Preservation and Protest proposes a novel taxonomy of four paradigms of nonhuman theological ethi... more Preservation and Protest proposes a novel taxonomy of four paradigms of nonhuman theological ethics by exploring the intersection of tensions between value terms ("anthropocentrism" and "cosmocentrism") and teleological terms ("conservation" and "transfiguration"). These tensions arise out of the theological loci of cosmology, anthropology, and eschatology. The individual paradigms of the taxonomy are critically elucidated through the work of Thomas Aquinas (anthropocentric conservation), Thomas Berry (cosmocentric conservation), Dumitru Staniloae (anthropocentric transfiguration), and Jurgen Moltmann and Andrew Linzey (cosmocentric transfiguration). McLaughlin systematically develops the paradigm of cosmocentric transfiguration, arguing that the entire cosmos—including all instantiations of life therein—shares in the eschatological hope of a harmonious participation in God's triune life, a participation that entails the end of suffering, predation, and death. This paradigm yields an ethics based upon a tension between preservation (i.e., the sustaining of nature, which requires suffering, predation, and death) and protest (i.e., the personal witness against suffering, predation, and death through non-violent living). With this paradigm, McLaughlin offers an alternative to anthropocentric and conservationist paradigms within the Christian tradition, an alternative that affirms both scientific claims about natural history and the theological hope for eschatological redemption.
What is the moral standing of animals according to Christian theology? In this book, Ryan Patrick... more What is the moral standing of animals according to Christian theology? In this book, Ryan Patrick McLaughlin argues that there are conflicting traditions with regard to this question. The dominant tradition maintains that animals are primarily resources that ought to be equitably distributed to the entire human community, both present and future. However, there are alternative strands of Christian thought that challenge this view. McLaughlin delineates these strands in juxtaposition to the dominant tradition in an effort to highlight its alternatives, which include the re-envisioning of the moral significance of differentiation, the image of both protological and eschatological peace between humans and animals in both ancient and modern writers, biblical passages that challenge anthropocentrism and conservationism, and the notion that the cosmos is the primordial sacrament. Collectively, these alternatives to the dominant tradition suggest that there are open spaces within which to offer direct moral concern for animals.
In this article I examine the pericope of the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus in Mark 14:3–9 in a... more In this article I examine the pericope of the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus in Mark 14:3–9 in an effort to reveal how the narrative interrupts the dominance of patriarchal calculation. Engaging critical methods, especially literary criticism, I draw out two central themes of Mark’s Gospel: the difference of how people respond to Jesus (uncalculating awe versus calculating dismissal) and the nature of authority. These themes enable a reading of the unnamed woman’s act that is meaningful for both feminist concerns and interreligious dialogue. It is meaningful for feminist concerns because the woman assumes the role of a paragon apostle by revealing the true heart of authority when she interrupts the calculation of men grasping for power. It is meaningful for interreligious dialogue because the woman is an outsider without name or title who both represents and expands the gospel and thereby opens a space for other outsiders without name and title.
The author explores the conciliar and post-conciliar documents of the Catholic Church in order to... more The author explores the conciliar and post-conciliar documents of the Catholic Church in order to draw out the tensions and ambiguities of its position regarding the nature and role of revelation in the origin of non-Christian religions. Within the framework of this position, moderate Catholic theologians have argued that, as other religions have their origins in God’s specific self-disclosure, they differ only in degree from Christianity. Their arguments combined with an in-depth analysis of Church documents yields the conclusion that the position of the Catholic Church is logically amenable to an affirmation of religious pluralism de iure. If the Catholic Church desires to officially reject this conclusion, it must explicitly address the apparent inconsistencies that its own theologians find in this rejection.
This essay explores how the principles of ahimsa and reverence for life provide a foundation for ... more This essay explores how the principles of ahimsa and reverence for life provide a foundation for animal welfare in the thought of Mohandas Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer, respectively. This exploration unfolds through a consideration of the contextual background of both thinkers, the scope of life to which they apply their respective principles, and both the ethical ramifications and limitations of this application. Within this common framework, the author delineates the striking commonalities and the significant disparities between Gandhi and Schweitzer. This comparison opens a common space within which ecologically-minded Hindus and Christians can dialogue, augmenting each other's positions by drawing on respected thinkers in their traditions. It also provides an opportunity, within the tensions highlighted at the intersection of Gandhi and Schweitzer's thought, to further construct a foundation for animal welfare in contemporary discussions.
Moltmann’s influence on twentieth century theology is near-unprecedented. The scope of his theol... more Moltmann’s influence on twentieth century theology is near-unprecedented. The scope of his theological explorations is vast. Greater still is the quantity of secondary literature written about his theology. Even so, there is an absence of literature regarding his theology of animals. Here, the author examines Moltmann’s theological framework in order to establish his potential contribution to animal theology. He further critically delineates and constructively develops the ethics Moltmann derives from his theological explorations. Ultimately, the author suggests that Moltmann’s contribution to animal theology is highly impactful, providing a solid theological ground for the superiority of the practice of vegetarianism and laws against unnecessary hunting.
Ongoing debates over the tension between exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism in the Christian... more Ongoing debates over the tension between exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism in the Christian tradition warrant explorations of Christian scripture with a hermeneutical eye to issues concerning the state of the religious other. In this vein, the author considers the narrative of Jonah. The encounters between Jonah—the Israelite prophet—and a group of pagan sailors and a Ninevite king suggest that these “others” have some mysterious relationship to YHWH. Both the ship captain and the king perform functions of the prophetic office that are predicated upon the divine self-disclosure of God’s character to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:6). This self-disclosure, in turn, provides content to the divine name (YHWH). Thus, the religious others’ actions denote an encounter with God through which they attain an awareness of this divine self-disclosure. This encounter is in some manner connected to Jonah and yet in some manner independent of him. Furthermore, the religious others actually reveal God to Jonah in a new manner. In this sense, the narrative offers a vision of inclusivism for all who claim to be the people of God.
This essay explores the much-debated question regarding the extent and viability of Thomas Aquina... more This essay explores the much-debated question regarding the extent and viability of Thomas Aquinas as a theological source for expanding Christian ethical concern for the nonhuman creation, particularly nonhuman animals. This exploration focuses on the intersection of two foundational issues in Aquinas’ theological framework, nature and teleology, as well as the effects of this intersection in Aquinas’ work concerning nonhuman creation. From these examinations, I suggest that Aquinas can provide significant contributions for augmenting concern for the welfare of nonhuman animals because his theological framework demands that humans preserve the natural order through conservation. However, Aquinas’ ecotheological ethics of conservation is foundationally anthropocentric and only permits indirect moral concern for the nonhuman world.
The author reviews the work of select theologians, ethicists, and biblical scholars who suggest t... more The author reviews the work of select theologians, ethicists, and biblical scholars who suggest that the difference between humans and animals should not serve solely as an ascription of a special status to humans, but also as the foundation for a responsibility that humans bear toward animals. As an added reflection, the author explores common categorical differentiations in systematic theology: God and creation; human and nonhuman; elect and non-elect. In the first and last of these categorical differentiations, unique identity entails both a special status and responsibility. The latter is normatively directed to those who are categorically different. As such, the categorical difference between humans and animals establishes a foundation for moral concern.
The author aims to retrieve and develop creatively a strand of Christian thought, stretching from... more The author aims to retrieve and develop creatively a strand of Christian thought, stretching from early Christian interpretations of biblical data through the hagiographies of the saints into modern Christian thought, which provides a foundation for concern over the welfare of nonhuman animals. To provide the framework for this strand, the author explores the theology of Irenaeus of Lyons and Ephrem the Syrian. First, he considers their positions regarding the place of nonhuman animals in protology and eschatology. Then, he notes their view that the created order is in via toward its eschatological consummation. With this framework in place, he turns to other voices in the Christian tradition, including the hagiographies of the saints, in order to further develop the framework. Ultimately, the author suggests that, within this particular strand of Christian thought, the further a human being progresses along the path of redemption, the more he or she ought to serve as a prolepsis of eschatological hope, which includes peaceful relationships between humans and animals.
This essay is part of the edited volume: Renovating Holiness (eds. Thomas Jay Oord and Josh Browa... more This essay is part of the edited volume: Renovating Holiness (eds. Thomas Jay Oord and Josh Broward). It revisits the notion of holiness by way of metaphor (a kiss), suggesting that the distance, directional disposition, openness, and vulnerability indicative of a kiss are also indicative of holiness.
Using a narrative taking place within another narrative, this story presents a dilemma inherent i... more Using a narrative taking place within another narrative, this story presents a dilemma inherent in the view that God’s omnipotence denotes absolute control over everything. The author tells of his own journey in creating a story and how that story unfolds. While providing helpful metaphors for theology (i.e. creation, sin, the Incarnation, salvation, etc.), the story ultimately provides its strongest metaphor through an epiphany of the author, who recognizes that true power is not the ability to manipulate, but rather the ability to relinquish control. In frustration, the author finally concludes: “I have no such power as to limit myself.”
In this paper, I connect the phrases “image of God” and “dominion” from Genesis 1:26–28 to the di... more In this paper, I connect the phrases “image of God” and “dominion” from Genesis 1:26–28 to the dietary allowances and implied restrictions that God offers to humans in Genesis 1:29. This task requires an inquiry into the context of the imago within the first chapter of Genesis. This inquiry takes two forms. First, I explore the meaning of “image” in the context of the ancient Near East, ultimately arguing for a functional component to it. Second, I examine the particular God (Elohim) whose image humanity bears in conjunction with the functional term “dominion.” A comparison of Elohim and Marduk, the deity of the Enuma Elish, in conjunction with an exegetical consideration of verses 29–30, yields a thoroughly non–violent interpretation of the imago.
A comparison of the nature of the imago in Genesis 1 with its nature in the re–creation narrative of Genesis 9:1–3 reveals a troubling shift. The non–violent functional dimension of the image is tainted in a way that renders it difficult to trace back to Elohim. In fact, the functional reign of humanity as depicted in Genesis 9 aligns more easily with the imago Marduk. This reading is further evident in the absence of the term “dominion” in Genesis 9 and the introduction of the terms “fear” and “dread.”
Such a reading of the imago Dei and its functional dominion opposes instrumental understandings of nonhuman animals, both in pre–modern Christianity and especially in the wake of the Cartesian reduction of animals to machines. Furthermore, it speaks to how the “great work” of God is not limited to a concern for the well–being of humans alone. The challenge for contemporary Christians is to consider honestly how they can avoid the irony of claiming for themselves the loving, compassionate, and kenotic God that they refuse to image to nonhuman creatures. Such a consideration elicits a more inclusive form of the golden rule: Be to the animals what you would have God be to you.
Nowadays, it is theologically fashionable to speak of the “greening” of Christianity. Such speech... more Nowadays, it is theologically fashionable to speak of the “greening” of Christianity. Such speech tends toward an emphasis on the good order of the cosmos, which in turn elicits an ethics of conservationism. The world is good as it currently exists. The only redemption it requires is from anthropogenic violence, which intimates human actions that threaten holistic life-systems. With such claims, scholars present the preservation of the cosmos as it is as part of the good life.
John Wesley presents a very different depiction of the cosmos and humanity’s role therein in his sermon, “The General Deliverance.” He depicts three stages of the cosmos in salvation history: (1) a protology of cosmic harmony absent of suffering, predation, and death; (2) a cosmic fallenness elicited through human disobedience; and (3) the eschatological redemption of the cosmos in which the protological harmony will be surpassed in a transfigured creation.
Wesley’s view is at odds with many eco-theologies of today. Likewise, advocates of such theologies would likely cringe at Wesley’s understanding of nature. In favor of the eco-theologies, science renders Wesley’s claim about an edenic peace disrupted by human sin untenable. However, Wesley’s view challenges these eco-theologies’ common side-stepping of the problem of the suffering of individual animals vis-à-vis the nature of God.
At this apparent impasse, I propose a manner in moving forward that takes seriously Wesley’s lament over the violence of nature without denying evolutionary history. This path entails two key moves. First, the integrity of creation entails the presence of chance and risk prior to the existence of human beings. This claim removes the element of freewill—whether divine, human, or demonic—from the question of the etiology of violence. Second, the incarnation entails the redemption of all the suffering brought on by chance inasmuch as it reveals that the destiny of energy and matter is transfiguration, which in light of path chance has paved for creation entails the overcoming of suffering, violence, and death.
Preservation and Protest proposes a novel taxonomy of four paradigms of nonhuman theological ethi... more Preservation and Protest proposes a novel taxonomy of four paradigms of nonhuman theological ethics by exploring the intersection of tensions between value terms ("anthropocentrism" and "cosmocentrism") and teleological terms ("conservation" and "transfiguration"). These tensions arise out of the theological loci of cosmology, anthropology, and eschatology. The individual paradigms of the taxonomy are critically elucidated through the work of Thomas Aquinas (anthropocentric conservation), Thomas Berry (cosmocentric conservation), Dumitru Staniloae (anthropocentric transfiguration), and Jurgen Moltmann and Andrew Linzey (cosmocentric transfiguration). McLaughlin systematically develops the paradigm of cosmocentric transfiguration, arguing that the entire cosmos—including all instantiations of life therein—shares in the eschatological hope of a harmonious participation in God's triune life, a participation that entails the end of suffering, predation, and death. This paradigm yields an ethics based upon a tension between preservation (i.e., the sustaining of nature, which requires suffering, predation, and death) and protest (i.e., the personal witness against suffering, predation, and death through non-violent living). With this paradigm, McLaughlin offers an alternative to anthropocentric and conservationist paradigms within the Christian tradition, an alternative that affirms both scientific claims about natural history and the theological hope for eschatological redemption.
What is the moral standing of animals according to Christian theology? In this book, Ryan Patrick... more What is the moral standing of animals according to Christian theology? In this book, Ryan Patrick McLaughlin argues that there are conflicting traditions with regard to this question. The dominant tradition maintains that animals are primarily resources that ought to be equitably distributed to the entire human community, both present and future. However, there are alternative strands of Christian thought that challenge this view. McLaughlin delineates these strands in juxtaposition to the dominant tradition in an effort to highlight its alternatives, which include the re-envisioning of the moral significance of differentiation, the image of both protological and eschatological peace between humans and animals in both ancient and modern writers, biblical passages that challenge anthropocentrism and conservationism, and the notion that the cosmos is the primordial sacrament. Collectively, these alternatives to the dominant tradition suggest that there are open spaces within which to offer direct moral concern for animals.
In this article I examine the pericope of the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus in Mark 14:3–9 in a... more In this article I examine the pericope of the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus in Mark 14:3–9 in an effort to reveal how the narrative interrupts the dominance of patriarchal calculation. Engaging critical methods, especially literary criticism, I draw out two central themes of Mark’s Gospel: the difference of how people respond to Jesus (uncalculating awe versus calculating dismissal) and the nature of authority. These themes enable a reading of the unnamed woman’s act that is meaningful for both feminist concerns and interreligious dialogue. It is meaningful for feminist concerns because the woman assumes the role of a paragon apostle by revealing the true heart of authority when she interrupts the calculation of men grasping for power. It is meaningful for interreligious dialogue because the woman is an outsider without name or title who both represents and expands the gospel and thereby opens a space for other outsiders without name and title.
The author explores the conciliar and post-conciliar documents of the Catholic Church in order to... more The author explores the conciliar and post-conciliar documents of the Catholic Church in order to draw out the tensions and ambiguities of its position regarding the nature and role of revelation in the origin of non-Christian religions. Within the framework of this position, moderate Catholic theologians have argued that, as other religions have their origins in God’s specific self-disclosure, they differ only in degree from Christianity. Their arguments combined with an in-depth analysis of Church documents yields the conclusion that the position of the Catholic Church is logically amenable to an affirmation of religious pluralism de iure. If the Catholic Church desires to officially reject this conclusion, it must explicitly address the apparent inconsistencies that its own theologians find in this rejection.
This essay explores how the principles of ahimsa and reverence for life provide a foundation for ... more This essay explores how the principles of ahimsa and reverence for life provide a foundation for animal welfare in the thought of Mohandas Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer, respectively. This exploration unfolds through a consideration of the contextual background of both thinkers, the scope of life to which they apply their respective principles, and both the ethical ramifications and limitations of this application. Within this common framework, the author delineates the striking commonalities and the significant disparities between Gandhi and Schweitzer. This comparison opens a common space within which ecologically-minded Hindus and Christians can dialogue, augmenting each other's positions by drawing on respected thinkers in their traditions. It also provides an opportunity, within the tensions highlighted at the intersection of Gandhi and Schweitzer's thought, to further construct a foundation for animal welfare in contemporary discussions.
Moltmann’s influence on twentieth century theology is near-unprecedented. The scope of his theol... more Moltmann’s influence on twentieth century theology is near-unprecedented. The scope of his theological explorations is vast. Greater still is the quantity of secondary literature written about his theology. Even so, there is an absence of literature regarding his theology of animals. Here, the author examines Moltmann’s theological framework in order to establish his potential contribution to animal theology. He further critically delineates and constructively develops the ethics Moltmann derives from his theological explorations. Ultimately, the author suggests that Moltmann’s contribution to animal theology is highly impactful, providing a solid theological ground for the superiority of the practice of vegetarianism and laws against unnecessary hunting.
Ongoing debates over the tension between exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism in the Christian... more Ongoing debates over the tension between exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism in the Christian tradition warrant explorations of Christian scripture with a hermeneutical eye to issues concerning the state of the religious other. In this vein, the author considers the narrative of Jonah. The encounters between Jonah—the Israelite prophet—and a group of pagan sailors and a Ninevite king suggest that these “others” have some mysterious relationship to YHWH. Both the ship captain and the king perform functions of the prophetic office that are predicated upon the divine self-disclosure of God’s character to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:6). This self-disclosure, in turn, provides content to the divine name (YHWH). Thus, the religious others’ actions denote an encounter with God through which they attain an awareness of this divine self-disclosure. This encounter is in some manner connected to Jonah and yet in some manner independent of him. Furthermore, the religious others actually reveal God to Jonah in a new manner. In this sense, the narrative offers a vision of inclusivism for all who claim to be the people of God.
This essay explores the much-debated question regarding the extent and viability of Thomas Aquina... more This essay explores the much-debated question regarding the extent and viability of Thomas Aquinas as a theological source for expanding Christian ethical concern for the nonhuman creation, particularly nonhuman animals. This exploration focuses on the intersection of two foundational issues in Aquinas’ theological framework, nature and teleology, as well as the effects of this intersection in Aquinas’ work concerning nonhuman creation. From these examinations, I suggest that Aquinas can provide significant contributions for augmenting concern for the welfare of nonhuman animals because his theological framework demands that humans preserve the natural order through conservation. However, Aquinas’ ecotheological ethics of conservation is foundationally anthropocentric and only permits indirect moral concern for the nonhuman world.
The author reviews the work of select theologians, ethicists, and biblical scholars who suggest t... more The author reviews the work of select theologians, ethicists, and biblical scholars who suggest that the difference between humans and animals should not serve solely as an ascription of a special status to humans, but also as the foundation for a responsibility that humans bear toward animals. As an added reflection, the author explores common categorical differentiations in systematic theology: God and creation; human and nonhuman; elect and non-elect. In the first and last of these categorical differentiations, unique identity entails both a special status and responsibility. The latter is normatively directed to those who are categorically different. As such, the categorical difference between humans and animals establishes a foundation for moral concern.
The author aims to retrieve and develop creatively a strand of Christian thought, stretching from... more The author aims to retrieve and develop creatively a strand of Christian thought, stretching from early Christian interpretations of biblical data through the hagiographies of the saints into modern Christian thought, which provides a foundation for concern over the welfare of nonhuman animals. To provide the framework for this strand, the author explores the theology of Irenaeus of Lyons and Ephrem the Syrian. First, he considers their positions regarding the place of nonhuman animals in protology and eschatology. Then, he notes their view that the created order is in via toward its eschatological consummation. With this framework in place, he turns to other voices in the Christian tradition, including the hagiographies of the saints, in order to further develop the framework. Ultimately, the author suggests that, within this particular strand of Christian thought, the further a human being progresses along the path of redemption, the more he or she ought to serve as a prolepsis of eschatological hope, which includes peaceful relationships between humans and animals.
This essay is part of the edited volume: Renovating Holiness (eds. Thomas Jay Oord and Josh Browa... more This essay is part of the edited volume: Renovating Holiness (eds. Thomas Jay Oord and Josh Broward). It revisits the notion of holiness by way of metaphor (a kiss), suggesting that the distance, directional disposition, openness, and vulnerability indicative of a kiss are also indicative of holiness.
Using a narrative taking place within another narrative, this story presents a dilemma inherent i... more Using a narrative taking place within another narrative, this story presents a dilemma inherent in the view that God’s omnipotence denotes absolute control over everything. The author tells of his own journey in creating a story and how that story unfolds. While providing helpful metaphors for theology (i.e. creation, sin, the Incarnation, salvation, etc.), the story ultimately provides its strongest metaphor through an epiphany of the author, who recognizes that true power is not the ability to manipulate, but rather the ability to relinquish control. In frustration, the author finally concludes: “I have no such power as to limit myself.”
In this paper, I connect the phrases “image of God” and “dominion” from Genesis 1:26–28 to the di... more In this paper, I connect the phrases “image of God” and “dominion” from Genesis 1:26–28 to the dietary allowances and implied restrictions that God offers to humans in Genesis 1:29. This task requires an inquiry into the context of the imago within the first chapter of Genesis. This inquiry takes two forms. First, I explore the meaning of “image” in the context of the ancient Near East, ultimately arguing for a functional component to it. Second, I examine the particular God (Elohim) whose image humanity bears in conjunction with the functional term “dominion.” A comparison of Elohim and Marduk, the deity of the Enuma Elish, in conjunction with an exegetical consideration of verses 29–30, yields a thoroughly non–violent interpretation of the imago.
A comparison of the nature of the imago in Genesis 1 with its nature in the re–creation narrative of Genesis 9:1–3 reveals a troubling shift. The non–violent functional dimension of the image is tainted in a way that renders it difficult to trace back to Elohim. In fact, the functional reign of humanity as depicted in Genesis 9 aligns more easily with the imago Marduk. This reading is further evident in the absence of the term “dominion” in Genesis 9 and the introduction of the terms “fear” and “dread.”
Such a reading of the imago Dei and its functional dominion opposes instrumental understandings of nonhuman animals, both in pre–modern Christianity and especially in the wake of the Cartesian reduction of animals to machines. Furthermore, it speaks to how the “great work” of God is not limited to a concern for the well–being of humans alone. The challenge for contemporary Christians is to consider honestly how they can avoid the irony of claiming for themselves the loving, compassionate, and kenotic God that they refuse to image to nonhuman creatures. Such a consideration elicits a more inclusive form of the golden rule: Be to the animals what you would have God be to you.
Nowadays, it is theologically fashionable to speak of the “greening” of Christianity. Such speech... more Nowadays, it is theologically fashionable to speak of the “greening” of Christianity. Such speech tends toward an emphasis on the good order of the cosmos, which in turn elicits an ethics of conservationism. The world is good as it currently exists. The only redemption it requires is from anthropogenic violence, which intimates human actions that threaten holistic life-systems. With such claims, scholars present the preservation of the cosmos as it is as part of the good life.
John Wesley presents a very different depiction of the cosmos and humanity’s role therein in his sermon, “The General Deliverance.” He depicts three stages of the cosmos in salvation history: (1) a protology of cosmic harmony absent of suffering, predation, and death; (2) a cosmic fallenness elicited through human disobedience; and (3) the eschatological redemption of the cosmos in which the protological harmony will be surpassed in a transfigured creation.
Wesley’s view is at odds with many eco-theologies of today. Likewise, advocates of such theologies would likely cringe at Wesley’s understanding of nature. In favor of the eco-theologies, science renders Wesley’s claim about an edenic peace disrupted by human sin untenable. However, Wesley’s view challenges these eco-theologies’ common side-stepping of the problem of the suffering of individual animals vis-à-vis the nature of God.
At this apparent impasse, I propose a manner in moving forward that takes seriously Wesley’s lament over the violence of nature without denying evolutionary history. This path entails two key moves. First, the integrity of creation entails the presence of chance and risk prior to the existence of human beings. This claim removes the element of freewill—whether divine, human, or demonic—from the question of the etiology of violence. Second, the incarnation entails the redemption of all the suffering brought on by chance inasmuch as it reveals that the destiny of energy and matter is transfiguration, which in light of path chance has paved for creation entails the overcoming of suffering, violence, and death.
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ethics of conservation is foundationally anthropocentric and only permits indirect moral concern for the nonhuman world.
A comparison of the nature of the imago in Genesis 1 with its nature in the re–creation narrative of Genesis 9:1–3 reveals a troubling shift. The non–violent functional dimension of the image is tainted in a way that renders it difficult to trace back to Elohim. In fact, the functional reign of humanity as depicted in Genesis 9 aligns more easily with the imago Marduk. This reading is further evident in the absence of the term “dominion” in Genesis 9 and the introduction of the terms “fear” and “dread.”
Such a reading of the imago Dei and its functional dominion opposes instrumental understandings of nonhuman animals, both in pre–modern Christianity and especially in the wake of the Cartesian reduction of animals to machines. Furthermore, it speaks to how the “great work” of God is not limited to a concern for the well–being of humans alone. The challenge for contemporary Christians is to consider honestly how they can avoid the irony of claiming for themselves the loving, compassionate, and kenotic God that they refuse to image to nonhuman creatures. Such a consideration elicits a more inclusive form of the golden rule: Be to the animals what you would have God be to you.
John Wesley presents a very different depiction of the cosmos and humanity’s role therein in his sermon, “The General Deliverance.” He depicts three stages of the cosmos in salvation history: (1) a protology of cosmic harmony absent of suffering, predation, and death; (2) a cosmic fallenness elicited through human disobedience; and (3) the eschatological redemption of the cosmos in which the protological harmony will be surpassed in a transfigured creation.
Wesley’s view is at odds with many eco-theologies of today. Likewise, advocates of such theologies would likely cringe at Wesley’s understanding of nature. In favor of the eco-theologies, science renders Wesley’s claim about an edenic peace disrupted by human sin untenable. However, Wesley’s view challenges these eco-theologies’ common side-stepping of the problem of the suffering of individual animals vis-à-vis the nature of God.
At this apparent impasse, I propose a manner in moving forward that takes seriously Wesley’s lament over the violence of nature without denying evolutionary history. This path entails two key moves. First, the integrity of creation entails the presence of chance and risk prior to the existence of human beings. This claim removes the element of freewill—whether divine, human, or demonic—from the question of the etiology of violence. Second, the incarnation entails the redemption of all the suffering brought on by chance inasmuch as it reveals that the destiny of energy and matter is transfiguration, which in light of path chance has paved for creation entails the overcoming of suffering, violence, and death.
ethics of conservation is foundationally anthropocentric and only permits indirect moral concern for the nonhuman world.
A comparison of the nature of the imago in Genesis 1 with its nature in the re–creation narrative of Genesis 9:1–3 reveals a troubling shift. The non–violent functional dimension of the image is tainted in a way that renders it difficult to trace back to Elohim. In fact, the functional reign of humanity as depicted in Genesis 9 aligns more easily with the imago Marduk. This reading is further evident in the absence of the term “dominion” in Genesis 9 and the introduction of the terms “fear” and “dread.”
Such a reading of the imago Dei and its functional dominion opposes instrumental understandings of nonhuman animals, both in pre–modern Christianity and especially in the wake of the Cartesian reduction of animals to machines. Furthermore, it speaks to how the “great work” of God is not limited to a concern for the well–being of humans alone. The challenge for contemporary Christians is to consider honestly how they can avoid the irony of claiming for themselves the loving, compassionate, and kenotic God that they refuse to image to nonhuman creatures. Such a consideration elicits a more inclusive form of the golden rule: Be to the animals what you would have God be to you.
John Wesley presents a very different depiction of the cosmos and humanity’s role therein in his sermon, “The General Deliverance.” He depicts three stages of the cosmos in salvation history: (1) a protology of cosmic harmony absent of suffering, predation, and death; (2) a cosmic fallenness elicited through human disobedience; and (3) the eschatological redemption of the cosmos in which the protological harmony will be surpassed in a transfigured creation.
Wesley’s view is at odds with many eco-theologies of today. Likewise, advocates of such theologies would likely cringe at Wesley’s understanding of nature. In favor of the eco-theologies, science renders Wesley’s claim about an edenic peace disrupted by human sin untenable. However, Wesley’s view challenges these eco-theologies’ common side-stepping of the problem of the suffering of individual animals vis-à-vis the nature of God.
At this apparent impasse, I propose a manner in moving forward that takes seriously Wesley’s lament over the violence of nature without denying evolutionary history. This path entails two key moves. First, the integrity of creation entails the presence of chance and risk prior to the existence of human beings. This claim removes the element of freewill—whether divine, human, or demonic—from the question of the etiology of violence. Second, the incarnation entails the redemption of all the suffering brought on by chance inasmuch as it reveals that the destiny of energy and matter is transfiguration, which in light of path chance has paved for creation entails the overcoming of suffering, violence, and death.