Search

This essay explores the potential for eco-theology as a part of the (Christian) theological tradition that, so far, has only been analyzed to a limited extent with regard to what it might contribute to forms of theology that further more sustainable forms of humankind’s (co-)inhabitation of the world: the tradition of apophatic theology. The question is: ‘can dimensions of the apophatic tradition be identified that can contribute to the development of eco-theology in the Christian tradition by informing the shaping of the relationship between humankind and the rest of creation?’ The question will be answered affirmatively, for which this essay takes the following steps. First, the conditions under which apophatic approaches can inform the relationship between humankind and the rest of creation are considered. Second, a recent discussion of apophatic theology by Rowan Williams is used as a point of departure to discuss apophatic theology, epistemology and representation. Third, the theology of icons, expressive as it is by forms of relational and ‘decentered’ observation, that can be understood as being closely connected with apophatic concerns, is considered as a model for humankind’s relating to the rest of creation.

Environmental crisis is one of the major issues that humankind is facing today. The crisis can be discussed through a Christian perspective, as the relationship between Christianity and environment has been long discussed for its complexities. Eco-theology is one of the ways for Christianity to bridge its teaching to the environmental crisis. First Reformed, a 2017 film directed by Paul Schrader, is one of the films depicting the interplay between Christianity and environmentalism. This paper examines how First Reformed portrays the process of reconciling Christianity and environmentalism. Using Jürgen Moltmann’s eco-theological concept and Kierkegaard’s concept of despair, this article discovers that while First Reformed demonstrates the ways Christianity could be both an ally and an enemy of environmentalism, the film’s final message leans more towards the way the church can respond to the crisis through embracing insights and values beyond Christianity’s core doctrine that are more in line with environmental concerns, such as seeing nature as a female figure and the idea of harmony illustrated through a yin-yang symbolism.

Song 4:12-15 depicts the body of the bride as a 'locked garden' filled with fruits, exotic and medicinal plants and abundant freshwater. These luxuries are said to be plentiful and appealing but carry with them the threat of spoiling. In this way, the garden is ready for enjoyment, but forbidden (locked) at the same time. The geo-metaphor of the bride fits perfectly with the ancient belief of Mother Earth and resists the dominion drive of the Anthropocene. Dominance is alien to Canticles. The Book pledges that we can rediscover the lost paradise of Genesis 2 through love and partnership, not dominion. This article investigates which assumptions about nature are reflected in the author's use of nature metaphors to describe the sensual body of the bride. It makes use of insights of ecological sustainability, the principle of intrinsic worth from the six eco-justice principles of the Earth Bible Project and elements of historical-critical approaches to retrieve the ecological significance of Song 4:12-15. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS: This article explores whether the insights of eco-sustainability can be fruitfully used to retrieve ecological wisdom from the metaphor of Song 4 depicting the bride as a locked garden. It involves the disciplines of biblical exegesis, elements of ecological hermeneutics and insights from sustainability theories.

This article departed from the reality of forest exploitation on Buru Island by the community, the operation of PT. Gema Sanubari and the plywood industry in 1980, so that most of the forest became deforested. This article aimed to construct an ecotheology that derives from the values contained in sasi humah koin, in the context of nature conservation efforts. This study was conducted by qualitative method, by collecting data through in-depth interviews with the king, traditional figures, and community leaders in Fena Waekose. Based on the analysis carried out, the sasi humah koin contain value and at the same time can be an instrument in nature preservation effort. Thus, it can be concluded that Christian theology can dialogue with local wisdom that will give poser in nature conservation.Abstrak. Artikel ini mengacu dari realitas eksploitasi hutan di Pulau Buru oleh masyarakat, hadirnya PT. Gema Sanubari dan industri kayu lapis pada tahun 1980, sehingga sebagian besar hutan menjadi gundul. Tujuan artikel ini adalah mengembangkan ekoteologi yang bersumber dari nilai yang terkandung dalam sasi humah koin, dalam rangka upaya pelestarian alam. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif, dengan pengambilan data melalui wawancara mendalam dengan Raja, Tokoh Adat, dan Tokoh Masyarakat di Fena Waekose. Berdasarkan analisis yang dilakukan, sasi humah koin mengandung nilai dan sekaligus dapat menjadi instrument dalam upaya pelestarian alam. Dengan demikian, dapat disimpulkan bahwa teologi Kristen dapat berdialog dengan kearifan lokal untuk menjadi kekuatan dalam pelestarian alam.

Scholars in the field of theology and biblical studies have extensively explored eco-theology from Genesis creation narratives especially 1:26 and 28. In spite of the good numbers of literature in this field of study, less is known in the area of contextual eco-theology that focuses on Christians and environmental care in Uvwie, Nigeria. Therefore, using the eco-theology approach in the interpretation of Genesis 2:15, this paper examines the importance of Christians’ involvement in environmental care by using Uvwie Local Government Area of Nigeria as a focus point. Drawing on the understandings of דַ בָע) abad) and רַ מָ ש) shamar) in Genesis 2:15 which are translated to mean ‘to serve’, to ‘tend’, ‘to dress’ or to ‘care’, it argues that דַ בָע) abad) and רַ מָ ש) shamar) are veritable Biblical and theological bases for Christian involvement in environmental care in contemporary society such as Uvwie. It shows that Genesis 2:15 implies environmental stewardship and environmental conservation and as such a theological basis for Christians in Uvwie-land to develop a positive attitude towards the community and its environment and desist from dumping refuse indiscriminately in the community. As such this paper contributes to the discourse on climate issues in Africa. Besides, humanities scholars will appreciate the essentiality of Christians’ contribution to a sustainable clean and green environment by becoming custodians of God’s creation.

In the midst of the earth’s pressing climate catastrophe, the nexus between ecology and religion merits further investigation. In this article, I attempt to illuminate certain important aspects of this nexus by analyzing various Hindu eco-theological motifs, with a particular focus on those of the Hindu religious tradition known as Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism. I will compare and contrast the eco-theological motifs of Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism with those of other notable Hindu religious traditions and texts. Ultimately, I attempt to demonstrate that certain Caitanya Vaiṣṇava eco-theological motifs can, when properly interpreted and applied, serve as valuable environmentally oriented conceptual resources. I also argue that these eco-theological motifs can offset some of the conceptual pitfalls that limit the effectiveness of various pan-Hindu eco-theological motifs as conceptual resources for environmental amelioration. Although the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava eco-theological framework is not without conceptual hurdles, I nevertheless maintain that Caitanya Vaiṣṇava eco-theological motifs are worthy of further reflection.

Konstantnim razvojem suvremenoga društva čovjek se sve više brine oko napretka i usavršavanja raznih tehničkih, tehnoloških i drugih disciplina, pritom ne mareći što iscrpljuje prirodne resurse, uništava prirodu i zagađuje okoliš. Katolička Crkva svojom ekopedagogijom već desetljećima, na razne načine, pokušava razvijati ekološku svijest svih svojih vjernika, posebno srednjoškolaca, kako bismo vjerskim odgojem i obrazovanjem postali svjesni opasnosti koja bi nas jednog dana mogla zadesiti zbog neodgovornog ponašanja prema prirodi, koja je osnovno i jedino stanište ljudskog roda. Autor u radu prikazuje mogućnosti ekološkog osvješćivanja srednjoškolaca preko teološkoga i pedagoškog vida vjeronaučne nastave. Referirajući se na društveno-humanistički pristup odgoja i obrazovanja, prema dokumentu Nacionalni okvirni kurikulum za predškolski odgoj i obrazovanje te opće obvezno i srednjoškolsko obrazovanje, autor proučava sadržaj katoličkog vjerskog odgoja u dokumentu Plan i program katoličkog vjeronauka za četverogodišnje srednje škole, te razmatra mogućnosti i utjecaj vjeronaučne nastave pri razvijanju senzibilnosti srednjoškolaca za ekološke teme i odgovoran odnos prema očuvanju prirode, njezinih resursa i čistoće okoliša. Autor predlaže nove pedagoške principe u tumačenju uloge katoličke ekopedagogije i izbora njezinih sadržaja, ciljeva i metoda odgoja u vjeronaučnoj nastavi., With the constant development of modern society man has been increasingly concerned about the progress and improvement of various technical, technological and other disciplines without taking into account the exhaustion of natural resources, destroying nature and polluting environment. Through her eco-pedagogy the Catholic Church has been trying for decades, in various ways, to develop ecological awareness of all her faithful, especially the secondary school students, to become aware through religious education of the dangers that might befall us because of irresponsible behaviour toward nature, which is the basic and only habitat of human race. In the paper the author presents the possibilities of ecological awareness of secondary school students through theological and pedagogical aspect of religious education teaching. Referring to the Religious Education Syllabus for the four-year secondary schools, the author, studying the content of religious education, considers the opportunities and impacts of religious education teaching in developing the sensitivity of secondary school students to ecological topics and their responsible attitude towards nature conservation, its resources and environmental cleanliness.

This article explores the intersection between Karl Barth’s doctrine of creation and African Christology seeking to elicit similarities as well as differences. It argues that this intersection is contested and open to different understanding and interpretation. The common goal amongst the two doctrines is that they derive from biblical teachings about creation and the creator. However, there is also divergence between the doctrines. Barth’s point of departure in his doctrine of creation maintains the Covenant of God to humanity which is not extended to all creation. African Christology’s point of departure, on the other hand, maintains that the relations between God, humanity and all life-forms are sacred because of its intrinsic value and sacramental nature. From an African perspective, creation is mutually related and interconnected to the web of life. All life forms hold intrinsic value. It is argued that African Christology implicates Barth’s Christological focus as something that reveals Barth’s doctrine of creation as anthropocentric. Contribution:The article promotes a multi-disciplinary approach to eco-theology by exploring the intersection between Karl Barth’s doctrine of creation and an African Christological perspective on ecology. It implicates Christian anthropocentrism as a contributory factor to ecological degradation and suggests that African Christology is an important resource for developing a remedial eco-theology

This paper explores eco-theology, (post) humanism and what the author calls (post) human animal grace. The author explores the ways in which ecopoiesis and theopoiesis can be thought of together, as intersecting concepts. Ecopoiesis and theopoiesis are meant in more metaphoric ways, drawing on the Greek root of bringing forth, rather than on the Latin root of the poet writing poetry. (Post) human animal grace through the ecopoietic and the theopoietic together mean thinking about humans, animals, the earth, the cosmos and even machines as a web of inter-related and sacred beings. This paper draws on a wide variety of sources from Karl Rahner, to Jacques Derrida, from Wilfred Bion to Donna Haraway. This paper also draws on popular films, online gaming, popular music and even mysticism.

Most of the works on creation theology in the past have departed from a functional point of view with the assumption that creation is for the sake of human use, thus a means to an end. It has been believed that this utilitarian perception is supported by the sacred texts of theistic religions, saying that people were masters and possessors of the natural world. They were created in the likeness of God, ‘in His image’, and the rest of creation existed solely for human benefit, to serve a human need. If there is an issue regarding the protection of the environment, it is behind the logic of convenience. Thus, eco-theology aims to be a practical ethic controlling and shaping human behaviour towards the natural environment. This article discusses a different approach to nature that is not a utilitarian point of view, but mystical, which regards creation as self-disclosure of God, so that each has its intrinsic meaning for itself and there is genuine and deep respect for the integrity of creation. Contribution: This article gives an alternative approach to the issue on environment in the study of eco-theology. The approach is an Islamic mystical approach. It also promotes inter-religious studies on the subject and demonstrates the textual studies within Christian and Islamic traditions, and beyond.

This article shows how eco-theology could and should be indigenised in an African context using the Copperbelt in Zambia as a case study. The ecological crisis worldwide has given rise to the call for everyone to work together to start caring about our natural environment. In theology, the response to this call received the name eco-theology. By means of a literature review, ethnographic information and governmental legislation, the article tries to illustrate how eco-theology could and should be indigenised in an African context using the Copperbelt in Zambia as a case study. This article makes an attempt to contribute to the needed ecological renewal by reinterpreting two traditions that inform thinking on the Copperbelt: Christianity and African traditional religion. The supernatural belief of the Lamba people is no longer embodied in this creation, and it is not too late for the people to form any indigenous environmental protection movement to protect the sacredness of mother Earth from further contamination and exploitation by strengthening, maintaining and respecting the traditional teachings and the cultural laws. Obedience to God’s command to tend creation is a quest for continued creation by humans, so that value is added to what is already in existence. This is embodied making the place we live in more beautiful, appealing and peaceful. Fruitfulness with sustainability becomes core values for interdependence and earth keeping.Contribution: We wish to address the ecological situation of the mining industry in Zambia from a theological perspective by assessing the impact of the copper mining and processing industry on humans, their environment and nature and by showing how the traditions of African traditional religion (ATR) thought can be transformed into tools to oppose this ecological disaster.

The environmental crisis is producing an increasing number of both physical and psychological impacts. This article studies the challenge of eco-anxiety for pastoral care, drawing from both interdisciplinary research and ecological theology. The aim is to help both practitioners and researchers to encounter eco-anxiety more constructively. The rapidly growing research about eco-anxiety and therapy is discussed in relation to pastoral care. The various forms of eco-anxiety are briefly analyzed. The role of the caregivers is discussed by using sources that study the challenges of therapists in relation to eco-anxiety. The existential depths of eco-anxiety are probed in the light of recent research and older existentialist theory. It is pointed out that the political character of ecological issues, especially climate change issues, causes many kinds of challenges for pastoral care. As the constructive conclusion of the article, various possibilities and resources for encountering eco-anxiety in pastoral care are discussed, along with the connections with wider pastoral theology. It is argued that pastoral care providers should engage in self-reflection about their own attitudes and emotions related to ecological issues, preferably with the support of trusted peers or mentors. Various organizational developments are also needed to support caregivers. Dialectical thinking is one tool that can help to navigate the complex dynamics related to environmental responsibility, eco-emotions, and questions of hope or hopelessness.

This critical note addresses two key features of eco-theology with regard to future prospect: that literary analysis is an important mode of eco-theological work and that an important function of eco-theology is to expand readers’ spheres of concern to include even the most remote of global environmental issues. Working from Tweed’s contention in Crossing and Dwelling that a central function of religion is the process of making homes, the note emphasizes the home as the primary sphere of concern and the need for eco-theological work to extend the concern naturally associated with the private home to the broadest possible sphere: the whole earth as conceived as human home. As pertaining to literary-analytical resources for this eco-theological endeavor, the note highlights the importance of Gaston Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space. Bachelard’s work offers a compelling exploration of the psychological connection between the most intimate spheres of concern (the private home) and the most extended ones (the broader world). Broader eco-theological engagement with his work will employ resources both for understanding relations between the relative scales of human ecology and for expanding spheres of concern, particularly in extending that concern often reserved for the most intimate ecological sphere to the most expansive.

This essay considers relationships between nature, ecology and apocalypse in the poetry of Patrick Brontë (1777–1861) and Emily Brontë (1818–1848). It argues that though Patrick’s poetry emphasises the spiritual benefits of human connection with the natural world, his apocalypticism leads him to see no eschatological future for the natural world. Emily’s poetry is more attentive to destruction and violence in the natural world, but it also offers an eschatological vision of a future in which all of creation participates. Reading Emily’s poetry in theological conversation with that of her father, this essay argues that Emily reinterprets Patrick’s evangelical apocalypticism in the light of her understanding of God as the eternal source of all finite being. Drawing on a theological view of creation as God’s eternal relationship with the earth, Emily suggests that meaningful eschatological hope can be located only in a future in which the whole of creation participates with the human.

This study explores humans’ ecological responsibility, firstly from an evolutionary perspective and then by emphasising especially the order and creation theology in the Old Testament wisdom literature. Ultimately, these entities will be connected. The following aspects will be addressed: cosmology, ecology, evolutionary biology and order in the wisdom literature. These concepts are seen by many as exclusive towards each other, but this article will endeavour to portray them as interlocutors in dialogue with each other.

This article explores the statement “creation made in wisdom” of Proverbs 3:19–20 as pointing to the Earth Bible’s principle of intrinsic worth/value of nature. This article argues that our contemporary societies need to adjust their development in harmony with the cosmic order as secured by God at creation through wisdom. Wisdom in creation constitutes the supreme ideal for living wisely, and for constructing a healthy society that is in harmony with creation.

It has been argued that any attempt by eco-theologians to interpret the biblical concept of the wilderness in a more positive light, would be futile. However, by stripping the biblical wilderness metaphor from its magico-mythical assumptions, new meaning can be constructed by applying general biblical ethics such as loving one’s neighbor as oneself to the wilderness. Often this will involve reading against the grain of biblical texts dealing with the wilderness, but this should only challenge us to go beyond the text and measure it against the core ethical principles of the Bible. Without caring for the wilderness, we jeopardize the livelihood of future generations and deny them the possibility of enjoying the psychological and aesthetical benefits of the wilderness.

In this paper we argue that the Book of Tobit, by presenting a new model of companionship between a human being and a dog, constitutes a vision of a future era, where humans and animals will live as fellows rather than rivals. In so doing we focus on the reading of the Holy Scriptures placing emphasis on the role of animals, moving from the Book of Tobit through the book of Genesis, to Jesus’ new alliance and the promise of new heavens and a new earth. We also show that the Book of Tobit, even if it is deeply encouched in the anthropocentric view particular to Jewish culture, includes insights of non-violence toward animals as well as vegetarianism that are both fundamental and prophetic aspects of the new ethic suggested by Isaiah’s prophecies and by the good news announced in the New Testament.

Lynn White Jr., a progenitor of eco-theology, wrote that “What people do about their ecology depends on what they think about themselves in relation to things around them. Human ecology is deeply conditioned by beliefs about our nature and destiny – that is, by religion.”1 In Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin the contrast between what European settler society is ‘doing about its ecology’, and what the Aboriginal society it supplanted did is so striking, and the ecological damage being done currently so serious as to stimulate theological reflection on Aboriginal anthropology, cosmology and eco-praxis. This paper offers insights into the first two of these areas from a ‘white fella’s’ point of view. The insights are tentative, because the differences in worldview between Australia’s ‘first’ and ‘second’ peoples are vast and still not fully appreciated. They are offered in hopes of continuing the ‘greening’2 of Christian theology, one of eco-theology’s most important functions. doi: 10.7833/111-1-18

This article develops a re-interpretation of the holiness of the church. It comprises two main sections. The first re-examines the motif of holiness by critically examining use of this motif in selected biblical traditions. This will form the basis for the development of an ecological understanding of holiness. The second part will examine what on earth it means to confess that the church is ecologically holy given, its all too obvious failures and the pervasive influence of the socio-cultural and politico-economic forces that are destructive to the earth. doi: 10.7833/111-1-20

Amid the growing coalescence between the religion and ecology movement, religion and science, spirituality and ecology, the voice of Muslim thinking that care for the earth and its people is rising. While the Islamic position on the environment is not well-represented in the eco-theology discourse, it advances an environmental imaginary which shows how faith can be harnessed as a movement for social change. This article will draw upon field research which synthesized the Islamic ecological spirituality (eco-spirituality) from sacred texts, traditions, and contemporary thought, and illustrated how this spirituality is enlivened in the educational landscape of Islam. Knowledge of the relationship between human beings and the natural world, of the function upon which the nature was created, and of the function right living, is essential in this educational project, and the global eco-Islamic movement toward the eco-friendly community to environment. Despite the manifestation of environmental education activities in educational establishment, which are generally patterned Islamic education today is not representative of the holistic, integrated, and comprehensive educational philosophy of Islam. As contemporary world today, such as the environmental question, act as an impetus to encourages, to develop even to build a pedagogy which endeavours to be true to the religious traditions, values, and ethics of Islam, while also displaying the transformation of Islamic faith. Of course, many of them based their life, and lifestyle decisions on the teachings of Islam, and are showing the relevance of traditional resources and greatest life challenges facing humanity today; namely “save our nature”.

Christian eco-theologians have generally preferred a form of panentheism that plays up divine immanence at the expense of divine transcendence. Yet while their respec-tive theological models have contributed to a more earthly theology, eco-theological panentheists tend to identify God with aspects of creation that are presumably ‘more like’ God. The latter is problematic in light of their own claim that God is radically present in and to all that is. Drawing on the theology of Kathryn Tanner, this article argues in favour of a different route for maximizing God’s immanence, namely by strengthening rather than weakening divine transcendence. doi: 10.7833/111-1-21