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Environment and Citizenship 1st Edition Benito Cao
Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Benito Cao
ISBN(s): 9780203084335, 0203084330
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 3.51 MB
Year: 2014
Language: english
Environment and Citizenship
The increasing awareness of the human impact on the environment is

having a profound effect on the concept and content of citizenship – one
of the fundamental institutions that structures human relations. In what
is the first introduction of its kind, this book provides an accessible,
stimulating, and multidimensional overview of the many ways in which
concern for the environment – driven primarily by the preoccupation with
sustainability – is reshaping our understanding of citizenship.
Environment and Citizenship is structured into three parts. Part I introduces
the reader to the concept and theories of citizenship and explores
the impact that environmental concerns is having on contemporary
formulations of citizenship, both traditional (e.g. national, liberal, and
republican) and emerging (e.g. cosmopolitan, ecological, and ecofeminist).
Part II explores the practical manifestations of environmental citizenship,
with each chapter focusing on a particular actor: citizens, governments
and corporations. These chapters include references to examples and case
studies from a wide range of countries, broadly categorized as belonging
to the Global North and the Global South. Part III explores the making of
green citizens and outlines the dominant articulations of environmental
citizenship that emerge from formal education, news media, and popular
culture. The book concludes with a general reflection on the present and
future of environmental citizenship.
The book contains a variety of illustrations, boxed case-studies, links
to online resources, and suggestions for further reading. This original
and engaging text is essential reading for students and scholars
of environmental politics, sustainability studies, and development
studies, as well as for environmental activists, policy practitioners, and
environmental educators. More broadly, this book will appeal to anyone
interested in and concerned with issues of sustainability, social justice,
and citizenship in the twenty-first century.
Benito Cao is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Adelaide,

Australia. His main area of research focuses on the intersection of
politics and popular culture, in particular, the articulations of this
intersection in the formation and formulation of colonial, imperial, and
national identities. He has received numerous teaching awards and has
published in the fields of pedagogy, cultural studies, identity politics, and
environmental activism in Brazil.
‘It is hard to speak too highly of this marvellous book. Environment and
Citizenship is at once a readable, entertaining, and fully comprehensive
introduction to the topic, and a contribution to original scholarship.
Enlivened by examples, and leavened with online resources and student
activities, this book will be an indispensable companion to anyone
teaching or researching in the field.’
Professor Andrew Dobson, Keele University, UK,
and author of Citizenship and the Environment (2003)
‘Cao’s effort to chart the emergence of the environmental citizen reaches
deep into the historical and conceptual roots of both citizenship and
the politics of nature. His sustained effort to grapple with theoretical
debates in the field is matched by a rich engagement with the realm of
practice, shedding light on the ways that individuals, social movements,
governments, and corporations contribute to competing conceptions of
environmental citizenship. Spanning diverse perspectives across both
social and geographical difference, the text provides a thought-provoking
read for students and instructors alike.’
Professor Alex Latta, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada, and
co-editor (with Hannah Wittman) of Environment and Citizenship
in Latin America: Natures, Subjects and Struggles (2012)
‘Cao’s Environment and Citizenship makes an important contribution
in terms of the maturing of the complex debate between green political
theory and its concerns and the dynamics and evolution of citizenship.
The tripartite focus of the book on theories (Part I), actions (Part II),
and representations (Part III) of the relationship/s between environment
and citizenship produces some novel, interesting, and provocative ideas.
Environment and Citizenship shows how green values and especially
global ecological problems such as climate change challenge citizenship,
such as its nation-state focus or indeed the automatic and exclusive
association of citizenship with human beings. The book is clearly written
and makes good use of practical examples and case studies to illustrate
normative arguments. Thus it is a perfect textbook, one that deserves to
be widely used.’
Professor John Barry, Queens University Belfast,
Northern Ireland, and author of The Politics of
Actually Existing Unsustainability (2012)
Routledge Introductions to Environment Series
Published and Forthcoming Titles
Environmental Science texts Series Editor:
Timothy Doyle
Atmospheric Processes and Systems
Natural Environmental Change
Environment and Society texts
Environmental Biology
Using Statistics to Understand The Environment and Philosophy
Environment Energy, Society and Environment, 2nd
Environmental Physics Edition
Environmental Chemistry Gender and Environment
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2nd Environment and Business
Edition Environment and Law
Ecosystems, 2nd Edition Environment & Society
Coastal Systems 2nd Edition Representing the Environment
Sustainable Development
Environment and Social Theory, 2nd
Edition
Environmental Values
Environment and Politics, 3rd Edition
Environment and Tourism, 2nd Edition
Environment and the City
Environment, Media and
Communication
Environmental Policy, 2nd Edition
Environment and Economy
Environment and Food
Environmental Governance
Environment and Citizenship
Forthcoming Titles
Sustainable Development, 2nd Edition
Environment and Politics, 4th Edition
7KLVSDJHLQWHQWLRQDOO\OHIWEODQN
Environment and
Citizenship
Benito Cao
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Benito Cao
The right of Benito Cao to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced

or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or

registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-415-63779-4 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-415-63780-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-08433-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman

by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
Contents
List of figures ix
List of boxes xi
Series preface xiii
Acknowledgements xvii
Introduction 1
Part I Concepts and theories 9

Chapter 1 Environment and citizenship: the basics 11
Chapter 2 Introducing citizenship theories 37
Chapter 3 Theorizing environmental citizenship 72
Part II Actions and practices 105

Chapter 4 Environmental citizenship in action 107
Chapter 5 Governing environmental citizenship 144
Chapter 6 Environmental citizenship incorporated 177
Part III Pedagogies and representations 205

Chapter 7 Learning environmental citizenship 207
Conclusion: into the future 241
Bibliography 251
Index 282
Figures
1.1 Aristotle’s Scala Naturae, or Great Chain of Being 13

1.2 Rachel Carson 16
1.3 ‘The Sky is Falling!’ 23
1.4 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789) 32
2.1 Aristotle 38
2.2 ‘Your Country Needs You’ 43
2.3 T.H. Marshall 46
2.4 ‘The Suffragette that Knew Jiu-Jitsu’ 51
2.5 ‘Don’t question anything’ 65
3.1 ‘Your Planet Needs YOU to Recycle’ 79
3.2 ‘Green Anarchism’ 84
3.3 Citizenship and the Environment (2003) 86
3.4 ‘Mother Earth’ 93
4.1 Anti-nuclear demonstration 114
4.2 Yosemite National Park 119
4.3 ‘Citizen Tiger’? 122
4.4 Wangari Maathai 130
4.5 Adelaide Farmers Market, South Australia, Australia 139
5.1 Munduruku Indians meeting Brazilian minister 154
5.2 Cochabamba Conference (2010) 158
5.3 Awareness raising activities across Europe 171
5.4 ‘A good start’ 172
6.1 The Corporation (2003) 180
6.2 ‘Corporate greenwashing’ 187
6.3 ‘Ecosystem services as Trojan horse’ 193
6.4 ‘China’s carbon footprint’ 199
x • Figures
7.1 The Goody Patch 215

7.2 World ecological footprint map 218
7.3 Individual ecological footprint 220
7.4 Sydney Opera House lights out 227
7.5 The Beavans – No Impact Man (2009) 233
Boxes
1.1 Major environmental disasters 19

3.1 The ecological anarchism of Murray Bookchin 84
4.1 Love Canal: a brief history 111
4.2 The Green Belt Movement: Wangari Maathai 129
4.3 La Vía Campesina and food sovereignty 137
5.1 Governmental approaches to forest management 149
5.2 The Yasuní ITT Initiative 157
5.3 The Canadian Environmental Citizenship Program 168
5.4 Sustainable development in the UK 170
6.1 Corporate adoption of environmental citizenship 184
6.2 The ten principles of the UN Global Compact 195
6.3 Walmart: the global enforcer – our profit is your duty 198
7.1 Top 10 eco education trends 214
7.2 Captain Planet and the Planeteers 228
Preface to Routledge
Introductions to Environment
Series
Series Editor: Timothy Doyle,
Professor of Politics and International Studies, University of Adelaide,

Australia;
Professor of Politics and International Relations, Keele University, United
Kingdom;
Distinguished Research Fellow, Curtin University, Australia;
Chair, Indian Ocean Rim Association Academic Group, Port Louis,
Mauritius;
Chief Editor, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, Routledge, Taylor &
Francis, London, UK.
It is openly acknowledged that a critical understanding of
socioeconomic, political and cultural processes and structures is central
in understanding environmental problems and establishing alternative
modes of equitable development. As a consequence, the maturing
of environmentalism has been marked by prolific scholarship in
the social sciences and humanities, exploring the complexity of
society–environment relationships.
This series builds on the work of the founding series editor, David
Pepper, to continue to provide an understanding of the central
socioeconomic, political and cultural processes relating to environmental
studies, providing an interdisciplinary perspective to core environmental
issues. David initiated the series by celebrating the close connections
between the academic traditions of environmental studies and the
emergence of the green movement itself. Central to the goals of the
movement were social and environmental change. As the ‘new science’
of ecology was interdisciplinary, seeking to understand relationships
xiv • Preface
within and between ecosystems, so too was the belief within the academy
(informed by the movement) that real environmental change could only
emerge if traditional borders and boundaries of knowledge and power
were bypassed, transgressed and, where necessary, challenged.
This bid for engaged knowledge and interdisciplinarity also informs the
structure and ‘pitch’ of these books. For it is no good communicating
with just one particular group within society. It is equally important to
construct forms of knowledge which can cross over demographic and
market borders, bringing together communities of people who may never
‘meet’ in the usual course of events. Thus, the epistemological design
of this series is oriented around three particular audiences, providing an
unparalleled interdisciplinary perspective on key areas of environmental
study: (1) students (at undergraduate and coursework postgraduate
levels); (2) policy practitioners (in civil society, governments and
corporations); and (3) researchers. It is important to note, therefore, that
these books – though strongly used in diverse levels of tertiary teaching
– are also built, in large part, on the primary and often ground-breaking
research interests of the authors.
In his own ground-breaking work, David Pepper was particularly
interested in exploring the relationships between capitalism, socialism
and the environment. David argued that the modern environmentalist
movement grew at a rapid pace in the last third of the twentieth century.
It reflected popular and academic concerns about the local and global
degradation of the physical environment which was increasingly being
documented by scientists. It soon became clear, however, that reversing
such degradation was not merely a technical and managerial matter:
merely knowing about environmental problems did not of itself guarantee
that governments, businesses or individuals would do anything about
them. Since David wrote his last series Preface, this focus has continued
to be important, but with special permutations as time has worn on. One
more recent, key feature of these society–environment relationships
has been the clear differentiation between the environmentalisms of
the majority worlds (the Global South) and the environmentalisms
of the minority worlds (the more affluent Global North). Wherein
environmentalism came to the less affluent world later (in the 1980s),
key environmental leadership is now being provided by activists in the
South, oriented around a postcolonial environmentalism: with its key
issues of human dispossession and survival: water, earth (food security
and sustainability), fire (energy), and air (not climate). Much of the
focus in environmentalism in the South relates to a critique of capitalism
Preface • xv
and its big business advocates as being the major perpetrators of severe
environmental problems which confront the Earth. In the Global North
(where the modern movement began in the 1960s), there has been far
more emphasis on postmaterialism and postindustrialism and, more
recently, building a sustainable capitalism.
Climate change is now the neoliberal cause célèbre of this approach,
with its heavily biased focus on market mechanisms and green
consumerism as answers to environmental crises. In fact, climate change,
in the Global North, has now become so powerful and omnipresent
that many more affluent-world green activists and academics now
comprehend all environmental problems within its rubric, its story. Of
course, climate change issues will continue to be crucial to the planet’s
continued existence, but more importantly, it must be acknowledged that
in living social movements – like the green movement – issues will come
and go; will be re-ordered and re-arranged on the issue attention cycle;
be re-badged under different symbols, signs and maps; and new green
narratives, issues and stories will emerge. The environment movement,
born in the North – and its associated academic studies – will continue
to be the foremost global social movement for change for many years
to come – if it can continue to truly engage with the Global South –
utilising these new and revised banners, issues and colours to continually
and creatively mark out its territories, constructing versions of
environmentalism for all; not just for the few. And it is within these new
sites of politics and knowledge where some of the most exciting advances
in the relationships between societies and ‘nature’ will continue to
emerge and be celebrated. Much still is to be learned from our universe,
the planet Earth, its human and nonhuman communities.
Tim Doyle
October 2014
Acknowledgements
I dedicate this book to my wife and life partner, Adela. This book would
not exist without her research, administrative, editorial and intellectual
support. Her critical insights and editorial skills have been crucial
throughout the whole project, and the final product owes much to her
ability to identify what was clear and what needed clarity, what worked
and what needed work, what was interesting and what was unnecessary.
The text has also benefitted hugely from the generous and constructive
comments by the three anonymous reviewers of the initial manuscript.
The final product is better because of the additional work done after their
insightful suggestions. Of course, whatever errors or deficiencies remain
in this work are my sole responsibility.
I am deeply grateful to the series editor, and top bloke (as we say in
Australia), Professor Timothy Doyle. It was Tim who approached me with
the idea of writing a book for this series. His confidence in my ability to
pull this off made the decision easy and I hope that confidence has been
fully repaid. I am also deeply grateful to the Routledge team, particularly
Andrew Mould, Faye Leerink and Sarah Gilkes. The work that Andrew
and those who reviewed the book proposal did in the early stage of the
project was crucial in shaping the text, and the outcome is all the better
for their effort. Faye and Sarah were exemplary in their administrative
support and email exchanges over the months it has taken to get to
this point.
I also wish to thank the students I have taught over the years. Their
comments and questions have challenged me to explain and explore
the content I teach with as much clarity as possible, to identify what is
essential and what needs unpacking, and to map concepts, theories and
the key content of all the courses I teach. That challenge is what drives
me to make sense of things in ways that can be clearly communicated,
so that students, I and others (and not only a handful of specialists) can
xviii • Acknowledgements
understand the important issues that occupy academics, both as teachers

and researchers.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank all the individuals and
organizations who have granted me permission to use their work (photos,
images, cartoons). Not only does the book look better for that but those
images help to illustrate important issues, concepts and themes. I wish
to give a special thanks to everyone who places their content on Creative
Commons. Their generosity makes the world a much better place.
Individual thanks go to: Cathy Wilcox (Figure 1.3 and Figure 6.2), Seán
Mullarkey (Figure 4.5 and Figure 7.1), Stacey Griffiths and Carmel
College (Figure 3.1), Oxford University Press (Figure 3.3), Martin Rowe
(Figure 4.4), Andrew Weldon (Figure 5.4), Lizzie Wilberforce (Figure
6.3), Chris Madden (Figure 6.4), and Colin Beavan (Figure 7.5).
And, last but not least, to the ‘animal citizen’ that has brightened my (and
Adela’s) domestic life during the two years it has taken to complete this
project, our gorgeous ginger tabby, Bongo . . . who in recent months we
have begun referring to as ‘Citizen Bongo’.
Introduction
The map is not the territory.

Alfred Korzybski (1931)
To the extent that human life is dependent on it, the environment has
always been central to humanity. However, it is only in the past decades,
and particularly since the turn of the century, that we find references to
the state of the environment everywhere we turn, often telling us we need
to do something about it (and fast!). This growing preoccupation with the
environment has overlapped with the renewed interest in citizenship that
began in the 1990s. Since then, citizenship has become a hot topic and
a concept whose complexity and flexibility have increased dramatically,
producing a significant number of new theoretical articulations (e.g.
environmental citizenship) that challenge and coexist with traditional
ones (e.g. republican citizenship).
This overlap of environment and citizenship is not just happening at the
theoretical level. In the past two decades, the language of citizenship
has been used to frame environmental issues, in particular, concerns
with sustainability. Indeed, it has become almost obligatory to mention
references to rights and duties to address all matters environmental.
Green movements and organizations, governments, and private
corporations regularly invoke citizenship to make environmental claims
and inform environmental actions, policies and initiatives. In addition,
education for citizenship and education for the environment have been
on a gradual path of convergence, further contributing to frame the
environment as a matter of citizenship. Last but not least, the media
increasingly are drawing on the language of citizenship to frame their
coverage of environmental issues.
This convergence of environment and citizenship has led to the
emergence of a new field of study, commonly known as environmental
2 • Introduction
citizenship. As a field of study, environmental citizenship is essentially a

subfield of environmental politics, and is closely related to the rethinking
of the relationship between ecology and democracy brought about by
the influence of green political thought (e.g. Dobson 2007; Eckersley
2004). However, since the so-called ‘return of the citizen’ in the 1990s,
environmental citizenship has become a significant field in its own
right. Indeed, there is a growing literature on environmental citizenship
– variously referred to as ‘environmental’, ‘ecological’, ‘green’ and
‘sustainable’ citizenship. This literature includes hundreds of articles and
a growing number of monographs (e.g. Dobson 2003; Dobson and Bell
2006; MacGregor 2006a; Smith and Pangsapa 2008).
The aim of this text is to map and explore this field and, more broadly,
the various intersections between environment and citizenship. But
before we proceed with that task, it is important to keep in mind that
the territory of environmental citizenship is far richer, more complex
and dynamic than any map can ever convey. We must also keep in
mind that maps, as well as guides to navigate a particular territory,
are snapshots and representations of that territory, not the territory.
Territories, especially social ones, are always evolving. Their mapping
is always incomplete, an unfinished project that must adjust to the
changing terrain. Moreover, mapping is simultaneously a process of
discovery (of what is out there) and imagination (of what it means). Its
interpretative nature means that the distinctions and categories on which
mapping relies are always contested. They are little more than markers,
labels or symbols that enable us to make sense of the complex and
dynamic configuration of a given territory. In this case, the territory is
the relationship between citizenship and the environment, and the field of
environmental citizenship that has emerged to explore and make sense of
that relationship in its various manifestations.
The starting point of the text is the notion that environmental concerns
and ecological values are transforming citizenship in ways that resemble
a revolution at work, with the potential to radically transform what it
means to be a citizen in the twenty-first century. This argument follows
from the work of Andrew Dobson, and is neatly captured in the cover of
his seminal book, Citizenship and the Environment (2003). The cover
is a variation on the iconic painting of the French Revolution, Eugène
Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People (1830). The significance of
the cover lies in the fact that this was the revolution that signalled the
definitive birth of modern citizenship, the ‘birth certificate’ of which
is the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789). The
Introduction • 3
variation of the painting is simple but highly effective: instead of the

French national flag, Liberty leads the people holding a tree branch. See
Figure 3.3 on p. 86. The cover suggests that citizenship is undergoing a
revolutionary transformation, similar to the one it underwent during the
French Revolution. This transformation is informed by environmental
concerns and ecological values (symbolized by the tree branch). Dobson’s
book is dedicated to exploring this revolution. His work is given special
attention in Chapter 3.
The question of whether citizenship is undergoing a revolution is an
important thread throughout this text. This translates into a series
of related questions: are we witnessing the emergence of something
radically new (as the term revolution suggests)? Will environmental
concerns with sustainability and the integration of ecological values
bring about the end of citizenship as we know it? Or can these values and
concerns be accommodated within mainstream notions of citizenship?
Is environmental citizenship simply another variation of a concept that
has remained essentially unchanged (in its fundamental architecture)
for centuries? Can environmental conceptions of citizenship be
accommodated within the growing field of citizenship theories? In short:
is environmental citizenship just another label, or one that signifies that
something profound is happening to citizenship? Different theorists
provide different answers to these questions (as we shall see in Chapter
3). But this text is not just about theories and theorists. The text is also
about practices. In fact, the answer to those questions will probably lie in
the actions of citizens, governments and corporations. If so, what do the
actions of citizens, government policies and corporate initiatives tell us
about the present and future of citizenship, specifically of environmental
citizenship? Do they point to a green revolution, or to something else
altogether (e.g. a neoliberal revolution)? In addition, the answer might
also lie in part in the models of citizenship we teach our children (and
subsequent generations). If so, what types of citizenship are being taught?
What kinds of citizens are being manufactured by formal education
systems and popular culture representations? These are all questions that
are explored in this text. The task is structured as follows.
Structure of the book
The text is structured into three parts: Part I Concepts and Theories
(Chapters 1–3), Part II Actions and Practices (Chapters 4–6), and Part
III Pedagogies and Representations (Chapter 7). The content of the
4 • Introduction
three parts is closely interrelated, reflecting the dynamics of the world

outside the text. In that world, theories, actions and representations are in
constant interaction. Theories explain practices or, in the case of normative
theories, attempt to shape them. Practices impact on theories – at least
to the extent that explanatory theories must incorporate them into their
accounts or risk being discredited. Pedagogies are informed by theories
and are themselves practices. And all of these interact with, and often
become part of, the media and popular culture representations, which
in turn inform and shape our practices and actions, and so the world
goes round and round. If this sounds complicated it is because reality is
complicated, and the reality of citizenship is definitely complicated. This
alone justifies going back to basics, which is the point of Chapter 1.
Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the meaning, elements and
concepts related to the two key themes and building blocks of the text:
environment and citizenship. The content is often descriptive and serves
to contextualize the emergence of the environment and citizenship in
recent times as major issues and to provide a historical and conceptual
scaffold to the two theoretical chapters that follow. The chapter reveals
environment and citizenship as contested and relational concepts with
long and fascinating histories. The environment is introduced as a term
that refers to the relation between humans and nature, whilst citizenship
is introduced as a term that refers to the relation between humans,
between the individual and the collective. This chapter also provides an
overview of the evolution of the modern environmental movement and a
brief outline of the history of citizenship.
The next two chapters introduce the reader to theories of citizenship and
explore the impact that environmental concerns are having on theoretical
formulations of citizenship, both mainstream (liberal and republican)
and alternative (pluralist and globalist). Chapter 2 builds on the outline
of citizenship provided in Chapter 1. The chapter focuses on six theories
of citizenship: two classical theories (liberal and republican), two
pluralist theories (feminist and multicultural), and two globalist theories
(cosmopolitan and neoliberal). The chapter serves as a map with which to
navigate the complex and contested terrain of citizenship theories. This is
a valuable exercise in and of itself, but is of particular relevance here; a
necessary step to set out the basics for a full appreciation of the impact of
the environment on contemporary theoretical formulations of citizenship,
which is the task of Chapter 3. The chapter ends with the outline of
neoliberal citizenship, signalling the fact that, of all the theories and
models of citizenship, this one holds particular significance for what it
Introduction • 5
means to be a citizen, environmental or otherwise, in the twenty-first

century.
Chapter 3 explores how different theories of citizenship have been

adjusted to integrate environmental concerns and ecological values.
This chapter often mirrors the structure of the previous one, adding
the environment to the theories of citizenship introduced in Chapter
2. In addition, the chapter introduces and explores novel theoretical
articulations of environmental citizenship that have resulted from the
incorporation of ecological values and concerns with sustainability into
the theorizing of citizenship. In recognition of its widespread influence,
the notion of ‘ecological citizenship’ theorized by Andrew Dobson is
explored in a dedicated section of Chapter 3. This chapter concludes
with an outline of alternative and emerging theories, approaches and
reflections, many of which result from direct and explicit engagement
with Dobson’s work.
Part II explores the practical dimension of environmental citizenship,

that is, the actions that shape and are informed by different conceptions
of the relationship between citizenship and the environment. This part
consists of three chapters, each focusing on a particular actor: citizens
(Chapter 4), governments (Chapter 5), and corporations (Chapter 6).
These chapters reflect the need to ground conceptual discussions of
environmental citizenship in the concrete scenarios and actors where they
operate, which is where the contents and meanings of citizenship become
relevant (Jelin 2000: 48).
Chapter 4 explores the relation between conceptions of citizenship

and the actions of environmental citizens, in particular, those of
environmental activists. The chapter outlines the myriad ways in
which environmental activism is shaping citizenship by greening
existing conceptions of citizenship and by inspiring new articulations
of environmental citizenship. The focus is on a selection of prominent
movements, with attention paid to the different material and political
contexts in which these operate, particularly those that differentiate
between environmentalism in the Global North and the Global South.
To that end, the chapter begins with a brief account of the framework
that will be used here to classify environmental activism: ‘the three
posts’ (i.e. postindustrialism, postmaterialism, and postcolonialism). The
chapter illustrates how different contexts produce different articulations
of environmental citizenship and points to the fact that some of the most
comprehensive and original of these originate in the Global South.
6 • Introduction
Chapter 5 explores the greening of government with special attention

to the main ways in which governments are deploying and shaping
environmental citizenship in the process. The chapter begins by
introducing the three main forms of governing modern societies (i.e.
government, governance, and governmentality) and the neoliberal context
in which ‘the three govs’ have operated in recent times, particularly since
the 1990s. The chapter maps the incorporation of citizenship into the
greening of government within a shifting historical context, from
the top-down ‘government approach’ of the early decades, to the
network-based ‘governance approach’ that has become the dominant
paradigm since the 1990s, and the ‘governmentality approach’ that is
gaining momentum in the twenty-first century. The different approaches
are illustrated with examples from around the world, with particular
attention paid to their articulation in the Global North and the Global
South. The content reveals how environmental citizenship has become
part of a more diffuse and often hidden form of governing societies and
resolving environmental issues.
Chapter 6 explores the impact corporations have on the formulation
and articulation of environmental citizenship, with attention to the
main debates and controversies surrounding the concept of corporate
environmental citizenship. The chapter begins by discussing the question
of whether corporations are more like citizens (or quasi citizens) or
more like governments (or quasi governments). The study illustrates how
corporations have incorporated the language of environmental citizenship
into their identities to the point that even the most consumption-oriented
corporations claim to be model environmental citizens. The impact of
this embrace is examined in relation to the three constitutive elements of
citizenship: membership, rights and duties. The chapter concludes with
a section on a novel conception of citizenship inspired by the operations
of large retail corporations, the so-called supply-chain citizenship,
exemplified here by Walmart.
The chapters in Part II include references to examples and case studies
drawn from a wide range of countries, broadly categorized as belonging
to the Global North and the Global South. This is an imperfect and
contested distinction (as distinctions often are), but is also one that is
worth keeping to differentiate between the affluent lives of the global
minority, that is, those living in developed (and over-developed) countries
(i.e. the Global North), and the less-affluent lives of the global majority,
that is, those living in developing (or underdeveloped) countries (i.e.
the Global South). The distinction also signifies the fact that the politics
Introduction • 7
of globalization are still based on inherent inequalities and problematic

power relationships between the Global North and the Global South. In
matters environmental, the distinction also reflects the fact that, though
we share the same planet and are affected by global trends, ‘the same
issues are different according to the perspective taken: from the South
or from the North’ (Jelin 2000: 47). Having said that, the increasing
number, complexity and significance of global and glocal networks help
to generate articulations of environmental citizenship that bring together
agents and interests from the Global North and the Global South. In any
case, and even if we take the distinction as a matter of emphasis, this
should not lead us to dismiss its significance. Emphasis matters!
Chapter 7 explores the making of green citizens and outlines the

dominant articulations of environmental citizenship that emerge from
formal education, the news media and popular culture. The content of this
chapter reflects the fact that citizens are made, not born. Citizens need
some degree of knowledge, skills and dispositions, as well as capabilities,
for their rights and duties to be meaningful. In other words, who is a
citizen and what kind of a citizen one becomes are part of a highly
manufactured process. The chapter identifies salient aspects and trends,
both in the formal teaching of environmental citizenship and in media
representations of green citizens. The content reveals the shift towards
representations of citizenship that sideline the role of government,
focusing instead on individuals and their interaction (as consumer-
citizens) with corporations. The chapter pays special attention to the
political socialization of children (the future citizens), and concludes with
a section dedicated to exploring the most popular pedagogical tool used
to promote environmental citizenship and manufacture green citizens: the
ecological footprint.
Finally, the Conclusion brings together the main points raised in the text
and concludes with some general reflections on what environmental
citizenship offers to and demands from the citizens of the twenty-first
century.
Preliminary considerations and additional materials
Textbooks require some level of selection and simplification. The fact

that there is a lot of theoretical ground covered in this text means that the
nuance and complexity of many theories (and the work of most theorists)
are not fully acknowledged or explored. This is a necessary sacrifice in
8 • Introduction
a textbook that seeks to develop the reader’s understanding of the basic

ideas, concepts and theories quickly and effectively. It is always important
to bear this in mind, not least when encountering distinctions, categories
and typologies. We should remain aware of the fact that categories are
artificial constructions, albeit not arbitrary ones. This is an important
consideration particularly when using ‘the three posts’ and ‘the three
govs’ to navigate the content of Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, respectively.
The textbook contains a variety of illustrations, boxed content, additional
resources, student activities and discussion questions. The selected
readings that accompany each chapter are designed to encourage readers
to further explore and engage with specific authors, concepts and themes.
The material has been selected to reflect the diversity of content covered
in each chapter, but also based on the significance and/or the engaging
nature of the reading. In some cases, the reading is linked to an activity.
The activities and questions are designed to encourage research and
facilitate reflection and conversation, and can also be used to generate
assignments (e.g. written essays) and structure classroom discussions.
In addition, each chapter includes links to a variety of items (e.g.
campaigns, organizations, documents, feature films and short videos).
These links are invitations to further engage with the ideas introduced
and discussed in the textbook. Most of the links relate to content
covered in the text (in depth or in passing) and thus can be explored in
conversation with the analysis presented in the book.
Part I
Concepts and theories
1 Environment and citizenship:
the basics
Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.

(Victor Hugo)
Environmental citizenship is definitely an idea whose time has come.

Governments around the world are recognizing environmental rights,
activists refer to our duties to the environment, corporations present
themselves as good environmental citizens, children are taught to be
mindful of their ecological footprint, the media tell us repeatedly to
reduce, reuse and recycle, and theorists have begun to consider all this
under a new field of study called environmental citizenship. Throughout
this book we will map and explore the varied and significant ways in
which citizenship and the environment are converging, both in theory
and practice. In doing so, we will see how citizenship is framing the
environment in particular ways, and how environmental concerns are
reshaping what it means to be a citizen in the twenty-first century. But
before we launch into the exploration of the relationship between the
two concepts, it is important to explore their meanings, histories and
complexities. This will assist us when we come to reflect upon and
evaluate the significance of their convergence.
Environment
Basic concepts
Environment is a contested concept. That is to say, there is no agreed

definition, but rather a series of different understandings that shape any
subsequent discussion about the environment. The roots of the term
lie in the French word environ, meaning to surround, to envelop, to
enclose. In this sense, environment is synonymous with surroundings.
12 • Environment and citizenship: the basics
But without a specific referent, this tells us little. We need to know

what or who is surrounded in order to define an environment. In
other words, environment is a relational concept. Thus, for example,
Einstein reportedly said: ‘The environment is everything that is not
me’ (Wilkinson 2002: 41). In this sense, the environment is the whole
physical world that surrounds us. However, typically, the two elements
of that relation are humans and nature, with nature taken as synonymous
with the environment that surrounds humans, i.e. land, air and water, and
the living organisms dependent upon these, namely, plants and animals,
and microorganisms. This is the way in which the term will be used
in this text. In short, the discussion about the meaning of environment
is essentially a discussion about the relationship between humans and
nature – a relationship shaped by how individuals and societies view and
value the natural environment.
There are two main positions regarding the relationship between humans
and nature: ecocentrism (nature-centred) and anthropocentrism
(human-centred). Ecocentrism refers to the belief that nature has intrinsic
value, regardless of its utility to humans. In some of its articulations,
this approach grants equal value to all natural beings (plants, animals
and humans). In essence, ecocentrism places the whole of nature at
the centre of reality, and positions humans alongside all other living
beings and natural elements. Anthropocentrism refers to the belief that
the value of nature is relative to what it can provide for humanity. From
this perspective, no inherent demand for environmental protection or
nature conservation can exist beyond its potential to benefit humanity.
In essence, ‘anthropocentrism places humans at the centre of reality,
and views humanity as standing apart from and above nature’ (Postma
2006: 107). This belief argues that humans occupy a privileged position
on Earth, and in nature, by virtue of our reason. Anthropocentrism can
take two main forms: strong and weak. The first states that humanity
can rightfully do with nature as it wishes. The second believes that
humans have the responsibility to ensure that environmental practices
are sustainable over the long term. This position states that since humans
have advanced rational qualities, and even though we belong to the
natural world (and are natural beings), we have a special place in nature
that makes us particularly powerful and particularly responsible for the
environment in which we (and all other organisms) live.
These different positions have long historical and philosophical traditions,
which still inform how we view and act upon the natural environment. The
dominant approach is anthropocentrism. The anthropocentric tradition
Environment and citizenship: the basics • 13
has deep roots in Western culture and philosophy, and can be dated as
far back as ancient Greece in the fourth century bce. The most influential
classical vision of the relationship between humans and nature is the
work of the Greek philosopher Aristotle. His Scala Naturae (Great Chain
of Being) positions humans above natural things, to which he attributed
mere instrumental value (Figure 1.1). Aristotle believed that nature made
all things specifically for the sake of man and accorded humans their
privileged position above animals and plants, based on the notion that
humans are the only living beings possessed of reason (logos).
The other major classical influence is the Bible. The holy text of
Christianity places humans at the centre of creation and as masters of
the natural world. In the Book of Genesis, God instructs Adam and Eve
to replenish and subdue the Earth, to rule over the fish of the sea and the
birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon Earth.
This passage has often been interpreted as a licence to do as we please
with the natural world; but others see the message of the Bible as one
of ‘stewardship’ that does not condone the exploitation of nature (Barry
2007: 34–43). In this, the official view of the Catholic Church, man is
entrusted to be the steward of God’s creation. This interpretation often
dwells on another passage from the Book of Genesis, the story of
Noah’s Ark. The distinction is crucial for it legitimizes a very different
treatment of the planet and its creatures. The notion that humans are the
‘vice-regents’ under God with the responsibility to care for all creation is
also present in Islam (Barry 2007: 33).
Being God
Angels
Realm of Being Demons
Man
Woman
Animals
Realm of Becoming Plants
Minerals
Figure 1.1 Aristotle’s Scala Naturae, or
Non Being Great Chain of Being
The anthropocentric tradition was strengthened during the centuries that

encompassed the Scientific Revolution, the Industrial Revolution and
the Enlightenment. This period produced what came to be known as ‘the
domination of nature’ approach. The first and foremost exponent of this
approach was the English philosopher Francis Bacon, who embraced
the notion that nature was ‘the gift of God’ (Sarre and Brown 1996: 92).
He stated that nature must be ‘bound into service’ and made a ‘slave’
to mankind – as humanity was typically referred to at the time. The
philosophers of the Enlightenment subsequently developed a mechanical
view of nature which conceived of reality as a machine comprised
of discrete and individual parts whose actions could be known, and
mastered for the benefit of humanity. This mechanical view of nature
resulted in a profoundly utilitarian perspective that came to see the
natural environment as a hostile domain to be controlled and exploited,
with the help of science and technology, in the name of human progress
(Barry 2007: 43–48). The domination of nature thesis only came to be
seriously challenged in the second half of the twentieth century, following
the emergence of the modern environmental movement. However,
the anthropocentric view still prevails, albeit typically in its ‘weak’
manifestation.
The ecocentric view can be found in ancient paganism, indigenous

cosmologies and some of the religious traditions of Asia (e.g. Buddhism,
Hinduism and Shintoism). In general terms, these traditions see humans
as part of the natural world, display a marked respect for the natural
environment, and seek to promote a harmonious relationship between
humans and nature. Buddhism, for example, holds that all forms of life
(human and nonhuman) are interdependent and that we should avoid
harm to other living beings (Barry 2007: 33). The desire to harmonize
humans and nature can also be found amongst the English Romantic
poets of the nineteenth century (e.g. William Blake, John Keats, Lord
Byron), and amongst the Transcendentalist American literature of the
nineteenth century (e.g. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau,
Sarah Margaret Fuller), the high point of which is Henry David
Thoreau’s Walden (1854). In general terms, these authors held a view
of nature as fragile, pure and pristine beauty, in need of protection.
Trascendentalists displayed a preference for organic and dynamic
conceptions of the natural world, and were particularly interested in the
spiritual connections between humanity and nature with God. Their take
on nature contrasts sharply with the rationalism of the Enlightenment.
They rejected the scientific and religious narratives that presented
humans as the masters of the natural world and embraced nature as the
source of human enlightenment (Opie and Elliot 1996: 20–22).
The most influential ecocentric articulation of the twentieth century is
that of American ecologist Aldo Leopold, particularly his book A Sand
County Almanac (1949). Leopold developed a conception of the land
as an ecological community to be loved and respected. His ‘land ethic’
was based on the notion that ‘there is inherent worth in the integrity of
natural ecosystems apart from any value they may possess for humans’
(De Steiguer 2006: 15). His work, aimed at extending our moral concern
to the natural environment and promoting harmonious relations between
humans and the land, has left a profound impact on the conservation
movement. The other major ecocentric figure of the last century is
Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess. His work originated the tradition
known as ‘deep ecology’, a term he coined in his seminal essay ‘The
Shallow and the Deep’ (1973). Naess rejected the separation between
humans and nature in favour of a relational image of nature based on
‘biospherical egalitarianism’ in which all ecological beings depend
on each other and have an equal right to exist. His work provided a
wholesale normative critique of modern human society, particularly of
the modern human relationship with nonhuman nature, and inspired the
emergence of ecocentric environmental groups in the twentieth century.
The way we conceive of the relationship between humans and nature
shapes how we interact with the natural environment and the kinds of
actions and policies we will support or reject when it comes to dealing
with environmental issues – including, for example, the level at which
we might include or exclude beings other than humans (e.g. nonhuman
animals) in our conceptions of citizenship. In this regard, Andrew Dobson
has theorized an important distinction between two forms of green
political thought that inform two kinds of green politics, derived from the
different understanding of the relationship between humans and nature:
ecologism (or dark green politics); and environmentalism (or light green
politics). The dominant form of green politics, light green politics,
is informed by environmentalism, which ‘argues for a managerial
approach to environmental problems, secure in the belief that they can
be solved without fundamental changes in present values or patterns
of production and consumption’ (Dobson 2007: 2). This approach is
underpinned by a sense of human control of the nonhuman natural
world that derives from the modernist, anthropocentric notion of the
‘domination of nature’ and is reflected in contemporary notions of
‘sustainable development’ and ‘ecological modernization’. In contrast,
the less common (and more radical) form of green politics, dark green
politics, derives from ecologism, which ‘holds that a sustainable and
fulfilling existence presupposes radical changes in our relationship with
the non-human natural world, and in our mode of social and political life’
(Dobson 2007: 3). This approach is underpinned by a sense of human
frailty and ultimate dependence on the environment, as well as by an
appreciation of nature for its own sake, and not simply or necessarily in
relation to human life. Instead of a managerial approach, ecologism takes
an ethical approach that emphasizes care and justice, rather than control
of the nonhuman natural world.
Historical overview
The environment emerged as a major point of contention and an issue

of public and political concern in the 1960s. The publication of Rachel
Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) was a key moment. Silent Spring was
a lucid and emotive account of the dangers of the systematic use of
pesticides, in particular, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly
known as DDT. Carson made use of the mass media to great effect, in
the hope that by transmitting awareness of the environmental destruction
caused by pesticides, the action of democratic citizens could change
Figure 1.2 Rachel Carson,

author of Silent Spring (1962)
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Author: U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
government policies for the benefit of the environment and in the

interest of public health. Other critical works published in this period
also heightened environmental awareness and led to the development
of environmental sciences as an academic discipline. Some of the most
influential were Gareth Hardin’s ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ (1968) and
Paul Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb (1968). Hardin’s essay examined
how individual rational behaviour over the use of the natural commons
could lead to collectively irrational outcomes, whilst Ehrlich’s book
argued that population growth was an ‘explosion’ with the potential to
destroy the planet’s ecological balance.
These early concerns with pollution and public health led citizens to
mobilize, with protest movements incorporating environmental concerns
and spawning the first environmental movements and the founding
of some of the best-known and most influential environmental
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as the World Wide Fund
for Nature (WWF), founded in Morges (Switzerland) in 1961, Friends
of the Earth (FoE), founded in San Francisco (the USA) in 1969, and
Greenpeace, founded in Vancouver (Canada) in 1971. These groups had
some early success in influencing government policy, particularly in the
United States, where a raft of environmental legislation was passed in
the 1960s, including the Clean Air Act of 1963, the Solid Waste Disposal
Act of 1965, and the Wilderness Act of 1964. The trend continued in the
1970s with the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970,
and the passing of the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Endangered
Species Act of 1973. These Acts were revised several times in subsequent
years, strengthening the protection of the environment and human health
with each amendment.
The surge in environmental awareness that dominated the 1960s was
followed by an overwhelming feeling of environmental crisis in the
1970s. This feeling was partly informed by the alarming projections that
came out of a study on ‘the predicament of mankind’ commissioned by
the Club of Rome, a global think tank founded in Rome in 1968. The
report, entitled The Limits to Growth (1972), argued that in a world of
finite resources and ever-increasing demands on such resources, driven
by increasing consumption and growing population, there was a need
for radical changes to avert a global catastrophe in the second half of
the twenty-first century (Meadows et al. 1972). This discourse seemed
to be vindicated by the energy crisis of 1973, precipitated by the Yom
Kippur War between Israel and the Arab countries. The publication of
the report coincided with the United Nations Stockholm Conference
on the Human Environment (1972), the first global conference to deal

with environmental issues comprehensively and led to the creation of
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The transnational
nature of many environmental threats made it quite clear that geopolitical
and economic change was necessary.
The 1980s also signalled the origins of ecological politics. Ecopolitics
led to the birth of some of the most radical environmental groups, most
notably Earth First!, founded in 1980 and inspired by Rachel Carson’s
Silent Spring, Aldo Leopold’s land ethic and the tactics outlined in
Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975). Their activism
reflected the direct action approach espoused by Abbey, and their
politics were neatly captured in their official slogan: ‘No compromise in
defense of Mother Earth’ (Cudworth 2003: 95). These groups were also
influenced by the concept of ‘deep ecology’ formulated by Naess, and
his argument that our environmental predicament was not a ‘shallow’
problem of technical mastery, but a ‘deeper’ problem of mentality and
worldview that required a reinterpretation of our relationship with nature
and a change in our basic attitudes towards the natural environment. His
analysis of the environmental crisis and his ethics of interrelatedness,
based on the notion that all forms of life are equally entitled to live and
flourish, continue to influence ecological politics into the twenty-first
century (Taylor 2010).
The sense of environmental crisis accelerated in the early 1980s, with
increasing public and media concern over issues such as global warming,
acid rain, the depletion of the ozone layer and tropical deforestation. This
decade signalled also the definitive explosion of environmental issues
into the public imagination and the proliferation of environmental groups,
organizations and movements. The growing interest in the environment
was partly aided by a series of catastrophic accidents and tropical
wildfires that made headlines around the world (Box 1.1). These disasters
highlighted that there were reasons for serious and global concern
regarding the human impact on the environment. During this decade the
nuclear issue also emerged as central to the environmental movement,
particularly in the Global North. The preoccupation with nuclear energy
gained prominence after the accident at Three Mile Island, in the United
States in 1979, and intensified following the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
in the Ukraine in 1986. In West Germany, whose population was
sensitive to the anti-nuclear message, that preoccupation translated into
the creation of the Green Party (Die Grünen) in 1980. Nuclear energy
has remained a significant point of contention in environmental politics
Box 1.1
Major environmental disasters
● The Three Mile Island nuclear accident, Pennsylvania, USA (1979): When some water
pumps failed, there was a partial meltdown of one reactor core resulting in the release
of radiation. Whilst there were no victims, the incident caused a major public safety
alert. This was the first significant nuclear accident and is still the most serious in US
history.
● The Bhopal chemical disaster, India (1984): A gas leak in a chemical plant run by
the American company Union Carbide caused the immediate death of over 2,000
local residents of Bhopal, and hundreds of thousands of appalling physical and
psychological injuries. The total death toll remains disputed, ranging from the official
figure of 3,787 to well over 20,000 disaster-related deaths. The surviving victims
continue to fight for appropriate compensation and justice. This is still the largest
industrial disaster in world history.
● Amazon jungle fires, Brazil (early 1980s): Massive fires broke out across the Brazilian
jungles in the early 1980s as a result of slash and burn rancher activities to clear land
for farming. The extent of the fires attracted international attention to ruinous farming
practices and to the need to protect large tropical forests, especially the Amazon.
● The Chernobyl nuclear explosion, Ukraine (1986): The explosion of a nuclear reactor
sent a cloud of radioactive material into the atmosphere that spread across Europe. The
health effects of this meltdown have been highly contested since then, but the incident
is symbolic of the worst possible outcomes associated with nuclear energy. This was
the world’s worst nuclear accident, until the Fukushima disaster of 2011.
● The Exxon Valdez oil spill, Alaska, USA (1989): An oil tanker, the Exxon Valdez,
spilled over 11 million gallons (41.8 million litres) of crude oil into an extremely
environmentally sensitive area of Alaska. This was the largest oil spill ever to take
place in the US until the Deep Water Horizon accident of 2010.
● Deep Water Horizon or BP oil spill, Gulf of Mexico, USA (2010): A wellhead blowout
at a deep water ocean oil rig caused a catastrophic oil spill, killed 11 workers and
caused a fire that burned for 36 hours before the rig sank, ironically, on 22 April, Earth
Day. As engineers scrambled to find a solution, the well continued to gush oil, until it
was finally capped on 15 July. There is no exact estimate of how much oil was actually
spilled, but the US government and BP have spent billions cleaning up the mess.
● Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Japan (2011): Catastrophic failure of the
Fukushima nuclear plant after fuel rods were exposed following the tsunami of 2011.
Although no short-term deaths from radiation were reported, thousands of people were
evacuated and the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), continues to struggle
to decommission the plant, which is now allegedly leaking radioactive water into the
Pacific Ocean.
ever since and regained prominence following the nuclear meltdown in

Fukushima, Japan, in 2011.
The most significant development of the 1980s was the integration
of environment and development into the global political agenda that
followed the publication of Our Common Future (1987). Better known as
the Brundtland Report, this text was the work of the World Commission
on Environment and Development (WCED), established by the United
Nations in 1983. The commission was tasked with articulating a
long-term vision for the world that would bridge the gap between
environment and development, and between the developed and
developing countries. Their report echoed the increasing realization that
poverty and pollution were intimately related – a sentiment captured in
the words of then Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi: ‘Poverty is the
greatest polluter’ (Cederlöf and Rangarajan 2009: 222). The Brundtland
Report positioned sustainable development at the core of the global
environmental agenda, defining it as: ‘development that meets the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs’ (WCED 1987: 12).
The concept of sustainable development was institutionalized at the
1992 UN Conference of Environment and Development (UNCED) in
Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, popularly known as the Earth Summit. The
conference deployed the language of sustainable development to advance
an international movement to manage the global environment, linking
environmental degradation with poverty and over-consumption. The
summit also produced a number of important international documents,
most notably the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
and Agenda 21, the action plan for sustainable development for the
twenty-first century. The institutionalization of sustainable development
within these documents and others that followed ‘is probably the most
significant shift in environmental policy ever witnessed’ (Barr 2008:
29). Since then, sustainable development has come to represent the
mainstream thinking about the relationship between environment and
development, and has been widely endorsed by governments, institutions
and other organizations, both in the Global North and the Global South.
The widespread appeal of sustainable development comes from the
fact that it tries to reconcile the ongoing aspirations of the poor to
improve their living conditions with concerns about the environmental
damage that often results from economic development. In other words,
sustainable development tries to balance the concern for the environment
with the needs of those who are neglected by present economic and
political structures, namely: people living in underdeveloped countries
and future generations (Postma 2006: 6). Yet, the concept has a clear
anthropocentric nature, best reflected in the first of the 27 principles of
the Rio Declaration: ‘Human beings are at the center of concerns for
sustainable development’ (UNEP 1992a).
The term sustainable development has been broadly accepted, not least
due to its lack of specificity. The general consensus around sustainable
development as the mainstream framework for global environmental
policy rests upon the vague substance of the term sustainability, one
that leaves much room for interpretation. Indeed, there are hundreds of
documented definitions of sustainability and sustainable development
(Keiner 2006: 1–3). This is not to say these terms lack meaning or
substance. However, in the absence of a precise meaning, the struggle
between those who prioritize development and those who prioritize
sustainability will continue unabated. In any case, the widespread
adoption of the term sustainable development has placed the environment
at the heart of mainstream global politics.
The turn of the century opened also what Gregg Easterbrook called
‘The Coming Age of Environmental Optimism’ – the subtitle of his book,
A Moment on the Earth (1995). Easterbrook argues that the worst is
nearly over. Technology has finished a phase of creating environmental
problems and is now entering a phase of solving them (Easterbrook 1995:
267). His self-proclaimed ‘ecorealism’ echoes the optimism of earlier
critics of the ‘limits to growth’ approach, exemplified most notably by
Julian Simon and Herman Kahn’s edited volume, The Resourceful Earth
(1984), and Bjørn Lomborg’s The Skeptical Environmentalist (2001).
The optimism of these authors is anchored in what David Pepper calls
‘technocentrism’: a mode of thought that recognizes environmental
problems but believes that humans always will be able to solve them
and achieve unlimited growth (cornucopians) or that we will be able to
negotiate them with careful economic and environmental management
(accommodators) (1996: 37).
Technocentrism is at the heart of ecological modernization, the paradigm
of ecological economics that has come to dominate environmental
politics (and policy) in the early twenty-first century. First proposed by
Joseph Huber in the 1980s, the essence of ecological modernization is the
notion that economic growth can be decoupled from environmental harm
through ‘the invention, innovation and diffusion of new technologies
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der roeping te handhaven en wedergeboorte, bekeering,
heiligmaking, volharding enz. te laten afhangen van eene beslissing
van den wil. Wedergeboren en gerechtvaardigd wordt hĳ alleen, die
vooraf vrĳwillig eene of andere conditie volbrengt, gelooft, zich
bekeert, gezind is om Gods geboden te onderhouden enz. Het
wikkelt zich daarmee terstond in tal van onoplosbare moeilĳkheden.
Indien de mensch tot het volbrengen van die conditiën van nature in
staat is, is hĳ zoo goed, dat er heel geen wedergeboorte in den zin
der Schrift van noode is; eenige zedelĳke opvoeding en verbetering
is dan meer dan voldoende. Indien de mensch de kracht, om het
evangelie al dan niet aan te nemen, vooraf door de gratia
praeveniens in doop of roeping ontvangen moet, dan gaat er ook
hier een gratia irresistibilis aan het gelooven vooraf, want de gratia
praeparans wordt aan allen zonder hun willen of weten geschonken;
dan heeft feitelĳk de wedergeboorte al plaats vóór de beslissing van
den mensch, want operari sequitur esse, de daad volgt op het
vermogen, de wil, die tot het aannemen van het evangelie in staat
stelt, is blĳkens het evangelie van Johannes reeds een vernieuwde
en herboren wil. Alleen is dan niet in te zien, hoe er na dat alles nog
eene vrĳe wilskeuze mogelĳk is; de wil is immers door de buiten zĳn
toedoen hem geschonken goede kracht reeds ten goede
gedetermineerd, en juist in diezelfde mate ten goede
gedetermineerd, als zĳ kracht tot eene goede keuze ontving; hoe
meer men den wil door de zonde verzwakt laat zĳn en hoe meer
kracht men hem in de gratia praeveniens schenken laat, des te meer
en in diezelfde mate houdt ook zĳne indifferente vrĳheid op. Daarbĳ
is het raadselachtig, waartoe zulk eene vrĳe wilskeuze nog noodig is;
als God toch reeds van te voren en onwederstandelĳk den mensch
in zooverre vernieuwen moet, dat hĳ vóór het evangelie kiezen kan,
waartoe dient de handhaving van de indifferente wilsvrĳheid dan nog
anders, dan alleen om Gods genade wederom te verĳdelen, zĳn
genadeverbond weer even wankel en onvast te maken als dat der
werken vóór den val, en Christus nog machteloozer en liefdeloozer
voor te stellen dan Adam? Want Hĳ heeft alles volbracht en alles
verworven, maar als Hĳ het wil toepassen, stuit zĳne macht en zĳne
liefde af op den, nog wel met nieuwe krachten toegerusten wil van
den mensch! Alleen om eene schĳnvrĳheid van den mensch te
redden, wordt God van zĳne souvereiniteit, het genadeverbond van
zĳne vastigheid, Christus van zĳne koninklĳke macht beroofd.
En als men er dan nog maar iets mede won; maar inderdaad
verliest men er alles bĳ. Niet alleen wordt bĳ de volwassenen de
indifferente wilsvrĳheid slechts in schĳn gered. Maar bĳ de kinderen
blĳkt heel de leer onvoldoende en de onbarmhartigheid zelve. Want
één van beide: de gratia, die aan de kinderen geschonken wordt, is
voldoende ter zaligheid en opent hun, indien zĳ vroeg sterven, de
poorte des hemels—en dan worden zĳ behouden zonder hun
toedoen en zonder zelf gekozen en beslist te hebben; of zĳ is niet
voldoende, maar dan zĳn ook alle kinderkens verloren, die vroeg,
voordat zĳ kiezen konden, stierven; en van de kinderen, die
opwassen, vallen er door vrĳe wilskeuze weer duizenden bĳ
duizenden af. Het pelagianisme in zĳne verschillende vormen schĳnt
barmhartig te zĳn; maar het is niets anders dan de barmhartigheid
van den farizeër, die zich om de tollenaars niet bekommert. Om de
wilsvrĳheid bĳ enkele duizenden volwassenen te redden, en dan nog
maar in schĳn, geeft het, naar evenredigheid, millioenen van
kinderkens aan de verdoemenis prĳs. Ten slotte blĳft het een
raadsel, wat het pelagianisme daarop tegen hebben kan, dat God
zĳne krachtdadige genade aan zondaren verheerlĳkt. Indien het de
vraag opwierp, waarom God die genade slechts aan velen en niet
aan allen schenkt, zou het bĳ iedereen een welwillend oor vinden.
Wie heeft die vraag niet in zich voelen oprĳzen en wie is er niet tot in
het diepste zĳner ziel door ontroerd? Maar die vraag keert op ieder
standpunt weer en wordt door Pelagius even min als door
Augustinus beantwoord; allen zonder onderscheid moeten rusten in
het welbehagen Gods. De belĳders van Gods souvereiniteit zĳn
hierbĳ in geen geval in ongunstiger conditie dan de verdedigers van
den vrĳen wil. Want, gelĳk boven aangetoond werd, schenkt de
gratia externa volgens de Gereformeerden aan allen, die onder het
evangelie leven, minstens zooveel genade, als volgens de
Pelagianen in de zoogenaamde gratia sufficiens hun verleend en
door hen tot eene vrĳe keuze vóór of tegen het evangelie
genoegzaam wordt gekeurd. De leer der inwendige roeping
ontneemt aan de uitwendige roeping geen enkele zegening en
weldaad, welke er naar het pelagianisme of semipelagianisme,
volgens Roomschen, Lutherschen of Remonstranten door God
mede verleend wordt. Op Gereformeerd standpunt blĳven alle
uitwendig geroepenen objectief in dezelfde conditie verkeeren, als
waarin zĳ naar andere belĳdenissen zich bevinden. De bewering der
Gereformeerden is alleen, dat al die rĳke genade aan en in den
mensch, als zĳ niet bepaald genade der wedergeboorte is,
ongenoegzaam is, om den mensch tot eene vrĳe, besliste
aanneming van het evangelie te brengen. Om te gelooven in
Christus, is volgens de duidelĳke leer van het evangelie van
Johannes, niet minder dan wedergeboorte van noode, eene werking
van Gods kracht als in de opwekking van Christus, Ef. 1:19, 20. Alle
mindere genade, hoe rĳk en heerlĳk, is onvoldoende; eene genade,
die zonder te wederbaren toch den wil zoover herstelt, dat hĳ vóór
het evangelie kiezen kan, wordt nergens in de Schrift geleerd en is
ook eene psychologische ongerĳmdheid. Al ware deze hunne
belĳdenis ook onjuist, (des neen), zĳ brengt hoegenaamd geen
verandering ten nadeele in den toestand van hen, die volgens de
belĳdenissen van alle Christenen ten slotte om hun ongeloof
verloren gaan. Doch boven de voorstanders van de vrĳe wilskeuze
hebben die van de Gereformeerde religie dit in elk geval voor, dat
Gods raad zal bestaan, dat zĳn genadeverbond niet wankelt, dat
Christus waarachtig en volkomen Zaligmaker is, dat het goede i. e.
w. eens onfeilbaar zal triumfeeren over het kwade. Wat ernstig
bezwaar kan daartegen worden ingebracht? Indien wĳ zonder ons
weten der verdoemenis in Adam kunnen deelachtig zĳn—een feit,
dat niemand loochenen kan—waarom zouden wĳ dan niet veelmeer
zonder ons weten door God in Christus tot genade aangenomen
kunnen worden? Van dwang is toch bĳ deze genade geen sprake.
Om een oogenblik sterk te spreken, indien deze genade niet
krachtens haar aard dwang uitsloot en God werkelĳk dwang
gebruikte; wie zou dan toch nog aan het einde het recht of ook zelfs
den lust hebben zich te beklagen, indien hĳ alzoo aan het eeuwig
verderf ontrukt en in het eeuwige leven overgebracht werd? Wie zou
den man gelĳk geven, die zich er over beklaagde, dat men hem,
zonder zĳne wilsvrĳheid te eerbiedigen, uit levensgevaar had gered?
Maar het is niet zoo; er is in de inwendige roeping en wedergeboorte
geen dwang bĳ God, βια οὐ προσεστι τῳ θεῳ, Ep. ad Diogn. 7.
Geen enkele vrome, van wat belĳdenis ook, die in het werk der
genade van dwang heeft gesproken, ook al werd hĳ als een
brandhout uit het vuur gerukt. Veeleer zou het zĳn wensch zĳn, dat
God met meer macht in hem de zonde brak en zonder den langen
weg van strĳd de zaligheid hem deelachtig maakte. Maar zoo doet
God in de genade niet; alle dwang is met haar wezen in strĳd.
Want immers de genade is geen physische kracht. De Thomisten
spraken van eene physica praedeterminatio, de Roomschen vatten
het beeld Gods hoe langer hoe meer op als een substantieel
toevoegsel aan de natuur van den mensch. Maar de
Gereformeerden spraken niet alzoo. Niet alleen hielden zĳ het beeld
Gods voor wezenlĳk eigen aan den mensch, maar zĳ weigerden
zelfs, om de genade Gods in de vocatio interna als eene physische
te omschrĳven; zĳ was wel niet louter ethisch of moreel, maar zĳ was
ook niet van physischen aard, en daarom het best als supernaturalis
en divina te bepalen. Zĳ brengt toch in geen enkel opzicht eenige
nieuwe substantie in de bestaande schepping in, gelĳk Manicheën
en Anabaptisten dat leeren, M. Vitringa III 224 sq. Dat doet zĳ niet
objectief, inzoover met de genade de persoon en het werk van
Christus kan worden aangeduid, want Christus, schoon ontvangen
van den H. Geest, nam zĳne menschelĳke natuur aan uit Maria en
bracht ze niet uit den hemel mede. Maar zĳ doet het ook niet in
subjectieven zin. De genade schept nooit, zĳ herschept. De
wedergeboorte, welke zĳ tot stand brengt, beteekent noch in haar
eerste, noch in haar tweede, noch in haar derde beteekenis, dat er
van buiten af eenige substantie aan mensch of wereld toegevoegd of
in hen ingedragen wordt. Het zĳn dezelfde menschen, die eertĳds
duisternis, Ef. 5:5, dood in zonden en misdaden, Ef. 2:2, roovers,
gierigaards enz., 1 Cor. 6:11 waren, en die nu afgewasschen,
geheiligd en gerechtvaardigd zĳn. De continuiteit van het ik blĳft
gehandhaafd. En zoo is het ook dezelfde hemel en dezelfde aarde,
die aan het einde der dagen vernieuwd zullen worden. Christus is
geen nieuwe, tweede Schepper, maar Herschepper, Reformator aller
dingen. Wĳl de zonde niet eene substantie is maar de forma der
dingen aangetast en verwoest heeft, daarom kan de herschepping in
geen creëeren van eenige substantie, maar moet zĳ in eene
herstelling der forma, in reformatie bestaan. Reeds hierdoor is alle
gedachte aan physischen dwang bĳ de genade uitgesloten. Maar er
is meer. Niet alleen brengt zĳ geen nieuwe substantie in de
schepping in, maar zĳ ontneemt er ook niets wezenlĳks aan, niets,
dat haar (ofschoon wel „van nature”, toch) wezenlĳk eigen is. De
zonde behoort niet tot het wezen der schepping. En de genade
neemt niets anders uit ons weg dan de zonde alleen. Zĳ onderdrukt
niet, zĳ herstelt de natuur; non tollit sed restituit et perficit
voluntatem. Zĳ neemt uit ons verstand de duisternis, uit onzen wil de
zwakheid, de machteloosheid weg. Zĳ geeft ons terug, wat wĳ naar
ons wezen, naar de idee, moesten hebben doch door de zonde
verloren. Zĳ herschept ons naar het evenbeeld desgenen, die ons
geschapen heeft. Het is waar, dat zĳ, gelĳk ze eenerzĳds niet in het
inplanten eener nieuwe substantie bestaat, zoo ter andere zĳde niet
in eene uitwendige, zedelĳke verbetering van gezindheid en daden
opgaat. Zĳ is niet maar eene reformatio vitae, gelĳk de Socinianen
haar omschreven, M. Vitringa III 225 cf. 227; de Schrift spreekt
daartoe van de wedergeboorte in veel te sterke bewoordingen; reeds
het O. T. duidt haar aan als eene besnĳdenis des harten, Deut. 30:6,
een scheppen van een rein hart en vernieuwen van een vasten
geest, Ps. 51:12, een wegnemen van het steenen en geven van een
vleeschen hart, Jer. 31:33v. Ezech. 11:19, 36:25, en het N. T. bezigt
de woorden: geboorte van boven, Joh. 3:3, uit God, 1:13, uit den
Geest, 3:5, 6, 8, wedergeboorte, Tit. 3:5, en zegt, dat degenen, die
deze weldaad ontvingen, daardoor een nieuw schepsel, 2 Cor. 5:17,
Gods maaksel, Rom. 14:20, Ef. 2:10, nieuwe menschen, Ef. 2:15,
4:10, 24 zĳn, ééne plante met Christus geworden zĳn in zĳn dood en
opstanding, Rom. 6:5, in Christus of in den H. Geest leven en
wandelen enz. De weldaad der wedergeboorte is dus veel te groot,
dan dat ze door eene suasio moralis van het woord der prediking
zou kunnen worden voortgebracht, zĳ onderstelt veeleer eene
Goddelĳke almachtige kracht, Ef. 1:19, 20; en zĳ is ook te rĳk, dan
dat zĳ alleen in eene verandering van de daden of uitingen van de
menschelĳke vermogens zou bestaan. Immers is de zonde, schoon
met eene daad begonnen zĳnde, in de natuur des menschen zelve
ingedrongen; zĳ is geen substantia maar ook geen actus alleen; zĳ is
eene innerlĳke verdorvenheid van den ganschen mensch, van zĳne
gedachten en woorden en daden niet slechts, maar ook van zĳn
verstand en wil, en wederom van deze niet alleen maar ook van zĳn
hart, waaruit alle ongerechtigheden voortkomen, van het innerlĳkste,
de kern, den wortel van zĳn wezen, van het ik des menschen zelf.
En daarom is de wedergeboorte zulk eene geheel bovennatuurlĳke,
allerkrachtdadigste, verborgene en onuitsprekelĳke werking Gods,
waardoor Hĳ indringt tot in de binnenste deelen des menschen, het
gesloten hart opent, het harde vermurwt, het onbesnedene besnĳdt,
nieuwe hoedanigheden in den wil instort en dien van dood levend,
van kwaad goed, van niet-willende gewillig, van wederspannig
gehoorzaam maakt, Can. Dordr. III 11. 12. Nieuwe hoedanigheden
zĳn het dus wel, welke de wedergeboorte in den mensch inplant,
maar het zĳn toch geen andere, dan die tot zĳn wezen behooren,
hebbelĳkheden, gezindheden, neigingen, die oorspronkelĳk in het
beeld Gods begrepen waren en met Gods wet overeenstemden, en
die de gevallen, zondige menschelĳke natuur van haar duisternis en
slavernĳ, van haar dood en ellende bevrĳden. Al is het dan ook, dat
de genade, die de wedergeboorte werkt, terecht irresistibilis of nog
beter insuperabilis heet, wĳl zĳ allen tegenstand van den zondigen
mensch verwint; al is zĳ eene gratia operans, die in den mensch
werkt zonder eenige medewerking van zĳn wil; toch is en blĳft zĳ
eene potentissima simul et suavissima operatio, die in de menschen
niet als in stokken en blokken werkt, den wil en zĳne eigenschappen
niet wegneemt noch hem dwingt met geweld, maar maakt hem
geestelĳk levende, geneest, verbetert en buigt hem op eene wĳze,
die liefelĳk en tegelĳk krachtig is. Cf. Can. Dordr. III IV en de
oordeelen der afgevaardigden over het 3e en 4e art. der
Remonstranten, voorts de werken over de genade, boven bl. 479
aangehaald en verder nog Trigland, Antapol. c. 23-33. Voetius, de
statu electorum ante conversionem, Disp. II 402-432, de
regeneratione, ib. 432-468, an Christus electis et salvandis
specialem gratiam regenerationis et fidei sit meritus, ib. V 270-277.
Turretinus, Theol. El. XV qu. 3-6. Spanhemius, Elenchus controv. de
religione, Op. III 875 sq. Id. Disp. theol. de quinquarticulanis
controversiis, Op. III 1167-1188. Hoornbeek, Theol. pract. lib. 6.
Moor IV 442-534 enz.
§ 45. Geloof en Rechtvaardigmaking.
1. Het geestelĳk leven, dat in de wedergeboorte ingeplant wordt,

komt met het natuurlĳk leven daarin overeen, dat het, om toe te
nemen en op te wassen, gevoed en versterkt worden moet. Er is
tusschen beide anders wel een groot onderscheid, want het
geestelĳk leven heeft zĳn oorsprong in God, niet als Schepper maar
als Zaligmaker; het is verworven door de opstanding van Christus;
het is een eeuwig leven, dat niet zondigen en niet sterven kan. Maar
desniettemin heeft de wedergeborene voortdurend noodig, om met
kracht versterkt te worden door den Geest naar den inwendigen
mensch. Ook deze versterking des geestelĳken levens is evengoed
als zĳn oorsprong uit God en den rĳkdom zĳner genade. Het leven
van den geestelĳken mensch is ook na zĳn ontstaan geen oogenblik
los te denken van God en zĳne gemeenschap. Het is in denzelfden
strikten en bĳzonderen zin, waarin het uit God is, ook door en tot
God. Hĳ is het, die het voedt en onderhoudt, die het nimmer laat
varen, die het tot daden en werkzaamheden doet overgaan, die niet
alleen het kunnen schenkt maar ook het willen en werken werkt naar
zĳn welbehagen, Phil. 2:13, 2 Cor. 3:5. Het is een leven in de
gemeenschap met Christus; de geloovigen zĳn in den doop ééne
plante met Hem geworden in zĳn dood en ook in zĳne opstanding,
Rom. 6:5, zĳ zĳn in Christus en Christus leeft in hen, 2 Cor. 13:5,
Gal. 2:20, zĳ kunnen niets doen zonder Hem, indien zĳ niet blĳven in
Hem als ranken in den wĳnstok, Joh. 15:4, 5; zĳ kunnen alleen sterk
worden ἐν κυριῳ και ἐν τῳ κρατει της ἰσχυος αὐτου, Ef. 6:10, door
den Geest van Christus en in zĳne gemeenschap, Rom. 8:13, 26, 2
Cor. 13:13, Ef. 3:16. Maar die Geest werkt in de wedergeborenen
naar verschillende zĳden. Dat kan en dat behoort zoo, wĳl de nieuwe
mensch niet aanstonds in „trappen”, maar wel in „deelen” volmaakt
is. In de wedergeboorte wordt principieel de gansche mensch
herschapen; het ik des menschen zelf sterft en leeft uit en in
Christus weer op, Gal. 2:20; het is terstond een καινος ἀνθρωπος,
die in Christus geschapen wordt, Ef. 4:24, Col. 3:10, wel klein en
teer maar toch in alle deelen compleet. En daarom werkt de H.
Geest naar verschillende zĳden, om den nieuwen mensch
gelĳkmatig en evenredig in al zĳne deelen te laten opwassen. Hĳ
werkt als Geest der wĳsheid, der heiligheid en der heerlĳkheid en
siert de geloovigen met allerlei krachten en gaven en deugden, Rom.
15:13, 1 Cor. 12:3v., Gal. 5:22. Bepaaldelĳk werkt Hĳ naar de zĳde
des verstands de deugden van geloof, kennis, wĳsheid enz. Schoon
op geheimzinnige, onnaspeurlĳke wĳze door den Geest in den
mensch ingeplant, Joh. 3:8, is het geestelĳk leven toch, zoodra het
zich in den mensch bewust wordt, van het eerste oogenblik af
gebonden aan het Woord Gods. Het is door den H. Geest uit een
λογος ἐμφυτος, uit de inwendige, evangelische roeping van Christus
gewekt; het blĳft bĳ zĳn wasdom aan dat woord gebonden, en dus,
zoodra het bewust wordt, ook afhankelĳk van de H. Schrift, welke het
woord van Christus is. Het geestelĳk leven staat krachtens zĳn aard
in rapport met de Schrift, gelĳk de plant met den bodem, waarin zĳ
wortelt en waaruit zĳ haar sappen trekt. Niet met de Schrift alleen als
uitwendig in letteren beschreven, maar ook als bĳ den voortduur
door den H. Geest gedragen, bezield en gesproken in het hart. De
vocatio interna is niet alleen noodig bĳ het ontstaan maar ook bĳ den
wasdom van het geestelĳk leven. Zĳ geschiedt niet eenmaal en is
met de schepping van het leven niet afgeloopen, maar zĳ zet zich
altĳd voort; gelĳk God eerst alles schiep door het Woord en daarna
door datzelfde Woord alle dingen onderhoudt, zoo is de vocatio
interna ook werkzaam bĳ de onderhouding en ontwikkeling van het
geestelĳk leven. De geloovigen zĳn κλητοι, Rom. 1:6, die de
hemelsche roeping deelachtig zĳn, Hebr. 3:1, die bĳ den voortduur
door God geroepen worden tot zĳn koninkrĳk, totdat zĳ het feitelĳk
zullen beërfd hebben, 1 Thess. 2:12, 5:24. De daad nu, waardoor de
H. Geest het Woord van Christus in zĳn geestelĳken zin en inhoud
verstaan doet en het bewustzĳn voor de waarheid ontsluit, draagt in
de Schrift nog den bĳzonderen naam van verlichting. Wĳl de zonde
het verstand verduisterd heeft, Rom. 1:21, 1 Cor. 1:21, 2:14, Ef.
4:18, 5:8, is er ook noodig eene ἀποκαλυψις του νοος, Rom. 12:2,
Ef. 4:23. Deze komt tot stand door God, die door ἀποκαλυψις, in den
mensch, ἐν ἐμοι, Gal. 1:16, de verhindering wegneemt, welke de
rechte kennis der zaken tot dusverre belette, Mt. 11:25, 16:17, Gal.
1:16, cf. deel I 245. Hĳ doet dit door den H. Geest te geven, die een
πνευμα σοφιας και ἀποκαλυψεως is, Ef. 1:17, in de waarheid leidt,
Joh. 16:23, alles leert, Joh. 14:26, 1 Joh. 2:20, en de dingen Gods
doet verstaan, 1 Cor. 2:10-16. Gelĳk Hĳ bĳ de schepping door zĳn
machtwoord het licht uit de duisternis liet schĳnen, zoo laat Hĳ het
ook door den Zoon, Mt. 11:27 en door den Geest licht worden in de
harten der menschen, 2 Cor. 4:6, en maakt de oogen des harten
verlicht, Ef. 1:18. Daardoor weten, zĳ de dingen, die hun door God in
het evangelie werden geschonken, 1 Cor. 2:12, hebben zĳ eene
γνωσις en ἐπιγνωσις, d. i. eene hen persoonlĳk aangaande en op
hen inwerkende kennis, van den Vader, Mt. 11:27, 2 Cor. 4:6, Ef.
1:17, van Christus, Mt. 16:17, van de dingen des Geestes Gods, 1
Cor. 2:14 enz., en zĳn zĳ kinderen des lichts, Luk. 16:8, Ef. 5:8, 1
Thess. 5:5, burgers van het rĳk des lichts, 1 Petr. 2:9, Col. 2:12 en
wandelen in het licht, Ef. 5:8, 1 Joh. 1:7, 2:9, 10. Door de verlichting
des H. Geestes gaat den mensch een gansch nieuw licht op over
alle dingen, over God, Christus, zonde, genade, Schrift, kerk, wereld,
dood, oordeel enz. In Gods licht ziet hĳ thans licht.
Deze kennis wordt nu in de Schrift nader omschreven als eene
kennis des geloofs. Het is geheel in overeenstemming met de
Schrift, te zeggen, dat de kennisse Gods in het aangezicht van
Christus zalig maakt, rechtvaardigt, vergeving der zonden en eeuwig
leven schenkt, 1 Kon. 8:43, 1 Chr. 28:9, Ps. 89:16, Jes. 1:3, 11:9,
53:11, Jer. 4:22, 31:34, Hos. 2:19, 4:1, 6, Mt. 11:27, Luk. 1:77, Joh.
8:32, 10:4, 14, 17:3, Rom. 10:3, 2 Cor. 2:14, Gal. 4:9, Ef. 4:13, Hebr.
8:11, 1 Joh. 5:20, 2 Petr. 1:2, 3:18. Maar wĳl zĳ krachtens haar
oorsprong, wezen en voorwerp een geheel bĳzonder karakter
draagt, wordt zĳ eene kennis des geloofs genoemd. Zoo bepaald,
wordt zĳ echter daarmede echter volstrekt niet aangeduid als iets,
dat aan de menschelĳke natuur als zoodanig vreemd is en in den zin
van een donum superadditum aan haar toegevoegd wordt.
Duisternis, dwaling, leugen enz. zĳn tegennatuurlĳk, eigenschappen
der gevallen natuur, maar het licht der kennis behoort tot het beeld
Gods, dat den mensch oorspronkelĳk en wezenlĳk eigen was. En
ook de kennis des geloofs is geen volstrekt bovennatuurlĳk
toevoegsel aan den mensch. Gelooven gansch in het algemeen doet
ieder mensch, altĳd en op alle terrein, vooral ook op dat der
wetenschap. Er is geen kennis zonder eenig geloof; het dualisme
tusschen geloof en wetenschap is theoretisch en practisch
onmogelĳk. Zelfs spreekt men in de dogmatiek, behalve van
zaligmakend, ook van historisch, Mt. 7:26, Joh. 12:42, 43, 13:17, Hd.
26:27, 28, Jak. 2:19, tĳd-, Mt. 13:21, en wondergeloof, Mt. 9:2,
17:20, Hd. 14:9, 1 Cor. 13:2, welke van het eerste wel wezenlĳk
onderscheiden zĳn en ook in onwedergeborenen vallen kunnen,
maar er toch zooveel overeenkomst mede hebben moeten, dat zĳ
denzelfden naam van geloof kunnen dragen. Maar zelfs het geloof in
engeren zin, de fides justificans of salvifica, is geen donum
superadditum naar Roomsche opvatting. Wel is het geloof eene
gave Gods, Hd. 5:31, Ef. 2:8, Phil. 1:29, vrucht van zĳne δυναμις, 1
Cor. 2:4, 5, Ef. 1:19, 1 Thess. 2:13, en bepaaldelĳk door den H.
Geest geschonken, 1 Cor. 12:3, 2 Cor. 4:13. Maar zĳ is toch eene
gave, die niet in absoluten zin, maar slechts toevallig, ter wille van
de zonde, noodzakelĳk is. De herschepping toch brengt nooit eene
nieuwe substantie in wereld of menschheid in; ook in het geloof
schenkt zĳ aan den mensch niet zulk een nieuw vermogen, kracht of
werkzaamheid, welke de oorspronkelĳke, naar Gods beeld
geschapen menschelĳke natuur niet bezat. Integendeel, de
Gereformeerden beweerden terecht tegen de Remonstranten, b.v.
Arminius, Op. 160, dat Adam vóór den val in zĳne natuur de kracht
bezat, om in Christus te gelooven, al kende hĳ natuurlĳk Christus
niet en al had hĳ Hem toen als Zaligmaker niet noodig, Gomarus,
Op. I 93. Moor IV 461. Shedd, Dogm. Theol. I 454. II 482v. En zĳ
hielden evenzoo tegen de Roomschen staande, dat Christus als
mensch op aarde door het geloof had geleefd, boven 294. Wĳl nu de
wedergeboorte principieel eene herschepping is van den ganschen
mensch naar het evenbeeld desgenen, die hem geschapen heeft, is
het geloofsvermogen (fides potentialis, seminalis, habitualis, semen
of radix fidei) vanzelf met en in haar gegeven. Zooals kinderkens
redelĳke wezens zĳn ante rationem actualem, zoo zĳn zĳ, indien zĳ
kinderen des verbonds zĳn, ook fideles ante fidem actualem. Wel is
het onjuist, om met oudere Luthersche theologen de wedergeboorte
in donatio fidei te laten opgaan, cf. M. Vitringa III 222, want in de
wedergeboorte worden evengoed de semina spei, caritatis enz.,
ingeplant; maar toch wordt in haar, gelĳk alle vermogens en
krachten, zoo ook het geloofsvermogen hersteld. Gelooven in God,
in Christus enz., is voor den wedergeboren mensch als zoodanig
even natuurlĳk, als het voor ieder mensch natuurlĳk is, om aan de
zienlĳke wereld te gelooven. Wel gaat, gelĳk iedere potentia eerst
door zekere inwerking van buiten tot actus overgaat en een
tarwegraan alleen in den schoot der aarde ontkiemt, zoo ook het
geloofsvermogen, dat door de wedergeboorte is ingeplant, alleen
door de voortgaande vocatio interna tot de daad des geloofs over.
Maar in de wedergeboorte herstelt God toch het levensrapport, dat
er oorspronkelĳk tusschen Hem en den mensch bestond; naar Gods
beeld herschapen, is de mensch weder verwant aan God zelf en aan
al wat Gods is, aan zĳnen Christus, aan de dingen des Geestes, aan
zĳn Woord, aan zĳne kerk, aan zĳn hemel, aan de dingen, die boven
zĳn. Der wereld gekruisigd en der zonde gestorven, leeft hĳ Gode.
En daarom, verlicht wordende door den H. Geest, kent hĳ God ook
en is in die kennis zalig, Joh. 17:3.
Maar dit mag niet zoo worden verstaan, alsof de wedergeborene
deze kennisse Gods in Christus putte uit zĳn eigen hart, uit de
inwendige onderwĳzing des H. Geestes. De mystiek heeft ten allen
tĳde Woord en Geest tegenover elkander gesteld, de letter veracht,
het inwendige woord ten koste van het uitwendige verheven en
daarvoor zelfs zich beroepen op de H. Schrift, Jes. 54:13, Jer. 31:34,
Mt. 11:25, 27, 16:17, Joh. 6:45, 1 Cor. 2:10, 2 Cor. 3:6, Hebr. 8:10, 1
Joh. 2:20, 27. Daartegen valt op te merken: 1o dat zeer zeker alle
kennis, op natuurlĳk en geestelĳk gebied eene relatie, eene
verwantschap tusschen object en subject onderstelt. Om te zien is
een oog noodig; en object en subject moeten beschenen worden
door eenzelfde licht. Om te kennen is verstand noodig, en het is
dezelfde Logos, die het gekende object en het kennend subject voor
elkander schiep. Zoo ook moet op geestelĳk terrein bĳ het Woord de
Geest, bĳ de vocatio externa de vocatio interna, bĳ de revelatie de
illuminatie bĳkomen, om ons God te doen kennen in het aangezicht
van Christus. 2o De Schrift spreekt dit in bovengenoemde en andere
plaatsen beslist en duidelĳk uit. In Gods licht alleen zien wĳ het licht.
Maar zĳ zegt nergens, dat de wedergeborene de stof dezer kennis
uit zichzelven putten kan of moet. In 1 Joh. 2:20-27 verbindt de
apostel de zalving des Geestes, die de geloovigen van den Heilige,
d. i. van Christus ontvangen hebben, ten nauwste met de waarheid,
welke zĳ gehoord hebben, vs. 21-24; als zĳ daarin blĳven, blĳven zĳ
ook in den Zoon en den Vader en hebben geen nadere onderwĳzing
meer noodig. Overal verwĳst de Schrift den geloovige buiten zich,
naar de openbaring Gods in natuur, wet en evangelie heen, Deut.
4:1, Jes. 8:20, Joh. 5:39, Rom. 1:20, 15:4, 2 Tim. 3:15, 1 Petr. 1:25,
2 Petr. 1:19 enz. 3o In het natuurlĳke is het zoo, dat de mensch wel
een bewustzĳn, verstand, rede meebrengt maar dat hĳ toch allen
inhoud der kennis van buiten verkrĳgen moet, deel I 161v. II 39v.
Veel meer is dit in het geestelĳke het geval. Want al zĳn alle
geloovigen ook door den Heere geleerd, zĳ leven toch nog in het
vleesch, en blĳven tot dwaling geneigd. Telkens verheffen zich in hen
gedachten, die zĳ gevangen hebben te leiden tot de
gehoorzaamheid van Christus. Aan zichzelven overgelaten, zouden
zĳ terstond vervallen tot dwaling en leugen. En daarom is hier eene
objectieve openbaring noodig, die tot regel strekt van leer en leven.
4o Daar komt nog bĳ, dat niet zienlĳke, maar onzienlĳke, geestelĳke,
eeuwige dingen het voorwerp dezer religieuse kennis zĳn. Hetgeen
geen oog heeft gezien en geen oor heeft gehoord en in ’s menschen
hart niet is opgeklommen, dat heeft God in het evangelie bereid
dien, die Hem liefhebben. Hoe zullen wĳ deze dingen kennen, vast
en zeker, tenzĳ zĳ ons in een getrouw beeld, zuiver en onvermengd,
voor de oogen worden geplaatst? Wĳ wandelen hier niet door
aanschouwen; zoo behooren wĳ dan de heerlĳkheid des Heeren in
een spiegel te aanschouwen, om naar datzelfde beeld in gedaante
veranderd te worden. 5o En eindelĳk, gelĳk in het natuurlĳke ieder
schepsel voedsel zoekt naar zĳn aard, zoo trekt ook in den geloovige
het nieuwe leven altĳd weer naar het evangelie, naar het woord van
Christus, naar de Schriften heen als naar den grond, waarop het
steunt, als naar het voedsel, waardoor het gesterkt wordt. Niet
ontbeerlĳker maar steeds onmisbaarder en heerlĳker wordt de
Schrift dengene, die opwast in het geloof. Het getuigenis des H.
Geestes in zĳn hart bindt hem in dezelfde mate en kracht aan de
Schrift als aan den persoon van Christus zelven, deel I 502v. Uit dit
alles wordt nu ook duidelĳk, waarom de religieuse kennis in de
Schrift als eene kennis des geloofs omschreven en het geloof in het
subjectieve werk der zaligheid zoo sterk op den voorgrond wordt
geplaatst. Eigenlĳk gesproken, maakt het geloof of de kennis niet
zalig, maar God maakt zalig in Christus door den H. Geest. Hĳ
maakt zalig, door de weldaden des verbonds, door Christus, door
zichzelven te schenken aan den zondaar. Maar wat zou die zaligheid
baten, indien zĳ ons niet bewust ware en wĳ er geen kennis van
droegen? Dan zou zĳ zelfs niet bestaan. Onbewuste zaligheid is wel
voor den Buddhist het hoogste, en velen geven tegenwoordig aan
het niet-zĳn boven het zĳn de voorkeur. Maar het hoogste zĳn is voor
den Christen God te kennen en door die kennis het eeuwige leven te
hebben. De kennis is daarom niet een toevallig, van buitenaf
komend toevoegsel aan de zaligheid, maar vormt daarin een
onmisbaar element. Er is geen zaligheid, die niet gekend, niet
genoten wordt. Wat hadden wĳ aan de vergeving der zonden, aan
de wedergeboorte en volkomene vernieuwing door den H. Geest,
aan de hemelsche heerlĳkheid, indien wĳ er geen bewustzĳn en
geen kennis van hadden. Zĳ zouden niet kunnen bestaan, zĳ
onderstellen en eischen bewustzĳn, kennis, genieting, en geven
daarin de zaligheid. God maakt zalig, door zichzelven in Christus te
doen kennen en genieten. Wĳl echter de weldaden van het verbond
der genade hier op aarde nog slechts ten deele worden geschonken,
wĳl de gemeenschap met God, de wedergeboorte, de heiligmaking
nog onvolkomen zĳn, wĳl de kennis onvolmaakt is, onzienlĳke dingen
tot object heeft en aan de Schrift gebonden is, daarom is de
kennisse Gods hier op aarde een kennis des geloofs. Het geloof is
de eenige weg, waarlangs zĳ verkregen wordt, de eenige vorm,
waarin zĳ optreden kan. Ja alle weldaden, vergeving,
wedergeboorte, heiligmaking, volharding, hemelsche zaligheid zĳn er
voor ons slechts door het geloof; alleen in het geloof genieten wĳ ze;
wĳ zĳn alleen in hope zalig.
2. In het O. T. ontbreekt nog een technische term voor geloof. De

zaak ontbreekt niet, want menigmaal treedt het heil op in den vorm
van eene belofte, die niet anders dan door het geloof kan worden
aanvaard. Daden en werkzaamheden des geloofs worden ons
daarom schier op iedere bladzĳde verhaald. Maar de religieuse
verhouding des menschen tot God wordt gewoonlĳk door andere
woorden uitgedrukt, zooals: God vreezen, dienen, liefhebben,
aankleven, vertrouwen, zich op Hem verlaten, steunen, hopen,
wachten enz., boven bl. 427. Aan gelooven is het meest verwant het
woord ‎‫‏האמין‏‬‎ met ‎‫ב‏‬‎‫ ‏‬of ‎‫ל‏‬‎‫ ‏‬van ‎‫‏אמן‏‬‎, vastmaken, zich vastmaken,
vasthouden aan iets, steunen, vertrouwen, Gen. 15:6, Ex. 4:31,
14:31, Deut. 9:23, vooral Jes. 7:9, Achaz, die hulp zoekt bĳ Assur en
daarop steunt, zal niet bevestigd worden, als hĳ daarvan niet afziet
en alleen op God zich verlaat, en Hab. 2:4, de Chaldeën maken
hunne kracht tot hun god en hunne ziel is opgeblazen, maar de
rechtvaardige zal leven door zĳn vertrouwen op God en zĳne belofte.
In het latere Jodendom bestond het geloof niet alleen in het
aannemen van de wet als Gods gave maar ook in de meening, dat
Gods goedheid aanvullen zou, wat er aan de wetsgerechtigheid
ontbreken mocht. Daartegenover treedt Johannes de Dooper met de
prediking op, dat zulk een geloof en zulk eene gerechtigheid geen
waarde hebben, dat voor allen μετανοια en doop noodig is, om in te
gaan in het rĳk van den Messias. Jezus sluit zich hierbĳ aan, maar
voegt eraan toe, dat dat rĳk in Hem, den Zoon des menschen,
gekomen is; Hĳ brengt daarvan de blĳde boodschap en zegt: bekeert
u en gelooft het evangelie. Zoolang Jezus nu op aarde was en zelf
predikte, bestond het geloof uit den aard der zaak allereerst hierin,
dat men persoonlĳk in Jezus onbepaald vertrouwen stelde en
daardoor overtuigd was, dat God in en door Hem sprak en wonderen
deed, bĳv. Mt. 8:10, 9:28, 15:28, 17:20, 21:21,22 enz. Jezus’
persoon had zĳn correlaat in de woorden, die Hĳ sprak, en de
werken, die Hĳ deed, en omgekeerd werden deze woorden en
daden weer door zĳn persoon geverifieerd. Maar toen Jezus
heengegaan was, kwam hierin deze verandering, dat men
persoonlĳk niet meer Hem ontmoeten kon maar, om Hem te leeren
kennen, gebonden was aan het woord der apostelen. Nu kreeg het
geloof als het ware twee zĳden; 1o het als waar aannemen van de
apostolische getuigenis aangaande Christus, en 2o het persoonlĳk
vertrouwen op dien Christus, als nu nog levende in den hemel, en
machtig, om de zonden te vergeven enz. Hoewel beide zĳden in de
geschriften der apostelen naast elkander voorkomen, legt toch
Johannes vooral den nadruk op het eerste moment, πιστευειν c. acc.
of met een objectszin of c. dat. rei, Joh. 2:22, 4:50, 5:47, 6:69, 8:24,
11:42, 13:19, 17:8,21, 1 Joh. 5:1,5; Paulus daarentegen op het
tweede, en spreekt dan van πιστις c. gen., van Jezus, Rom. 3:22,
Gal. 2:16, 20, 3:22, Ef. 3:12, Phil. 3:9, van de waarheid, 2 Thess.
2:13, van het evangelie Phil. 1:27, προς θεου, 1 Thess. 1:8, εἰς
Χριστον, Col. 2:5, Phil. 5, ἐν Χριστῳ, Gal. 3:26, Ef. 1:15, 2 Tim. 3:15,
en van πιστευειν τινι, Rom. 4:3, Gal. 4:6, 2 Tim. 1:12, Tit. 3:8, ἐπι
τινα, Rom. 4:5, 24, ἐπι τινι, Rom. 9:33, 1 Tim. 1:16 en vooral εἰς τινα,
Rom. 10:11, Col. 2:5, Phil. 1:29 enz. Maar volstrekte tegenstelling is
dit niet, want Johannes spreekt menigmaal van πιστευειν εἰς τινα,
2:11, 3:16, 18, 36, 4:39, 6:29 enz., εἰς το ὀνομα, 1:12, 2:23, I 5:13 en
ook τινι, 3:15, 5:24, 38, 46, 6:30 en τῳ ὀνοματι, I 3:23; en Paulus
construeert πιστευειν ook met τι en ὁτι, Rom. 10:9, 1 Cor. 13:7, cf.
15:14,17, 1 Thess. 4:14. Vooral is het verkeerd, de latere
onderscheiding van Deo credere en in Deum credere of ook die van
historisch en zaligmakend geloof met de bovengenoemde te
vereenzelvigen. Menigmaal toch sluit de constructie van πιστευειν
met ὁτι, bĳv. dat Jezus is de Christus, wel terdege het zaligmakend
geloof in, Joh. 6:69, 8:24, 11:27, 17:8, I 1:5, Rom. 10:9; en πιστευειν
τινι of εἰς τινα is dikwerf niet meer dan een historisch geloof, Joh.
7:31, 40v., 8:30v., 10:42, 11:45, 48, 12:11, 42; in 1 Joh. 5:10 staat
zelfs πιστευειν εἰς την μαρτυριαν. En dit is ook begrĳpelĳk. Waarlĳk
gelooven de getuigenis, welke God getuigd heeft van zĳnen Zoon,
kan alleen en doet alleen hĳ, die een onbepaald vertrouwen stelt in
den persoon van Christus; en omgekeerd, wie op Christus vertrouwt
als Zone Gods, neemt ook onvoorwaardelĳk de getuigenis Gods
aangaande Christus door den mond der apostelen aan. Het geloof
sluit dus in het N. T. twee elementen in: vertrouwen op den persoon
van Christus en aanvaarding van het apostolisch getuigenis. Deze
beide hangen onverbrekelĳk samen, zĳ maken in subjectieven zin
het wezen des Christendoms uit. Indien Christus alleen een
historisch persoon ware, die door zĳn leer en leven ons een
voorbeeld had nagelaten, dan ware een historisch geloof van de
overgeleverde getuigenis genoegzaam, maar dan kwam het ook niet
tot ware religie, tot wezenlĳke gemeenschap met God en hadde het
deisme gelĳk. Indien Christus omgekeerd, naar de meening van het
pantheisme, niet de historische maar slechts de ideale Christus
ware, dan ware geloof aan eene getuigenis gansch overbodig, zou
Christus niets anders wezen dan het zĳn Gods in ons, maar dan
kwam het wederom niet tot ware gemeenschap van God en mensch,
wĳl deze het wezenlĳk onderscheid van beide onderstelt. Maar nu is
Christus beide: een historisch persoon, de Christus der Schriften, en
tevens de verheerlĳkte Heer in den hemel, die nog leeft en regeert
als het hoofd zĳner gemeente. Hĳ verwierf de zaligheid in het
verleden, maar past ze zelf in het heden toe. En deze weldaden des
verbonds omvatten de herschepping van het zĳn en van het
bewustzĳn; zĳ bestaan in rechtvaardigmaking en in verlossing, in
licht en in leven, in waarheid en in genade. Zĳ veranderen den
mensch in de wereld der gedachte, maken hem vrĳ van leugen,
dwaling, duisternis, doen hem God kennen als den genadige, die de
zonden vergeeft, stellen hem in de rechte relatie tot God en alle
dingen, doen hem bedenken de dingen, die boven zĳn en geven
hem in het geloof een vasten grond der dingen, die men hoopt, en
een bewĳs der zaken, die men niet ziet. En zĳ veranderen den
mensch ook in zĳn zĳn, maken hem vrĳ van de smet der zonde,
doen hem in het verborgene zĳns harten leven in de gemeenschap
met God door Christus in den H. Geest, maken hem een burger der
hemelen, geboren van boven, uit God, herschapen naar de
gelĳkvormigheid aan het beeld des Zoons, opdat Hĳ zĳ de
eerstgeborene onder vele broederen. En deze beide staan in
onlosmakelĳk verband. Want Christus, die nedergedaald is, is
dezelfde, die ook opgevaren is verre boven alle hemelen, opdat Hĳ
alle dingen vervullen zou, Ef. 4:10. De H. Geest, die wederbaart, is
dezelfde, die ook in ons van Christus getuigt. De Schrift leidt ons op
tot Christus, die boven is, gezeten aan Gods rechterhand, en
Christus, die door den Geest in onze harten woont, leidt ons terug tot
de Schrift. Met het hart gelooft men ter rechtvaardigheid, maar met
den mond belĳdt men ter zaligheid, Rom. 10:10. Het geloof naar de
Schrift sluit beide uit: een geloof des harten, dat niet belĳdt en eene
belĳdenis, die niet wortelt in het geloof des harten. Het is mystisch
en noetisch tegelĳk, een onbepaald, onwankelbaar vertrouwen op
Christus, als die naar het getuigenis der Schrift alles voor mĳ
volbracht heeft en op dien grond thans en eeuwiglĳk mĳn Heer en
mĳn God is. Cf. over het geloof in de H. Schrift, behalve de
handboeken voor Bĳb. Theologie van Weiss, Holtzmann enz.,
Schlatter, Der Glaube im N. T. Zweite Bearbeitung. Calw u. Stuttgart
1896. C. Boetticher, Das Wesen des relig. Glaubens im N. T. Berlin
Gaertner 1896. Haussleiter, Was versteht Paulus unter Chr.
Glauben? Greifsw. Studiën, H. Cremer..... dargebracht, Gütersloh
1895 S. 159-182. Huther, Die Bedeutung der Begriffe ζωη und
πιστευειν in d. Joh. Schriften, Jahrb. f. d. Theol. 1872 S. 1-34.
Cremer s. v.
3. Wat alzoo ongedeeld en in organische eenheid in de Schrift
voorkomt, is in de theologie en in het christelĳk leven menigmaal uit
elkander gerukt of slechts mechanisch verbonden. Rome vat het
geloof op als assensus firmus ac certus ad ea omnia, quae Deus
credendo proponit en verwerpt de Protestantsche definitie, dat het
zou zĳn eene fiducia specialis, dat mĳ de zonden vergeven zĳn;
vertrouwen is vrucht van het geloof in den wil en kan eerst op de
rechtvaardigmaking volgen, wĳl anders de Protestanten zelf niet
zouden kunnen volhouden, dat alleen het geloof rechtvaardigt; in
vertrouwen zit immers ook hoop en liefde in. Dit geloof als
toestemming is daarom bĳ Rome onvoldoende ter rechtvaardiging,
het is met andere werkzaamheden wel eene voorbereiding ervan,
maar is in zichzelf informis en moet door de liefde eene fides formata
worden. Bĳ Rome is het geloof nog in het geheel niet eene
persoonlĳke, religieuse verhouding tot God, het draagt een inleidend
karakter en is voor een groot deel fides implicita, een voor waar
aannemen van alles, quod credit sacrosancta mater ecclesia. De
persoonlĳke relatie tot God komt eerst in de liefde tot stand, en deze
is het dan ook die rechtvaardigt en zalig maakt, cf. boven bl. 442 en
deel I 476. In het wezen der zaak komt daarmede de opvatting van
het geloof in de Grieksche kerk, bĳ Socinianen, Remonstranten,
Rationalisten enz. overeen; het is op zichzelf niets dan een
historisch voor waar houden, eigenlĳk geen religieus maar een
erkenntnisstheoretisch begrip, niet uit de Schrift geput maar van het
gewone, dagelĳksche spraakgebruik in de theologie ingedragen. De
Hervorming heeft echter niet gevraagd: wat is gelooven in het
algemeen? en daarnaar het religieuse begrip des geloofs bepaald,
maar zĳ ging naar de Schrift terug, onderzocht welke beteekenis en
plaats deze aan het geloof toekende, kwam daardoor tot eene
geheel andere opvatting van de fides salvifica en zeide antithetisch
tegenover Rome: het is niet alleen een firmus assensus maar ook
een certa fiducia; het geloof is de centrale, persoonlĳke, religieuse
verhouding des menschen tot God. Maar het valt niet te ontkennen,
dat deze bepaling des geloofs eigenaardige moeilĳkheden
medebracht en tot allerlei verschillende zienswĳzen aanleiding gaf.
Ten eerste moest spoedig de vraag opkomen, in welke verhouding
deze beide elementen des geloofs tot elkander staan. Van den
aanvang af stelden sommigen den zetel van het geloof in het
verstand, omschreven het liefst door cognitio certa, certitudo, en
beschouwden de fiducia als een gevolg en vrucht van het geloof in
den wil; anderen zochten het wezen des geloofs in de fiducia en
deden het zetelen in het hart. Later ontwikkelde zich dit verschil tot
de tegenstelling van orthodoxie en pietisme; de orthodoxie wilde
door het verstand tot het hart, door de leer tot het leven komen en
werd dikwerf onverschillig voor het leven; het pietisme bewandelde
den omgekeerden weg en achtte menigmaal de leer van geringe
beteekenis. Ten tweede kwam er spoedig verschil over de
verhouding van geloof en rechtvaardigmaking. De Reformatie had
het geloof opgevat als cognitio of fiducia certa, dat Christus mĳn
Zaligmaker is en dat mĳ de zonden vergeven zĳn. Maar het scheen,
dat deze zekerheid niet aan de rechtvaardigmaking vooraf kon gaan
doch daarop volgen moest; zoo werd er sedert Gomarus tusschen
een actus directus en reflexus des geloofs, tusschen
toevluchtnemend en verzekerd vertrouwen, tusschen wezen en
welwezen des geloofs onderscheid gemaakt. Dit verschil leidde later
tot de tegenstelling van nomisme en antinomisme; het nomisme
meende, dat er allerlei conditiën en bevindingen aan de zekerheid
van de vergeving der zonden moesten voorafgaan en stelde het
wezen des geloofs dus in een zoeken, hongeren, dorsten naar
Christus enz.; het antinomisme achtte dit alles overbodig, eene
verĳdeling van het werk van Christus en omschreef het geloof als
vaste overtuiging, dat de zonden vergeven zĳn. Ten derde eindelĳk
was de verhouding van geloof en werk moeilĳk te omschrĳven. Het
was een levend geloof, fides sola doch niet solitaria, dat volgens de
Hervorming rechtvaardigde. In tegenstelling met alle werken
staande, mocht het geloof dus eenerzĳds volstrekt geen werk zĳn.
Daar moet, zegt Comrie, Heid. Cat. Voorrede XXVI Nĳkerk Malga
1856, cf. bl. 412, in de innerlĳke natuur van het geloof iets zĳn,
waardoor het van alle werken, hoe ook genaamd, onderscheiden is.
Aan de andere zĳde was het toch een levend geloof en dus wel een
werk en eene daad, want de potentia of habitus fidei, welke in de
wedergeboorte wordt ingeplant, is formaliter nog geen fides,
evenmin als een ei reeds een kip is, Voetius, Disp. II 403. 499. Dit
verschil over de verhouding van geloof en werk leidde in de practĳk
tot de tegenstelling van de lĳdelĳke en de werkdadige Christenen;
genen blĳven bĳ de rechtvaardigmaking staan en komen aan de
heiligmaking niet toe; dezen loopen gevaar de eerste te miskennen
en van de laatste afhankelĳk te maken.
Al deze bezwaren en gevaren echter, welke aan de
reformatorische opvatting van het geloof verbonden zĳn, pleiten niet
tegen maar voor haar. Rome heeft eene zeer eenvoudige en
bevattelĳke definitie van het geloof, maar doet daarmede juist te kort
aan den rĳkdom van dit begrip in de Schrift. Het geloof is toch geen
aannemen slechts van de getuigenis der apostelen aangaande
Christus, maar een band der ziel aan Christus zelf, die boven is,
gezeten aan de rechterhand Gods. Het is το ἐργον του θεου bĳ
uitnemendheid, Joh. 6:29, het een en al in het christelĳk leven, het
middel, waardoor wĳ Christus en al zĳne weldaden deelachtig
worden, de subjectieve bron van alle heil en zegen. Terwĳl het ons
door de Schrift bindt aan den historischen Christus, heft het ons
tegelĳk tot de onzienlĳke wereld op, en doet ons leven in
gemeenschap met den Heer uit den hemel. Waar het in den mensch
ook zetele, het werkt in op al zĳne vermogens en krachten, geeft er
richting en leiding aan, beheerscht zĳn verstand en zĳn hart, zĳn
denken en doen, zĳn leven en handelen; Christenen zĳn geloovigen,
πιστοι. Het is mystisch en noetisch, receptief en spontaan, passief
en actief, eene tegenstelling van alle werken en zelf het werk Gods
bĳ uitnemendheid, middel ter rechtvaardiging en beginsel der
heiligmaking, heel ons leven begeleidend en eerst bĳ den dood
overgaande in aanschouwing. Het is niet meer dan natuurlĳk, dat de
theologie ermede worstelt, om van dit geloof eene eenigszins juiste
omschrĳving te geven. En zelfs indien haar dit gelukken mocht, is zĳ
toch nooit bĳ machte het leven te beheerschen en alle
eenzĳdigheden en dwalingen in de practĳk te voorkomen. Toch is het
mogelĳk, in de heilsorde aan het geloof die plaats en beteekenis te
geven, welke naar de Schrift eraan toekomt. 1o Daartoe dient op den
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Citizenship Vol I What is Citizenship Theories of

Print Culture and Peripheries in Early Modern Europe

KnotMonsters Organ edition 11 amigurumi crochet patterns

Reconfiguring Citizenship Social Exclusion and Diversity

The Divine Farmer s Materia Medica A Translation of the

Changing Citizenship 1st Edition Osler

Citizenship 1st Edition Richard Yarwood

Law and Citizenship 1st Edition Law Commission Of Canada

The increasing awareness of the human impact on the environment is

Benito Cao is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Adelaide,

© 2015 Benito Cao

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

ISBN: 978-0-415-63779-4 (hbk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

Part I Concepts and theories 9

Part II Actions and practices 105

Part III Pedagogies and representations 205

1.1 Aristotle’s Scala Naturae, or Great Chain of Being 13

7.1 The Goody Patch 215

1.1 Major environmental disasters 19

Series Editor: Timothy Doyle,

Professor of Politics and International Studies, University of Adelaide,

understand the important issues that occupy academics, both as teachers

The map is not the territory.

citizenship. As a field of study, environmental citizenship is essentially a

variation of the painting is simple but highly effective: instead of the

Structure of the book

three parts is closely interrelated, reflecting the dynamics of the world

means to be a citizen, environmental or otherwise, in the twenty-first

Chapter 3 explores how different theories of citizenship have been

Part II explores the practical dimension of environmental citizenship,

Chapter 4 explores the relation between conceptions of citizenship

Chapter 5 explores the greening of government with special attention

of globalization are still based on inherent inequalities and problematic

Chapter 7 explores the making of green citizens and outlines the

Preliminary considerations and additional materials

Textbooks require some level of selection and simplification. The fact

a textbook that seeks to develop the reader’s understanding of the basic

Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.

Environmental citizenship is definitely an idea whose time has come.

Environment is a contested concept. That is to say, there is no agreed

But without a specific referent, this tells us little. We need to know

Realm of Being Demons

Realm of Becoming Plants

The anthropocentric tradition was strengthened during the centuries that

The ecocentric view can be found in ancient paganism, indigenous

The environment emerged as a major point of contention and an issue

Figure 1.2 Rachel Carson,

government policies for the benefit of the environment and in the

on the Human Environment (1972), the first global conference to deal

Major environmental disasters

ever since and regained prominence following the nuclear meltdown in

5. Tegen deze inwendige roeping en wedergeboorte wordt echter

§ 45. Geloof en Rechtvaardigmaking.