The water crises in Flint and Detroit are more universal than we readily see. In mainstream U.S. culture, we view water as a “resource.”
Rather than a gift from God which is necessary for all of creation to flourish, or a living relative with which we share kinship in God’s creation, most of us view water as a commodity. However, we don’t just do this to water: we do it to people, and to entire communities.
Commodification of God’s creation and people in the United States and Canada has deep roots in the Doctrine of Discovery, heretical teachings pushed forward through Christian institutions to justify theft, slavery, and genocide in the colonial era by putting white Europeans at the top of a Church-sanctioned racial hierarchy.
Today, those of us born and raised in the United States too often unconsciously perpetuate the systemic racism and greed with which our continent was colonialized.
The Christian Reformed Church is one of many denominations that has taken the symbolic action of repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery. The concrete actions required to undo its horrific legacy in our hearts, minds, and society require us to follow our faith into a very counter-cultural lifestyle. It takes conscious decisions every day, and only by the grace of God can we change.
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