W H I C H NATURE? W H O S E JUSTICE? SHIFTING MEANINGS OF N A T U R E IN R E C E N T E C O T H E O L O G Y by PETER MANLEY SCOTT
R
EVIEWING the diversity of responses in Englishlanguage ecotheology over the last forty years or so, what impresses the reader is the vigour of the response of theology to ecological concerns. Of course, every undergraduate who has studied in this area can quote Lynn White's 1967 judgement that 'Christianity is the most anthropocentric religion the world has seen'.1 Yet, as you review the material, that is hardly the only impression the reader is left with. Mostly, what strikes home is the range and energy of the theological responses. Of course, some adherents of theology proper might regard ecotheology as without standing. Is not environmental concern after all properly a matter for Christian social ethics? However, for those who consider that environmental concern presents the need for the construction or reconstruction of Christian commitments, ecotheology names that theological effort. In what follows, three ways are identified in which nature enters into theology as a way of presenting how ecotheology proceeds. Moreover, a narrative of development is offered in the sense that ecotheology has unfolded by drawing on immanentist themes in theology that stress the presence of God. As difficulties have emerged with this procedure, ecotheology has sought to attend to emerging issues and problems. Finally, this essay concludes by bringing the story of ecotheology up to date: the final topic of consideration is the ecotheology of climate change. What is ecotheology? As a preliminary identification, ecotheology may be understood as that style of theological enquiry which responds to environmental or ecological concerns; ecotheology emerges from the impact of environmental questions upon theology. Dating the beginning of that impact is not easy: US Lutheran theologian Joseph Sitder addressed the World Council of 1
Lynn White, 'The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis', Science 155 (1967),
1203-07, at 1205.
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