Page - 31 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/02

Comfort the Waste Places, Defend the Violated Earth | 31www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/2, 21–33 personification of the devastated city as a woman in new ways, so also Chap- man takes a long-held trope of earth as feminine to inspire action on a new crisis. Symbolic representations of women and earth reliant on double mes- saging are imbedded in both Chapman’s and Deutero-Isaiah’s songs. Conclusion By combining an analysis of ancient biblical passages with a contemporary musical response to environmental catastrophe we can interrogate inherit- ed theological assumptions and highlight previously downplayed aspects of received texts. Chapman’s music does not refer to Deutero-Isaiah’s proclama- tion song regarding Zion’s future. Speaking originally to Judah’s exilic crisis, the songs of Zion may not have envisaged our current climate emergency. However, overlapping metaphorical references in the song and the text to mothers, sexual violence, and environmental consequences of human actions make them fascinating interlocutors. At their heart, Chapman’s songs and Zion’s oracles are calls for justice. The inherent injustice of ecological degra- dation is that despite its affecting us all, it invariably disproportionately af- fects the poor and vulnerable, often women and children.43 Therefore, Deute- ro-Isaiah’s casting of Zion as a grieving woman who has lost her children and Chapman’s casting of the world as a mother tap into the plight of the people who suffer most. The interrelationality of how we treat the human other (as sexual objects to be conquered; by intervening to defend/rescue; in empower- ing women) can transfer our attitudes to the earth and creation. This creative engagement can lead to heightened awareness about theolog- ical imperatives for human involvement and responsibility for ecological stew- ardship. By combining these readings with an ecofeminist analysis, we can appreciate the limitations of perpetuating ecological connections to tropes of rape and sexual violence. These tropes are not therefore no longer useful, for they hold potential for reframing understandings of the power of women. Problematising both sexual assault and ecological disaster provides an implicit challenge for transformative social action. Engaging Deutero-Isaiah’s ancient metaphors can awaken a greater appreciation of the need to advocate verbally 43 See Dawson/Pope 2014, chap. 4.2 on the effect of climate change on the poor. Gaard observes, “Many writers note that toxic pesticides, chemical wastes, acid rain, radiation, and other pollutants take their first toll on women, women’s reproductive systems, and children” (Gaard 1993, 5).