Louk Andrianos: Feflection on ecumenical theology of the hope for the common oikos

Reflection on ecumenical theology of the hope for the “OIKOS”: Calls for ecumenical diakonia by prayer and greed line practice.

Louk Andrianos World Council of Churches (WCC) Economic and Ecological Justice (EEJ) louk.Andrianos@wcc-coe.org Abstract

The word “oikos” stems from the Greek meaning of the dwelling place of human family and the wider household concept. Depending on the scale, “oikos” might be referred to a local property or to a regional territory, but also to the whole Earth ecosystem. In this essay, we attribute the concept of common “oikos” to the global Earth, whose sustainability is universally recognized to be undermined by human misbehavior. There are scientific evidences which confirm that the common “oikos” is threatened by human unrestricted consumerism lifestyle and the secular salvation phenomenon. The issues of climate change, water crisis, loss of biodiversity and many other sustainability problems are real challenges that could not be solved by political and technological artifacts alone. Ecumenical theology can help finding solutions for the hope for the common “oikos” by offering alternatives for societal change.

In this paper we develop our understanding of the ecumenical theology of hope for the common “oikos” and extend our reflection to practical theology by prayers and greed line practice. We use biblical hermeneutics and social facts to support our theology of hope for the “oikos”. We advocate for the hope in the Triune God’s plan for the “oikos”’ salvation, and report the exhortation of the World Council of Churches for eco-justice. To build the arc of life, Christians are called to pray and share this hope by living in the Holy Spirit and doing their ecumenical diakonia for the Creation.

Keywords: Eco-theology, Theology of the “Oikos”, Ecumenical Diakonia, Greed Line, World Council of Churches.

1. INTRODUCTION According to the New Testament Greek Lexicon - New American Standard, the word “oikos” is used more than hundred times in the New Testament. Depending on the contexts, “oikos” may have the meaning of descendants, families, family, home, homes, house, household, households, itself, palaces and place [1].

In contemporary English, most people use the prefix “eco-“ to represent the environmentally friendly effect of the concept or its relation with the human household. Eco-theology is the theology which promotes ecology or the care for the natural environment. Etymologically, the ancient Greek word “oikos” (singular: οἶκος, plural: οἶκοι;), is the root of the English prefix “eco-“ for ecology, economics and eco-justice and it refers to the three related but distinct concepts of “oikos” that are (a) the family (οικογένεια); (b) the family's property (οικονομία), and (c) the house (οικολογία) where the oikos family lives [2], [3], [4], [5].

The meaning of “oikos” shifts within texts and circumstances, which can lead to confusion. In this paper we try to give an analytical explanation of the meanings of the word “oikos” so as to explore the basis of the ecumenical theology of hope for our common “oikos”- the Earth.

2. THE TRIUNE CONCEPT OF THE COMMON “OIKOS” In ancient Greek society, «oikos» was the basic unit of the society. An “oikos” (οικογένεια) has one father as the head of the family. The head of the «oikos» is the manager of all family’s properties and he is the responsible for the maintenance of the physical house. The entire Greek state was the combination of all “oikoi” spread all over the Greek territory. The common “oikos” is also composed by all “oikoi” in the whole earth. Therefore the ecumenical theology of the “oikos” has three dimensions as shown in the figure below (Fig. 1).

COMMON EXISTENTIAL FAMILY (THEOCENTRIC)

ECUMENICAL THEOLOGY FOR OIKOS COMMON PHYSICAL HOUSE (GAIOCENTRIC)

COMMON HOUSEHOLD (ANTHROPOCENTRIC)

FIGURE 1 THE TRIUNE CONCEPT OF THE ECUMENICAL THEOLOGY FOR OIKOS

2.1 Common “oikos” as one united family of God’s creation (Theocentric) Theologically, the whole creation is “Oikos” of God and the entire earth is their common home.

The concept of God’s “oikos” includes all living creation, human and non-human, as well as all existing wealth or natural resources on earth. The secular understanding of “oikos” is confined to its anthropocentric dimension and the result is devastative to the life support of the “oikos” itself.

The common “oikos” should comprise the existential aspect –as one united family of God (theocentric), the managerial aspect –as one household of human beings (anthropocentric), and the physical aspect –as one earth for the dwelling place of all Creations (geocentric).

In modern sociology, the term “oikos” is used to describe social groups. Each individual has a primary group that includes relatives and friends who relate to the individual through work, recreation, hobbies, or by being neighbours. The modern “oikos” includes only people that share social interactions, be it through conversation or simple relation, for at least a total of one hour per week [6].

In ecumenical theology, the common “oikos” should include all living creatures, human on nonhuman alike, that exist on earth. Even if it seems difficult to grasp the interrelations between all life forms on earth, scientists confirm day by day their interdependencies as one single web family of Life. God made everything, the heavens and the earth as well as all it contains (Psalm 89:11). Everything that exists on earth is God’s Creation (Gen.1: 1-27). All members of the “Oikos” should be in communication by prayers and mutual care on all levels. Jesus recommends his followers to love their neighbour as themselves and to love the God –the father of all Creation-as the greatest commandment (Mark 12:30-31; Luke 11:2).

God is the creator of the “oikos”. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. That is the theocentric concept of oikos (John 1:3). The common “Oikos” comprises not only human beings but also all visible and invisible living Creations.

There are so many life forms that are microscopic or just hidden from human natural visibility in the earth ecosystem. Christians have to admire and be thankful for the big web of oikos family (Colossians 1:16-17).

2.2 Common Oikos as one household under human responsibility (anthropocentric) Genesis 1:26 reminds us that God not only created the Earth, but also calls on human beings to be its stewards . All creation is given to human being to be sustained in harmony. The purpose of

human stewardship of the creation is to give glory to the Creator and to share a just life to all.

Human beings are the responsible for the management of the “oikos” household that comprise natural wealth and human built properties. The goal is not solely for human wellbeing but principally to share global peace within the “oikos”. God’ justice should be the rule of the household management. When human being fails to manage and protect the “oikos” from injustice, the entire Creation is suffering (Isaiah 24:4-6). Similarly, Pauline scriptures confirm that

the rest of the creation is cursed and groaning because of human sin (Romans 8: 20-22). The hope for the oikos depends on human salvation from the sin of self-interest and greed.

2.3 Common Oikos as one home of all God’s creation (Geocentric) The most familiar interpretation of “oikos” is the inhabited house or the dwelling place where one has fixed his residence or domicile. This third concept for “oikos” consists of the building and human artifacts that belong to the “oikos” family including animals, fields, water spring and all life support system for the house.

Theologically, God has created the earth as his footstool (Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 5:35; Acts 7:49).

The earth is the common home of the “oikos” of God who is the father of all Creation. From the earth, God created human being and all living Creation in Oikos. The Earth is the first and last home of the physical body of all living creation (Genesis 3:19). Ecclesiastes 12:7 says the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it”. .

The earth is a sacred place to all living creation and it is sustained by the Spirit of God. The earth, as common home for the oikos, should be given the appropriate respect and protection from generation to generation. The thinking which reduces the concept of “oikos” to merely the households of human being or their common home is just anthropocentric or geocentric respectively. The theocentric concept of the ecumenical theology for the common “oikos” has to be explored if we want a just stewardship of all Creation (Psalms 104: 25-30).

3. THE THEOLOGY OF HOPE FOR THE COMMON OIKOS Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 13:13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”. The ecumenical theology of hope for the “oikos” reveals the salvation power of love which comes from God and fulfilled by human faith. God’s grace through faith, hope and love is the foundation of the concept of hope for the “oikos”. There is a hope for the “oikos” if there is love and faith. Hope is God’s grace to human beings with the aim to sustain His Creation by faith.

3.1 Unity, peace and justice are the three pillars of hope for the common “oikos”.

The understanding of the concept for “oikos”, as one family, shared properties and common dwelling place can shed light to the theology of the hope for the “oikos”. The respect of the family value is basic for the future of the “oikos”. The family must be kept united by faith and forgiveness. Likewise the common “oikos” family should be united through faith to God and forgiveness between all Creation. On local as on global level, the virtue of a family should not be corrupted. God created men and women to build a family of love. The love within the family nurtures the ties between descendants of the “oikos”. This kind of love in every local “oikos” should be the mirror of God’s love to the common “oikos” as it is illustrated in John 3:16. The

uniting love is the guarantee of the hope for the “oikos”. Individualism (anthropocentric) is putting in danger the basic foundation of “oikos”. Without the virtue of “family”, the “oikos” will be hopeless in self destruction. The practice of sex liberalism and secular sociology undermine the vital role of the family in sustaining that hope for the common “oikos”. Family means “oikos” descendants bound by the ties of love, but not by intellectual cooperation for welfare benefit.

3.2 Love and active faith are the prerequisite of hope for the common “oikos”.

Hope is fueled by active faith and sustained by love. Love and faith are the two lungs for breathing hope. There is no hope if there is neither faith nor love. Love gives hope and faith makes hope reality. Christians’ hope for justice is based on the salvation by love and faith in Jesus Christ. However humankind has shifted his faith unto himself and to the power of wealth.

Jesus said “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Here we talk about active faith which becomes rare in the world at the last day. Nowadays there is less of the doctrine of faith, and still less exercise of faith by prayers and the expectation about the coming of Christ. Christians should show their faith by deeds and prayers in every circumstance in order to share the hope for the common “oikos”. In developed societies, prayers are becoming rare practice and even banned from public authority. In Greece, morning prayers stopped to be mandatory at school by government law in 2016 (encyclical 2016-17 nr. 139808/Δ1/31-8-16) following the examples of the western developed countries.

Hope needs active faith which is not afraid of being against the world trends. Active faith can produce perseverance, patience, experience; and experience; hope (Romans 5:4-5). Hope cannot be guaranteed by passive faith because without works faith is dead (James 2:20). And when faith is dead, the “oikos” is hopeless.

3.3 Greed is the greatest threat to the hope for the common “oikos”.

Greed is the greatest of all plagues against justice, peace and sustainability. If the motivation for the “oikos” is to make money, the future of the “oikos” is doomed to a complete destruction.

Modern societies rely on unrestricted structural greed and promote it through unlimited growth and individualistic competitive behaviour [7]. Jesus Christ warned us to “take care to guard against all greed (Luke 12:15). The future life of the “oikos” does not depend on the how wealthy it is but how wisely it is protected from structural greed. "The earth produces enough to satisfy human needs but not greed," he said once, very well, Gandhi. Greed can destroy the earth because it undermines the three pillars of hope for the “oikos”. 'Stupidity and greed will kill off humans' Stephen Hawking makes terrifying prediction in 2016 [8]. Greed lines are the levels of resource consumption, money accumulation or power seizure over which societal or individual behaviors may harm human well being and the Creation integrity [9]. Love for the neighbors and the respect for all Creation are the basic principles of greed line. The recognition that there is a

God creator and sustainer of all Creation sets the moral limits to human greed for domination of the “oikos”.

3.4 Prayers and repentance can save the common “oikos”.

Talking about hope for the “oikos” in the 21st century is comparable to the conversation between God and Abraham about the hope for Sodoma and Gomora salvation in Genesis 18. The “oikos” has hope when there are still righteous people who stand firm in prayers and walk with the Holy Spirit of God (Genesis 18:26-32). Christians are called to beg God now for the salvation of the Earth. That is the ecumenical diakonia that should be done by prayers and greed line practice for the “oikos”.

There is a false hope which is rooted on the trust to wealth or power. Jesus said “One cannot worship two masters: God and Mammon” (Mat 6:24). God is Love and Mammon is Money.

Worshipping Mammon is empowering individualism by unrestricted competition for money whether worshipping God is fostering solidarity by mutual love for greed line practice. Jesus teaches us not to worry about our physical needs and about our “oikos”, but to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all the needs of the “oikos” will be given to us” (Matthew 6:19–34). If people give their heart to the Holy Spirit of God, the common “oikos” is becoming the extended family of God living in a just and peaceful common house – the Earth.

The earth and the poor are crying because of human misbehavior. People should repent and pray for the salvation of the entire “oikos”. The whole creation has to come to the knowledge of the Lord and restrains from destroying the “oikos” (Isaiah 11:9). Recognizing the destructive effects of human greed to the earth, must lead us to divest from the use of fossil fuel and restrains from massive deforestation, biodiversity extinction, land degradation, air and water pollution, etc. God provides abundant renewable energy of different forms (solar, wind, water, biological) to the earth and human beings are endowed of intellectual capacity to use these renewable gifts for the benefit of the common “oikos”. It is important for human beings to remember that the “oikos” is God’s Creation and human being is merely his tenants. The tenants must respect the Master of the “house” and practice righteousness according to His will -the Lord’s gospel. The Creator of the “oikos” will not last to put an end on the misuse of his Creation. His has sent his son, Jesus Christ, to save the “oikos” from human sins but there is a limit for God’s grace. He will come and judge human being according to the way they took care of the Creation - earth (Revelation 11:18).

4. CONCLUSIONS Jesus Christ teaches us to call God as our father, to keep our daily bread as greed line and to forgive one another to preserve hope for the “oikos” (Luke 11:2-4). The Unity in God the Father,

the peace in forgiveness and the justice by greed lines practice are the three pillars of the hope for the common “oikos”.

The hope for the “oikos” depends on the kind of spirit that rules in the house and the nature of this spirit is defining the destiny of the “oikos”. If the Holy Spirit of God reigns in the house, the common “oikos” is becoming the extended family of God living in a just and peaceful common house – the earth. If the spirit of Mammon is dominating the “oikos”, the whole Creation is doomed to self-destruction by human selfishness and their structural greed.

The “oikos” cannot serve both the God of Love and the Mammon of greed. The ecumenical theology of the hope for “oikos” is calling for prayers and repentance. Likewise the time of Abraham before the destruction of Sodoma, we are living at a critical time for saving the whole Creation from destruction. The hope for the “oikos” is the transformative power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the active reconciliation with God’s plan to make the earth a new “Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:2).

References [1] http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/oikos.html [2]. MacDowell, D.M. (1989). "The Oikos in Athenian Law". The Classical Quarterly. 39(1): 15.

[3] Davies, J.K. "Society and Economy". In Lewis, D.M.; Boardman, John; Davies, J.K.; et al. The Cambridge Ancient History Volume V: The Fifth Century B.C. p. 290. ISBN 978-0-521-23347-7.

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oikos.

[5] Cox, Cheryl Anne (1998). Household Interests: Property, Marriage Strategies, and Family Dynamics in ancient Athens. p. 190.

[6] Weber, Max (1978). Roth, Guenther; Wittich, Claus, eds. Economy and Society: An Outline of Interpretive Sociology. p. 348.

[7] L. Andrianos, “Reflection on eschatological times: Era of structural greed and pseudo-environmental ethics”, in 4th Ecological Theology and Environmental Ethics (ECOTHEE) book of proceedings, Orthodox Academy of Crete, pp 142-155, ISBN 978-618-82088-1-0 [8] http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/684211/Stephen-Hawking-larry-king-end-of-the-world [9] L. Andrianos, “Greed index measurement: An alternative tool to promote sustainability and ecojustice ”, in “Sustainable Alternatives for Poverty Reduction and Ecological Justice, vol.1, 2nd edition, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, December 2014, pp. 117-141, UK.