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Pope: Tree Hugging Animist New Agers “Close to Christianity”

Pope: Tree Hugging Animist New Agers “Close to Christianity”

Last updated on: January 19, 2025 at 7:24 pm by Gregory T. Smith

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Pope: Tree Hugging Animist New Agers “Close to Christianity” 2025-01-19T19:24:10-08:00 Gregory T. Smith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Once, I would have told you that tree-hugging New Agers were nuts! But a careful study of the Bible showed me that they are right!

Image by Arnie Bragg from Pixabay

In my last article, “What If the Universe is Alive?” I discussed writing a novel years ago, set in a fantasy world where everything was alive. Crazy idea, I thought! I based the notion on all the poetic scriptures that symbolically depict a sentient creation. But the more I studied, the more I found them beyond metaphor. I invite you to check out my last article, where I describe a cognizant cosmos, living landscapes, and perceptive plant life.

Here, I will continue the investigation, to discuss animal awareness, and the history of animism in Christian thought. World Religion Day is celebrated in January. There is no better time to discuss similarities between what many consider to be very different faiths. Let’s see how Christianity, Judaism, and Neo paganismshare a common thread of animism.

Aware Animals

Balaam’s donkey is just one scriptural example of hyper-aware animals. In Numbers 22, King Balak of Moab wants to curse the Israelites before he meets them in battle. (For more on blessings and curses, click to read my articles, “Foiled Again! Blessings and Curses in the Hebrew Bible” and “Foiled Again! Blessings and Curses in the New Testament.”) Accepting the king’s coin, the prophet Balaam saddles his donkey and sets out to curse the advancing Hebrew armies.

The story says that God dispatches an angel with a flaming sword to stop him. Yet, Balaam’s donkey sees the angel at a distance and refuses to go any further. Angered, Balaam beats the donkey, whose complaint turns to conversation. Verses 28-32 say:

Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!”

But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way?” And he said, “No.”

Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed down, falling on his face.

Balaam’s donkey is not alone in exhibiting such intelligence. Similarly, God can appoint any creature from worms to whales to do divine bidding. And the trick is that they discern this holy mission and obey.

Modern readers interpret these stories in one of two ways. Some interpret Balaam’s donkey as a miracle, where God breaks the rules and allows the animal to speak. Others understand this as a fictitious tale that expresses a larger truth, while denying the ludicrous notion that animals could have the capacity for speech. Most modern readers forget (or are unaware) that the original author and readers inhabited an animistic world in which a talking donkey was not at all unexpected. This means we have more in common with our shamanistic friends than we might think!

The Universe is Alive!

Working on my allegory, I searched the scriptures to see what poetic imagery the authors used to suggest a sentient creation. I found no lack of examples. In fact, I discovered so much language depicting a cognizant creation that it dawned on me—while the language is often poetic, it isn’t always a metaphor! According to the worldview of the ancient writers of scripture, this universe is alive!

Christians who claim to have a “biblical worldview” should not balk at their Pagan siblings who speak of nature spirits or sentient elemental forces. Instead, they should recognize that our own scriptures testify to the same thing. While Christians and Neopagans disagree on the identities or natures of these natural/supernatural/supranatural beings, modern Christians should recognize the long tradition of animism in our own faith.

Nature Can Be Our Teacher

In the Hebrew Book of Job, the titular character tells his friends that nature can be our teacher:

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,

    the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you,

    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

Who among all these does not know

    that the hand of the Lord has done this?

In his hand is the life of every living thing

    and the breath of every human being (Job 12:7-10).”

By this, Job means more than “study the animals and you can learn from them.” Job’s worldview encouraged relating to the universe as if it were alive. Animals, plants, fish, birds, rocks, streams, the earth, and sky—all the natural elements possessed spirits. Each one was capable of teaching a person something if only they had the eyes to see and the ears to hear.

Animism in the Bible

Today, Christians struggle with the animism they find in the Bible. Usually, we choose to overlook it. We view these many scriptures as metaphors because that’s the only way we can accept the Bible as a legitimate testimony. But, in making them metaphors, we stray from the understanding of the original authors.

If we embrace at least the possibility of animism without discarding it out of hand, we might find ourselves in the company of spiritual giants. People like Noah and John the Baptist, listening to the spiritual leadership of a dove. People like Moses, who heeded a voice from a bush. Those like the Magi, who followed a star to Bethlehem. Each of these attended to the witness of natural elements, and so found blessing.

Brother Sun and Sister Moon

Following in their footsteps are Christian greats like Saint Francis of Assisi, who preached to birds and referred to “Brother Sun” and Sister Moon.” Then there’s Pope John Paul II, who wrote that animists are “particularly close to Christianity.” And let’s not forget Thomas Merton who “declared that every non two-legged creature is a saint.”

“Furthermore,…every plant that stands in the light of the sun is a saint and an outlaw. Every tree that brings forth blossoms without the command of man is powerful in the sight of God. Every star that man has not counted is a world of sanity and perfection. Every blade of grass is an angel singing in a shower of glory. These are worlds of themselves. No man can use or destroy them.”

This Is My Father’s World

Christians who regard Neopagans as kooks because of their animistic worldview forget that the Bible is suffuse with animism. One need not become purely animistic to appreciate the scriptural testimony that the universe is alive. If we were to value the viewpoint of the scriptural writers, we would find much more in common with our “heathen” sisters and brothers. Further, we would understand the depth of meaning in great hymns such as Maltbie D. Babcock’s “This Is My Father’s World (1901).” I leave you with these words:

This is my Father’s world,

And to my listening ears

All nature sings, and round me rings

The music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world:

I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas–

His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world:

The birds their carols raise,

The morning light, the lily white,

Declare their Maker’s praise.

This is my Father’s world:

He shines in all that’s fair;

In the rustling grass I hear Him pass,

He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world:

O let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the Ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world:

Why should my heart be sad?

The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!

God reigns; let earth be glad!

For related reading, check out my other articles:

World Religion Day: How Christians Can Honor Other Faiths
Christians & Pagan Holidays: Groundhogs, Candlemas & Imbolc
Click to view my article category: “Heathen Christianity.”

New Visions

Religion News

Talking donkey in the Bible

This is my Father's World

World Religion Day

About Gregory T. Smith

I live in the beautiful Fraser Valley of British Columbia and work in northern Washington State as a behavioral health specialist with people experiencing homelessness and those who are overly involved in the criminal justice system. Before that, I spent over a quarter-century as lead pastor of several Virginia churches. My newspaper column, “Spirit and Truth” ran in Virginia newspapers for fifteen years. I am one of fourteen contributing authors of the Patheos/Quoir Publishing book “Sitting in the Shade of another Tree: What We Learn by Listening to Other Faiths.” I hold a degree in Religious Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University, and also studied at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. My wife Christina and I have seven children between us, and we are still collecting grandchildren. You can read more about the author here. You can read more about the author here.

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