of government decisions.

References

Harvey, F. (2023, March 22). Eight things the world must do to avoid the worst of climate change. The Guardian. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/21/methane-to-food-waste-eight-ways-to-attempt-to-stay-within-15c?CMP=share_btn_tw 

Oguz, S. (2020, May 20). Life Cycle Emissions: EVs vs. Combustion Engine Vehicles. Elements Visual Capitalist. Retrieved June 25, 2023, from https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/life-cycle-emissions-of-electric-hybrid-and-combuston-engine-vehicles/  

Head Butting Climate Emergency

Recent public pronouncements from the Premier of Nova Scotia, Tim Houston, concerning policy to reduce GHG emissions, mitigate the effect of sea level rise on the Chignecto isthmus, and a proposed energy link connecting the Atlantic provinces to hydroelectricity from Quebec and Labrador seem to prioritize political head butting over necessary and urgent joint federal/provincial action to save money and provide mitigation of climate disaster. 

|

Essential Component for the 21st Century

NDP Leader Claudia Chender comments that  the Houston government didn’t do the work on behalf of Nova Scotians to come up with a carbon pricing option other than the pending tax.

“When the deadline came and went for the Houston government to present their own price on carbon and plan for how to get there and they failed to do that, this is the outcome of the government choosing partisan fights over constructive conversations," Chender said. (Campbell, 2023)

Keith Doucette of The Canadian Press comments that Houston seemed unmoved when asked whether the Isthmus of Chignecto risked being damaged by extreme weather while governments haggled over who will pay to protect it.

"We're not the ones risking it, the federal government is the one that's trying to get away from their responsibility," the premier said. (Doucette, 2023)

Sarah Smellie of the Canadian Press  reports that Premier Tim Houston says he’s lost confidence in the feasibility of a proposed energy link connecting the Atlantic provinces to hydroelectricity from Quebec and Labrador.

 

Federal Infrastructure Minister Dominic LeBlanc has previously said he hoped the Atlantic Loop could come online by 2030, but today, Houston signaled some concern without a firm financial commitment from the feds. (Smellie, 2023)

Seth Klein, in the National Observer, asks where are the campaigns urging us to switch to public transit? Where are the promo ads inviting young people to train as renewable electricity technicians and installers, building retrofitters, high-speed rail designers, community planners or electric vehicle manufacturers?

First, the good news: In the wake of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports and extreme weather events, we are witnessing a shift in the public opinion terrain. Canadians are increasingly anxious about climate change. They understand it to be an emergency and a major threat to their children and grandchildren. And importantly, a solid majority of Canadians are prepared to accept significant and bold policy responses.*

The bad news? Many Canadians are confused and ambivalent. They could be convinced to embrace speedy and transformative action, or not. A sizable chunk of the public is simply unsure of how ambitious we can be. Moreover, people’s prioritization of climate wanes when economic anxieties and affordability challenges are heightened. And so, we need leadership that seeks to link these issues and animate the ambition in us all. (Klein & Logan, 2023)

It is difficult to find a policy championed by the conservative provincial governments or the Conservative Party of Canada that defines action necessary now to mitigate the impact of GHG emissions and lays out a plan to adapt to a low carbon economy.

References

Campbell, F. (2023, June 16). Premier acknowledges carbon tax will punish Nova Scotians at the pumps, places full blame on Ottawa. SaltWire. Retrieved June 16, 2023, from https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/premier-acknowledges-carbon-tax-will-punish-nova-scotians-at-the-pumps-places-full-blame-on-ottawa-100865039/ 

Doucette, K. (2023, June 15). N.S. premier says Ottawa must pay entire bill to protect land link from flooding risk. CBC. Retrieved June 16, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/n-s-premier-ottawa-must-pay-protect-isthmus-from-flooding-risk-1.6877811 

Klein, S., & Logan, C. (2023, February 23). Crisis, what crisis? We need a climate emergency information agency. National Observer. Retrieved June 16, 2023, from https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/02/23/opinion/crisis-what-crisis-we-need-climate-emergency-information-agency 

Smellie, S. (2023, June 16). Nova Scotia, Ottawa butt heads over Atlantic Loop as feds look for summer agreement | Globalnews.ca. Global News. Retrieved June 16, 2023, from https://globalnews.ca/news/9774122/nova-scotia-ottawa-butt-heads-over-atlantic-loop/ 

Housing Emergency

Recent tragic events in our Province bring our housing crisis to the forefront of our concerns. The resolution of this emergency situation calls for urgent bold action from the Provincial Government.

Housing Justice for All

The prospect of another winter of people living in tents should be a serious incentive to provide housing relief and avoid increasing the costs of healthcare and reduction of access to health resources that neglect of these needs will incur.

HRM Parks and Tent Housing

Sam Austin, HRM councillor, asks how can we fix a problem though when there seems to be little interest on the other side of the table? 

The Premier says “go like hell” on healthcare, and “it’ll cost what it’ll cost” on the Tantallon fire, but when it comes to homelessness there is no urgency, little interest, and little commitment, even as the crisis on our streets gets worse. The only thing on housing that the PCs seem interested in is ensuring developer’s get fast approvals for housing that is needed, but that also won’t help anyone at the bottom of the income spectrum. The people who the Province abandoned on June 1 won’t be housed in market housing. The stark difference between what the Premier actually considers a crisis and how homelessness is being handled is striking. (Austin, 2023)

Skye Bryden-Blom of Global News reports on university students who were forced out of  a Halifax apartment and how they  worry about steep housing costs. Daria Oanes is one of many students whose fixed-term lease is not being renegotiated.

“We pay to go to school here,” Oanes says. “So we have to be here, we have to find a place to live.” (Bryden, 2023)

Service Nova Scotia, the department which oversees the Residential Tenancies Act, says it’s unfortunate landlords are doing this as it’s not the purpose of the fixed-term leases, which are designed for tenants who are staying short-term.

The executive director of the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia, Michael Kabalen, says the only real way to fix the problem is more housing.

“The only real solution to the housing crisis is more housing, as quickly as possible, and in particular meaningful investments in forever affordable housing by governments, either through grants and loans to not-for-profit developers or by building it themselves as a public good.” (Bryden, 2023)

Michael Gorman of CBC News reports that deputy housing minister Paul Lafleche told members of the legislature's public accounts committee that the level of need for market rate housing and affordable units is such that all options must be considered. That could mean the provincial government building new affordable housing stock for the first time in years.

"We probably need some new public housing," Lafleche told the MLAs.

For years, the housing file has suffered from a lack of consistent people in leadership roles and being shuffled between government departments, Lafleche said. (Gorman, 2023)

The protesters at a Halifax housing rally, as reported by Zane Woodford, in the Halifax Examiner called for more non-market homes, no fixed-term leases, real rent control. Sam Krawec, a co-organizer of the rally, read an open letter to Premier Tim Houston’s PC government. Krawec called on the government to immediately build more non-market housing, create permanent rent control with a 3% cap, and abolish fixed-term leases.

“Landlords have been using fixed-term leases as a loophole to get out of their responsibilities towards tenants, avoid the rent cap, and sidestep the eviction process,”

“So long as this loophole exists, tenant rights will be continually under threat and profit-driven landlords will continue to abuse their power.” (Woodford, 2023)

Christine Saulnier, director of the Nova Scotia chapter of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, told the crowd that weak protections for tenants during the housing crisis means landlords are exploiting tenants.

“The lack of protection ensures that tenants are beholden to landlords. It leaves the power in their hands and leaves tenants in stress because they ultimately do not know what will happen to their housing at any time,” 

“We have successive governments who have been unwilling to rebalance the power relationship. Instead we hear explicitly from Premier Houston that he needs to balance people’s right to housing with a landlord’s ability to profit.” (Woodford, 2023)

Saulnier said Nova Scotia needs 50,000 units of non-market housing to meet demand.

Rebalance the power relationship

“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have successive government dropping the ball,”  “It is not surprising or shocking that we are here in this crisis. We told them so. We know what the solutions are and we’ve known them for decades.” (Woodford, 2023)

The call for action to create more non-market homes, eliminate fixed-term leases, and initiate real rent control is a necessary emergency response by the government to the current situation where the right of people to suitable housing is imposing life diminishing stress. Adequate housing is one of the social determinants of health. When people cannot find housing, the health care system experiences additional demand that negatively impacts cost and availability for all Nova Scotians.

References

Austin, S. (2023, June 8). Shelter Closure. Sam Austin. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://samaustin.ca/shelter-closure/ 

Bryden, S. (2023, March 17). University students forced out of Halifax apartment worry about steep housing costs - Halifax | Globalnews.ca. Global News. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://globalnews.ca/news/9560711/dalhousie-students-renters-halifax-fixed-rate-loophole/ 

Gorman, M. (2023, January 25). N.S. government to consider proposal that includes new public housing. CBC. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/affordable-housing-government-private-sector-development-1.6726190 

Woodford, Z. (2023, April 5). Halifax housing rally calls for more non-market homes, no fixed-term leases, real rent control. Halifax Examiner. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/housing/priced-out/halifax-housing-rally-calls-for-more-non-market-homes-no-fixed-term-leases-real-rent-control/ 

Windfall and Social Need

Stephen Kimber reports on the response of NDP leader Claudia Chender to Premier Tim Houston’s government unaccountable spending of its unexpected revenue.

Windfall Money has needs to fill

Nova Scotia, as the auditor general pointed out, is the only jurisdiction in the country where such “extra spending is approved solely by the government of the day and is never required to return to the House of Assembly for review, vote, or approval.”

What should have happened to that windfall? That wasn’t even discussed in the latest session.

According to NDP leader Chender, the government’s unaccountable spending of its unexpected revenue “utterly fails to address the cost of living, utterly fails to address the housing crisis that we have before us, the increasing doctor waitlist, increasing surgical waitlist… We have a massive amount of money going out the door and we don’t really have anything to show for it.” (Kimber, n.d.)

The four areas identified by NDP leader Chender as needing attention in Nova Scotia are high on the priority list of many citizens. The expectation of many voters is that government funds need to be utilized to address these crises. Perhaps voters need to ascertain if an ideological distaste for government action in these areas is causing unnecessary stress and suffering for our population.

References

Kimber, S. (n.d.). Halifax Examiner Article. Stephen Kimber. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://stephenkimber.com/tim-houstons-idea-of-accountability-then-and-now/