Bonhoeffer’s Christology in a Warming World: Ecotheological Conversations with Feminist Theology Dianne Rayson University of Newcastle
Abstract The current planetary climate change crisis, characterised by ecological damage, biodiversity loss and climate change, requires humanity to re-examine its relationships to Earth and to each other. The theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s (1906-1945) provides a frame for a fresh approach to understanding these challenges. Bonhoeffer’s ongoing questioning of what it means for Christ to be ‘Lord of the World’ is as relevant today in a globalised world facing climate disruption as it was for the Confessing Church of Germany encountering Nazism. In particular, Bonhoeffer’s commitment to the vulnerable other, in real world scenarios, which emerges from his Christology has distinct resonances with Feminist Ecotheology. This paper explores the relationship between Bonhoeffer’s theology and feminist eco-theologies and suggest that they are important paradigms for a re-examination of human and other-thanhuman relationships where the entirety of the biosphere is fundamental to us becoming fully human.
Introduction The planetary crisis, indeed existential crisis, we face in the twenty-first century could not have been anticipated by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945). Writing his theology amidst National Socialism in Germany, Bonhoeffer’s attention was necessarily directed toward the emergencies of his time. His succinct but comprehensive theology is exemplified in the term 1