Theology and religion > Theology and religion

Participatory Creation

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Brian:
Recently, I've been reading a lot of Wendell Berry, and he often talks about creation as viewed by the industrial economy, as something to be used up and consumed, vs. participatory creation.  I know that the idea of participatory creation has its roots in Catholic or Orthodox theology, and I've heard the phrase in other places, besides Berry, but does anyone know more about this concept?  Is there some notable Catholic or Orthodox thinker that discusses creation as being completed and/or perfected when human beings actively engage with it in a dynamic, non-consumerist way?  Any books or authors or recommendations would be appreciated.

RomanJoe:
JRR Tolkien used the term "sub-creation" in reference to man's use of imagination to create new worlds, stories, people, etc. He saw fantasy literature as the purest form of this. Sub-creation for Tolkien was a way of worshipping God, it was an emulation of the divine act of creation. I find it quasi-platonic, this idea that man has a natural inclination to imitate the divine through his artistic capacity, never actually achieving divine creation but merely approximating it.

More info here:
http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/node/1207

Brian:
Thanks Joe, looks interesting.  I'll check it out.  I was just thinking about reading through Lewis' Space Trilogy.  I started the one first one a couple months back, and then I moved, and didn't finish it.

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