Welcome to my Spring 2023 seminary projects on Biomimicry and Theology. If you are here, you are special because you’ve received a personal invitation to this private page. Take a look around. You will find the following:
Integrative project (below)
Biomimicry and Theology Week A Bible Studies
Journal from Biomimicry Immersion in Costa Rica 2022
The Wond’ry Ideator Program microgrant pitch (which I won and is helping me go to Living Systems Leadership Retreat)
Article for BioLogos- Biomimicry: Imitating God’s Genius
The following presentation is the background of how I produced my project using Biomimicry. You may skip and scroll below for an example of the project. If you do the presentation, when you get to the QR code just scroll below and read and then come back to finish the presentation. Thank you!
Prologue
This has been a long, arduous journey to get to the point where I could sit down and begin writing. And as soon as I began to write, I began telling you about the Bible. I started writing about the oral tradition, canonization and the Council of Nicea; I started teaching you about the Bible and then I remembered that with Biomimicry, you move from learning about to learning from. The whole reason I am writing this devotional is because of Biomimicry, but what is it?
First, let me tell you how I was introduced to Biomimicry. In 2014, I decided to go to graduate school to study Sustainability. I thought it would help me work with Christian churches to remind them of the Biblical mandate to care for creation while giving them practical applications in their setting. That was my lens in which I approached every class project. On the first day of my Biomimicry class, the instructor introduced the study as “the imitation of life’s genius.” I am unsure of what my body was doing while I retreated into my brain and had this conversation with myself:
Me: Did she just say Biomimicry is “the imitation of life’s genius?”
Yes, she did.
Me: And who is the creator of life?
We believe God is the creator of life.
Me: So, Biomimicry is “the imitation of God’s genius?”
Yes!
Me: Woah!
The definition of Biomimicry has evolved to “learning from and then emulating nature’s forms, processes, and ecosystems to create more sustainable designs.” I love Biomimicry, but I doubt if that definition had been used in 2014 that I would have made the same connection to God. So, we’re going to use the definition that changed the way I thought, and think, about God. Biomimicry is the imitation of God’s genius.
What was such an embarrassing “a-ha” moment for me in class was realizing that God was not just the creator of what could be seen, like a tree, but also the system within the tree that can transport water and nutrients from the soil to the canopy without a pump, and how this could inform the way we plumb buildings. Or, the baleen of a whale’s mouth allows water and fish to go through the feather-like structure, but only allows water back out catching the fish. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about Jonah caught up in a whale’s baleen!
Throughout this devotional, I will share some interesting facts regarding the community of creation so we can go “Wow, that’s genius God!” It’s a way for us to not only reconnect with God, but the God-created. It’s using a spiritual lens I created for Biomimicry. Another way we are going to look at Biomimicry is through Life’s Principles (LPs): “consistently repeated principles within just about every organism and ecosystem on Earth.” The thing is, when you are not using them to design a product, you can use them metaphorically to help you look at human problems in a new way. I will be using LPs metaphorically for this project. There is one other thing to consider: earth’s operating conditions (EOCs). All of these principles are subject to earth’s operating conditions: sunlight, water, and gravity; dynamic non-equilibrium; limits and boundaries; and cyclic processes. These are Earth’s, but we believe God is the creator of Earth, so what were and are God’s operating conditions? The Trinity comes to mind: God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, but those names, at least for me, have lost some meaning because people use those names in what I consider to be “in vain,” meaning when they are used I do not recognize anything Godly, Jesus-y, or Holy Spirit-like in their context. I chose Love, Compassion, and Relationships as God’s operating conditions (OCs). What I hope you will find in this project is an opportunity to experience God in a meaningful way while opening your eyes to the genius of creation that surrounds us every day if we are willing to see it.
Introduction
It is always interesting when I look back to see how I got to where I am today. Curiosity is usually a theme. When thinking about Biomimicry and how I believe it is the imitation of God’s genius I began to get curious. Earth’s Operating Conditions and Life’s Principles must be God-made as well, right? I mean, if God is the creator then God set these conditions and principles to coax life on this planet. I believe God gave us two “books” to read: the Bible and nature to help us know, learn, and experience God. If nature has operating conditions that ALL life is subject to and principles that ALL life exhibits in order to “create conditions conducive to life” then might the Bible, the inspired word of God, exhibit these as well?
We will be using Biomimicry’s Life’s Principles metaphorically, looking at the Bible as a whole to see if there are patterns of Life’s Principles in Week A. We will use Week B to look at the sub-principles in order to inform our reading of specific scriptures within the Bible.
Week A- Life’s Principle: Evolve to Survive
Dr. Matthew Sleeth, former emergency room doctor, eco-evangelist, and author wrote a book called Reforesting Faith. In it, Dr. Sleeth recounts the evolution of the Biblical story through trees. Consistent use of trees in the Bible, Sleeth insists, “points to one Author” even though the Bible was written over the centuries by many people. The Biblical story can be told through three trees. The first tree, the Tree of Life, is in Genesis in the garden of Eden. This very same tree appears in the very last book of the Bible, Revelation. Bookended by the Tree of Life, is the second tree, the cross where Jesus died and ignited life through resurrection. “Every significant theological event in the Bible is marked by a tree… every major character in the Bible appears in conjunction with a tree.”
When you encounter trees, vines, bushes, walking staffs, crosses, etc., in the Bible you should get excited. You may even hear music, like the infamous two note theme song from Jaws, playing in your head. Da dum… da dum… You want to be super aware… something’s about to happen.
DivineSite
Have you realized there are systems within the human body that look a lot like systems on the earth! Both “create conditions conducive to life.” If the consistent use of trees through the Biblical story points to one Author then the replication of the following strategies must point to that genius Author as well! Can you tell from the following which is a picture of a tree canopy and an x-ray of human lungs?
There are a lot of similarities! The picture on the left is an x-ray of the bronchial tree of our lungs!
Can you tell what is below?
On the left is a picture I took of a river system in Costa Rica. Think back to the fifth grade when you learned about the hydrologic cycle. The river system is the part where water is transported from land to the ocean where water evaporates into the atmosphere and is then returned to the land through rain and the cycle continues. On the right is an illustration of our body's blood circulatory system made up of veins, arteries, and capillaries. The heart pumps blood to the lungs (remember bronchial tree above) to receive oxygen and then through the body via arteries. Oxygen depleted blood returns to the heart via veins. These cycles “create conditions conducive to life.” We could not survive without inputs from the hydrologic cycle. Is this coincidence or the genius design of our Creator? It makes me smile to think that God replicated this strategy and is winking at us saying “well, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” or “work smarter, not harder.”
Week B- Life’s Principle: Evolve to Survive-continually incorporate and embody information to ensure enduring performance.
When I think of the Bible and evolving to survive there are many contexts that come up, but one in particular, is translations. Without translations, you and I would need to know how to read Hebrew and Aramaic to understand the Old Testament and Greek to understand the New Testament. Honestly, I have been trying to learn Spanish over the last couple of years and have made very little progress so I can’t imagine learning languages where I also have to learn a new alphabet, draw characters, and read from right to left.
That’s enough ABOUT translations, what can we learn FROM translations? In Biomimicry, curiosity is a key starting point. We often look at an organism and ask questions that begin with “I wonder.” I wonder why the original languages were translated to English? I think I just answered that question, English speakers would need to learn three new languages! I wonder why it was important that the Bible was translated to English? Greater dispersal of not only the Word of God, but life-giving words? I wonder why we need so many translations? Ahhh…while attending a Biomimicry immersion in California in March 2023 we were given a worksheet titled “Building Bridges Between Biology and Design.” There were 30 statements where we had to decide if the language used would be understandable for the conversation partners.
Example: Biologist to Architect: The pores in human skin are spiral shaped to increase the ability to sweat.
This is not a good translation for an architect to understand what the biologist is thinking in terms of architectural design (but how cool is it that our pores are spiral shaped to increase the ability to sweat?!)
Translations matter. One of my favorite scriptures in the Old Testament is Genesis 16:13. It is from the story of Hagar. Hagar is Sarai’s (aka Sarah) servant whom she gives to Abram (aka Abraham) to conceive a child. Once Hagar conceives, the relationship between Sarai and Hagar deteriorates so dramatically that a pregnant Hagar runs away. An angel of the Lord speaks to Hagar in the wilderness.
“So Hagar gave this name to the Lord Who spoke to her, “You are a God Who sees.” For she said, “Have I even stayed alive here after seeing Him?” ”
Meh.
Read this translation!
“Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.”[a] She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” ”
Read them both again.
“You are a God who sees.” versus “You are the God who sees me.”
“Have I even stayed alive here after seeing Him?” versus “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
These sound very different to me. If you have ever felt unseen because (insert reason here) then maybe Hagar’s declaration to God that “you are the God who sees me” resonates deep within your soul. Being truly seen for who you are feels like a gift and this is how I read Hagar’s story. And then for Hagar to say, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” This is not Hagar declaring she has seen God, but she has seen the reflection of herself through God’s eyes. Beloved. That is enduring.
As Christians, continually incorporating and embodying what we learn from scriptures leads to a life filled with love, compassion, and relationships with God and all of creation. That’s how we Evolve to Survive in this modern world.
The Biology- Evolve to Survive: continually incorporate and embody information to ensure enduring performance.
Evolution is change that spans generations. It arises through mutations in the code of an individual or from sexual reproduction that recombines genes. Those with beneficial traits usually survive to then pass on this genetic code to their offspring. As the environment changes, success is dependent upon this trait being passed successively through many generations to affect the entire population for a true genetic shift.
Many believe color in nature is due to pigments, but there are also colors created by structure! “Structural color is caused by wavelength-selective scattering of light by microscopic features” like the scales that compose one side of blue ‘Morpho butterfly wings. Various ecological pressures have caused the evolution of this structural color mechanism. “‘Morpho are relatively fast-flying butterflies often considered difficult to capture… as a result of the marked but intermittent signalling emitted by their wings, irregular and ever-changing in nature as they beat rapidly in flight, hiding and exposing successively” the glossy blue top side and the brown underside of their wings. This dynamic flash coloration may have evolved to confuse predators with their erratic flight trajectory. How genius is not only the structural color mechanism, but the flight pattern!
Blue ‘Morpho butterfly’s erratic flight pattern. Private video courtesy of Hideaki in Costa Rica.
DivineSite: Life’s Principle: Evolve to Survive: continually incorporate and embody information to ensure enduring performance.
Find a safe, comfortable place in nature. Close your eyes and place your hands over your heart. Give yourself permission to be fully present during this time. Take slow, cleansing breaths. Proceed through the meditation at your own pace.
Receive these words. “You are the God who sees me.”
Meditate on these words. “You are the God who sees me.”
Express your response to these words. “You are the God who sees me.”
Revel in these words and what they mean to you. “You are the God who sees me.”
Open your eyes.
Move your body to allow your gaze to take in all that is around you, the God-made. “You are the God who sees me.” You are surrounded and part of God’s creation. What you are experiencing is also experiencing you. Did you sense a change in the birds’ singing? Did a bee change course? What is life doing below your feet, feeling the vibrations of your movement? We are connected. Breathe that in. We are connected. We are all God-made. The only difference is that we were made in the image of God. We are to reflect that love God applied to create all things back to God’s creation. With your vision expanded, do you see how God sees God’s own creation? Do you see God’s creation as God sees it? It is very good. Put this vision together and can you see how God sees us all as one creation?
“You are the God who sees me. Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
How do you feel after this meditation? Do you feel (re)connected to God? Has your view of yourself changed? Has your view of the God-created changed? What will you do each day to absorb this experience so it becomes something you naturally experience?