49. Henlee H. Barnette,
The Church and the Ecological Crisis, 1972, p. 65.
50. The importance of theological convictions for solving the ecological crisis is stressed in the report issued by the Anglican commission which was appointed to study this problem.
“Society as a whole,” the report says,
“will only adopt a different style of living if it has come under the impulse of a popular and imaginative way of seeing things in their wholeness. Such a vision needs more than a secular ideology. We believe that it can come about only through the agency of a theology, that is to say, through man’s understanding of himself as a creature who finds his true being in a relationship of love with God and in cooperation with God in his purpose for the world” (
Man and Nature, Hugh Montefiore, ed., 1975, p. 77). Later the report emphasizes again that
“theological convictions can change and eventually affect policies” (ibid., p. 80).
51. Ibid., p. 180.
52.
“Our scientific atmosphere,” ably writes Eric C. Rust,
“has nullified the desire to rejoice and celebrate and reduced nature and all its constituent creatures to ‘Its.’ We do not see them as ‘Thous’ but as objects which science and technology can use and control. They have become means to our economic ends rather than ends in themselves. We have forgotten that our God rejoiced in his creation and declared it to be good because it contained potentially the possibilities for the realization of his purpose” (
Nature: Garden or Desert, 1971, p. 133).
53. The trend has been, especially in Western Christianity, to view redemption more as an
ethical than a
physical or
natural process. Much has been said about the redemption of the individual from sin and from this sinful world, but little has been said about God’s plan for the ultimate restoration of Planet Earth to its original purpose and beauty.
“It is as though the central element of a story has been isolated from its beginning and its end, and so has lost its essential meaning and interest” (
Man and Nature [n. 49], p. 39). Eastern theology apparently has maintained a more cosmic view of redemption. For a brief but excellent treatment of this question, see A. M. Allchin,
“The Theology of Nature in the Eastern Fathers and among Anglican Theologicans,” in
Man and Nature (n. 49), pp. 143-154.
54. J. R. Zurcher provides a perceptive analysis of the influence of Platonic anthropology on the development of the Christian dualistic concept of human nature (
The Nature and Destiny of Man. Essay on the Problem of the Union of the Soul and the Body in Relation to the Christian Views of Man, 1969, pp. 1-22). Paul Verghese traces back to Augustine the unbalanced emphasis on human depravity and the consequent disparagement of the material world. He writes:
“Regard the flesh, the body, matter as evil, or even inferior, and one has already began the deviation from Christian faith” (
Freedom of Man, 1972, p. 55).
55. A Biblical theology of redemption must start not from mankind’s Fall but from its perfect creation. It should acknowledge that despite the reality of sin, human beings and this world essentially still are the good creation of God. Thus mankind’s creation, redemption and restoration must be viewed as part of God’s cosmological—not merely anthropological—redemptive activity. Jacob Needleman argues that it is the lack of a Christian cosmology that encourages some people to turn to Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam in order to find a universal and a personal salvation (
The New Religions, 1972).
56. Cf. Psalms 104; 8; 19:1-6.
57. Some argue that the Judeo-Christian tradition is largely responsible for the prevailing irresponsible exploitation of nature. The proof-text often cited to defend this view is Genesis 1:28:
“God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” The emphasis in this passage on man’s dominion and subjugation of nature is held responsible for mankind’s unrestrained exploitation of nature. This view is defended, for example, by Lynn White,
“The Historical Roots of the Ecological Crisis,” Science (March 10, 1967): 120Sf.; Ian McHarg,
Design with Nature, 1969. Any attempt to explain the ecological crisis on the basis of one cause is shortsighted to say the least. Moreover Genesis 1:28 can hardly be interpreted as a divine charter for unrestricted human exploitation of this world. Man’s dominion is patterned after God’s dominion since God created man in His image (Gen. 1:26-27). Gerhard von Rad emphasizes that human
“dominion” must be understood in the light of man’s creation in the image of God (
Genesis: A Commentary, 1963, p. 56). This means that human dominion must be informed by love and must be exercised responsibly. It involves tilling and keeping the earth (Gen. 2 :15; Lev. 25 :1-5), caring for animals and wild life (Deut. 25:4; 22:6-7). Henlee H. Barnette rightly comments:
“Made in the imago Dei, man possesses both dignity and dominion, by which he shares in the sovereignty of God in relation to the world. But man in his pride and selfish desires to be wholly sovereign, tends to ignore the fact that his dominion is under and limited by the dominion of God” (n. 48, p. 80).
58. Eric C. Rust rightly says:
“Despite all that the Bible says about sin and the need for redemption, man is not so radically lost that his Creator does not continue to trust him with the stewardship of his world!” (n. 52, p. 27).
59. Cf. Ps. 107:33, 34; Zeph. 2:9; Jer. 49:20, 33; Job 38:26-29; Jer. 2:7.
60. Similar OT descriptions are found in Is. 35; 65:17; 66:22; 2:4; Hos. 2:18; Ez. 47:1-2; 34:25-27; Zech. 14:4.
61. Rudolf Bultmann notes that creation
“has a history which it shares with man” (
Theology of the New Testament, 1951, I, p. 30).
62. Henlee H. Barnette cogently remarks:
“In one respect, the biblical and scientific views of the eschaton are similar: the planet earth will be consumed with fire. In the scientific view there is no hope for the cosmos; it will be left void and cold. In the biblical perspective there is a future hope for nature and God’s people in a radically transformed world, a new heaven and a new earth” (n. 49. pp. 76-77).
63. Samuel Raphael Hirsch,
“The Sabbath,” Judaism Eternal, Israel Grunfeld, ed., 1956, p. 37.
64. Robert and Leona Rienow,
Moment in the Sun, 1967, pp. 141f.
65. See Martin Noth,
Exodus, J. H. Marks, trans., 1962, p. 189.
66. A. Martin (n. 5), p. 41.
67. Albert Camus,
The Rebel, 1962, p. 299.
68. Abraham Joshua Heschel (n. 4), p. 28.
69. Ibid., pp. 28, 29.
70. Albert Schweitzer,
Out of My Life and Thought, C. T. Campion, ed.,1953, p. 126.
(192.3)