THE⋅JRI⋅BRIEFING PAPERS – No.7
True 'Creation Spirituality': Original Blessing and Original Sin ~ a critique of Matthew Fox’s theology ~ Who is Matthew Fox? The book Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality was published in 1983. Its author was a Roman Catholic priest and Dominican, living in California, named Matthew Fox. In 1990 he was expelled by the Dominican Order, and invited into ordination in the US Episcopalian Church (part of the world Anglican communion). Since then Fox has continued speaking and writing, and has founded an institute for ‘Creation Spirituality’ at Holy Name (R.C.) College, where he teaches. My aim is to set out Fox’s main ideas in a way that is helpful even to those who have not read any of his writings.
Matthew Fox's 'Four Paths' a) Via Positiva: "Befriending awe and wonder." Celebrate creation and do not treat it with disdain. Earthiness is good. b) Via Negativa: "Befriending loss and letting go." Be empty, be emptied and be content to be nothing. (But don't annihilate ourselves.) Welcome silence, let pain strip us of our cover-ups. c) Via Creativa: "Celebrating the artist and artisan in each of us." See ourselves as 'divine' and creative.
Why is he important? Matthew Fox’s approach attracts many Christians who are searching for a more ‘creation-friendly’ spirituality and liturgy. However although Fox is correct in identifying defects in some streams of Christianity, his response leads him into serious doctrinal errors.
d) Via Transformativa: “Compassion that transforms and brings about justice." We and all creation shall be transformed, and we are in the process of being transformed.
To me, the book Original Blessing is like a river. A myriad ripples enliven the surface, and each is interesting. Some are beautiful, some are of value, some less so. Creation Spirituality is the obvious main current of the river, but there is a dangerous undercurrent which is not immediately apparent to those who see only the surface.
Fox proposes that the traditional ‘threefold path’ be replaced by four paths to the true Christian life of his Creation Spirituality. In Fox’s writings the theological applications of these ‘paths’ falls into doctrinal error. However, they are in themselves mostly biblical, and remind us of the essential goodness of God’s creation, the ‘original blessing’ of Genesis 1.
Fox coined ‘Original Blessing’ as a counter to the idea of Original Sin, and he sees it as an antithesis and antidote to what he calls a ‘Fall-Redemption’ view. I aim to show that Fall and Redemption are both necessary to any true ‘Creation Spirituality’. The Four Paths Fox proposes ‘Four Paths’ to delineate what he feels is important in the light of the ambivalence of some streams of Christianity in their attitude towards God’s creation. The language of ‘paths’ should be understood in the context of Christian mysticism, which historians define as an approach to God comprised of a threefold path: preparation, illumination, and union. Fox argues that this categorisation does not do justice to the true mystical tradition, in that it leaves out a delight in creation, and omits a concern for justice.
a) Via Positiva. Biblical texts like Genesis 1, Job 38,39, Romans 8, Hebrews 1:1-3, as well as details in the Mosaic Law, and above all the Incarnation of God, make clear that God’s creation has real value and that we should love and look after it for him. b) Via Negativa. Luke 9:23, Habakkuk 3:17-18, Galations 2:20 and much of Job point to an ‘emptying’ of ourselves before God, and a ‘resting in God’. c) Via Creativa. This can be seen in the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit and in God’s affirming of human activity, such as in Genesis 2:20, Exodus 31:3, Hebrews 6: 10 and the parable of the Talents.