# 4

It was interesting how Kohak portrayed the various perceptions of nature overtime. As I began to read about the view of the hunter-gathers who were intimidated by nature and seemed to be at its mercy, I thought it was interesting how Kohak paralleled it to their perception and respect for God. I thought Kohak did a good job of explaining why our early ancestors made many sacrifices to what I always thought of as "false gods"; they made these sacrifices because they viewed God's all-powerful prescence and might through nature. Their respect for nature reflected their dependence and respect to God. I feel, to a certain extent,it is still like this today; nature is indefferent to human suffering in a sense that we are still at its mercy. It is not always something we can control or predict, which may be a reason why we feel the need to continue to destroy it and attepmt to conquer it. I think this reflects how people often tend to ignore God, hoping that through their lack of acknowledgement He will exist less and less. The fear of the unknown, whether it is the unpredictability of nature or the prescence of God, leads to our attempt to conquer or ignore.

The second mode of experiencing nature that Kohak presents us with is the mode of a shepherd. Humans work hard to bing frutility from nature; we work with nature to provide what we need while respecting nature and taking care of it. The result stems from how generous we are to what surrounds us. There is no longer a total dependence, but a partnership. I think this is easier for humans because there is a sense of control, more than the hunter-gatherers possessed. To me, I could relate to this view more. Nature becomes the work of God, rather than God itself; a gift for us to use and to show respect to the world God gave us.

The third view Kohak presents is that of a craftsman. Daily contact with nature is reduced as consuming becomes the driving force. Humans are still dependent on the nature that surrounds them, however, they are less aware of their dependence. Nature to them is still a gift, but one to use. I think this view is more prevelant today, but it is distorted as people are forgetting how precious this gift is.
I agree with Kohak as he explains that our current meaning of life seems to stem from material goods, and obtaining as much as possible. Our view of happiness is distorted as we believe the more we have, the better our life will be; we are no longer happy with just having what we need. Humans have began to distance themselves from God, thus, distancing themselves from his gifts and placing "the human being" at the center. This is where our greed takes place and our mistreatment of our environment begins. When Kohak states, "humans are not intruders in virtue of their nature but in virtue of certain acts", I believe he is correct (64). Nature is for us to share, but it is our disregard that alienates us from this precious gift.