Category Archives: environment

exiles

I picked up a copy of Michael Frost’s Exiles based on the recommendation of John. John reads about fifty books a week but his review of this particular book grabbed my attention.

I went to Quo Vadis to buy it, and the first time it was out of stock. My second trip to the store was successful, and I brought home my copy.

I am surprised at how I resonate with the ideas in this book. I am barely even in the second chapter, and I have underlined a significant portion of the text. I hope the remainder of the book does not disappoint.

Frost speaks of the materialism of our day,

“Like a pagan Babylonian religion, it demands all our attention, insisting on everything we have to offer, until in the end all our efforts are bent into its service. As a result, the empire thrives on inequality, injustice, opression, and deceit. The greed inspired by such a world leads to environmental destruction, religious persecution, and apathy towards suffering. Today, we need tenacious followers of Jesus who are prepared to make fun of the powerlessness of these gods and their inability to save or to heal. This will take not only our words, but also our actions, our radical lifestyles.”

college times

There’s an interesting article in the latest edition of the College Times called Free for All: For groups popping up around the country, buying new stuff is out. Trading among friends is in.

The author interviews a woman named Kristin Hyde who has organized a yahoo group called “nonewstuffseattle.” They are inspired to try to buy nothing new except for food and necessities (like health and safety). They want to reduce their consumption of goods.

What a fabulous idea. I really liked the motivation of the people involved and the way they use community to motivate them to live more simply and more thoughtfully.

The article linked to a “Freecycle” group in order to help reduce consumption of new goods. Interestingly enough, freecycle was started in Tucson to reduce waste and the need for landfills.