Theology: Christian / Theological Ethics: Introductory Texts

Many environmentalists believe that religion has been a major contributor to our ecological crisis, for Judeo-Christians have been taught that they have dominion over the earth and so do not consider themselves part of a biotic community. In this book a philosopher of environmental ethics acknowledges that religion may contribute to environmental problems but argues that religion can also play an important role in solving these problems--that religion can provide an ethical context that will help people to become sensitive to the environment and to elect leaders who are genuinely responsive to the ecological crisis. Examining a broad range of Western religious traditions--from conservative Christianity and orthodox Judaism to Goddess feminism and nature religion--Max Oelschlaeger provides a sociolinguistic analysis of their creation stories and finds environmentally positive aspects in each of them. He asserts that religious discourse in the public arena can offer a way for such environmental issues as biodiversity, pollution, and population to be addressed outside the realm of special-interest politics. And he urges local churches to make "caring for creation" a theme for worship in their services; the majority of Americans, says Oelschlaeger, will discover an environmental ethic only through their religious faith.

What can Christianity as a tradition contribute to the struggle to secure the future well-being of the earth community? This collaborative volume, the third in the series on religions of the world and the environment, announces that an ecological reformation, an eco-justice reorientation of Christian theology and ethics, is prominent of the ecumenical agenda. The authors explore problematic themes that contribute to ecological neglect or abuse and offer constructive insight into, and responsive imperatives for, ecologically just and socially responsible living.

Here is Moltmann discussing the questions that matter more than any others for our world: How is it possible to create a world society worth living in? What positive contribution can Christians make in the face of the nuclear threat? What can be done to mobilize concern for the future of the environment and its natural resources? Moltmann provides a new combination of insights from the Bible and from oriental religion as he has come to know it through his work in the Far East to produce some fresh and challenging perspectives on the primary global issues of our time.

"Karl Peters, culminating a lifetime of leadership in the science and religion dialogue, offers a rare combination of both theory and practice, the learned and the existential. Here is an exemplary role model of participating in the creative process -- what Peters metaphorically calls 'dancing with the sacred.'" -- Holmes Rolston, University Distinguished Professor, Colorado State University

This single volume gathers theologians from around the world to address three pressing questions: How can Christianity and Christian churches rethink themselves and their roles in light of the endangered earth? What "earth-honoring" elements does justice-oriented Christianity have to contribute to the common good? And how can communities and churches respond creatively and constructively on a local level to these vast global forces? This volume captures the chief themes and presentations from the October 1998 conference on social justice, ecology, and church entitled "Ecumenical Earth" and held at Union Theological Seminary. Among the 18 contributors to this trailblazing conference are Rasmussen and Hessel, James Cone, Kusumita Pedersen, Brigitte Kahl, Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi, Steven Rockefeller, Havid Hallman, Ernst Conradie, Peggy Shepard, and Troy Messenger.

The international political and economic scene has changed dramatically in recent years.  As we approach a new millennium, we face a world that is increasingly interdependent and globalist in perspective. What are the implications of these changes for Christian social ethics? Does Christian ethics have anything useful or relevant to say in the face of these changes? The Abingdon Press Studies in Christian Ethics and Economic Life series is intended to address such questions by providing teaching resources for upper-level college and seminary courses in Christian ethics that focus on the analysis and reconstruction of basic ethical perspectives and principles in our post-Marxist, highly technological, and increasingly interdependent global civilization. "This is a lively and challenging book that strikes to the heart of current debates in environmental ethics.  In the lead essay of the volume, Thomas Sieger Derr offers a bold challenge to current biocentric ethics from the perspective of Christian humanism.  He rightly identifies that the basic question facing environmental ethics is, ironically enough, the status of the human within the ecosystem and our rule as valuers.  Derr seeks to expose the shortcomings of other positions, especially the too easy dismissal of Christianity as the cause of our environmental woes, and to marshal a cogent and livable alternative consistent with Christian faith.  The volume includes two spirited rebuttals to Derr's essay.  Noted environmental ethicist James A. Nash contests Derr's account of biocentric thought and also his construal of a Christian ecological ethics.  Richard John Neuhaus focuses on claims about Christ as central for any distinctly Christian response to the environmental crisis.  Taken together, these sharp and engaging essays address the most central issues facing environmental ethics: conflicting ideas about the moral status of the human, debates within moral theory about the nature and source of value, the role of religious conviction in ethical discourse, and disputes about matters of policy.  A joy to read, I recommend this book highly to all concerned about the environment." --William Schweiker, The University of Chicago Divinity School "Thomas Derr's trenchant argument for humanistic stewardship rooted in biblical faith helps clear the fog obscuring much current ecological debate.  The sharp dissent by James Nash, coupled with the theological nuance of Richard Neuhaus's remarks, provides renewed focus for examination of the fundamental values at stake in assessing humanity's proper relation to the rest of creation." --William Johnson Everett, Andover Newton Theological School

This book is about the extent, origins and causes of the environmental crisis. Dr Northcott argues that Christianity has lost the biblical awareness of the inter-connectedness of all life. He shows how Christian theologians and believers might recover a more ecologically friendly belief system and life style. The author provides an important corrective to secular approaches to environmental ethics, including utilitarian individualism, animal rights theories and deep ecology. He contends that neither the stewardship tradition, nor the panentheist or process ecological theologies have successfully mobilised the Christian tradition. He demonstrates that the Hebrew Bible contains an ecological message which is close to the traditions of many primal and indigenous peoples and which provides an important corrective to instrumental attitudes to nature in much modern philosophy and Christian ethics.

Can Christian discourse on sin be retrieved in the public sphere where it is typically contested and often ridiculed? In this contribution to Christian ecotheology, emerging from within the South African context, Ernst Conradie argues that such a retrieval is indeed possible if sin-talk is regarded, at least from the outside, as a form of social diagnostics. It can contribute to multidisciplinary collaboration to address the common need for an in-depth diagnosis of what has gone wrong in the world around us. This is epitomized by ecological destruction but also by economic inequalities and violent conflict. However, such a retrieval is only possible if some major obstacles are confronted. These include the plausibility of the notions of the fall and original sin in the light of evolutionary history, animal ethology, and the cognitive sciences. It is especially the Augustinian tradition and its dual assumptions that it was possible not to sin, but that, after the fall, it is no longer possible not to sin, that have been deeply contested. Conradie compares the Augustinian narrative of what went wrong in the world with other Christian and secular narratives. He defends an Augustinian position, especially given its insistence that social evil, rather than so-called natural evil, is the primary predicament that has to be addressed. Given the contemporary "wicked problems" that we have to address together, it remains crucial to insist that our problem is not vulnerability but rape, not death but premature dying, not a changing climate but anthropogenic climate change. If the root cause of such social evil is indeed sin, then a Christian confession of sin may offer good news for the whole earth. Indeed, there is a sunny side to sin.

The Future of Ethics interprets the big questions of sustainability and social justice through the practical problems arising from humanity's increasing power over basic systems of life. What does climate change mean for our obligations to future generations? How can the sciences work with pluralist cultures in ways that will help societies learn from ecological change? Traditional religious ethics examines texts and traditions and highlights principles and virtuous behaviors that can apply to particular issues. Willis Jenkins develops lines of practical inquiry through "prophetic pragmatism," an approach to ethics that begins with concrete problems and adapts to changing circumstances. This brand of pragmatism takes its cues from liberationist theology, with its emphasis on how individuals and communities actually cope with overwhelming problems. Can religious communities make a difference when dealing with these issues? By integrating environmental sciences and theological ethics into problem-based engagements with philosophy, economics, and other disciplines, Jenkins illustrates the wide understanding and moral creativity needed to live well in the new conditions of human power. He shows the significance of religious thought to the development of interdisciplinary responses to sustainability issues and how this calls for a new style of religious ethics.

Leading scholars reflect critically on the kinds of appeal to the Bible that have been made in environmental ethics and ecotheoloogy and engage with biblical texts with a view towards exploring their contribution to an ecological ethics. The essays explore the kind of hermeneutic necessary for such engagement to be fruitful for contemporary theology and ethics. Crucial to such broad reflection is the bringing together of a range of perspectives: biblical studies, historical theology, hermeneutics, and theological ethics. The thematic coherence of the book is provided by the running focus on the ways in which biblical texts have been, or might be, read. This volume is not about ecotheology, but is instead about ecological hermeneutics. Indeed, some essays show where biblical texts, or particular approaches in the history of interpretation, represent anthropocentric or even anti-ecological moves. One of the overall aims of the book is to suggest how, and why, an ecological hermeneutic might be developed, and the kinds of intepretive choices that are required in such a development.

Christianity struggles to show how living on Earth matters for living with God. While people of faith increasingly seek practical ways to respond to the environmental crisis, theology has had difficulty contextualizing the crisis and interpreting the responses. In Ecologies of Grace, WillisJenkins presents a field-shaping introduction to Christian environmental ethics that offers resources for renewing theology. Observing how religious environmental practices often draw on concepts of grace, Jenkins maps the way Christian environmental strategies draw from traditions of salvation asthey engage the problems of environmental ethics.By being particularly sensitive to the ways in which environmental problems are made intelligible to Christian moral experience, Jenkins guides his readers toward a fuller understanding of Christianity and ecology. He not only makes sense of the variety of Christian environmental ethics, but byshowing how environmental issues come to the heart of Christian experience, prepares fertile ground for theological renewal.