The desert shall rejoice: A theocentric ecological ethics (H. Richard Niebuhr).

摘要

This project proposes that a transformation of consciousness is needed in Christian people of faith if we are effectively to address environmental concerns in today's world. Claiming that what will be required is for Christians to recognize an organic connection between faith and ecological issues, I ground the call to this recognition in the theological ethics of H. Richard Niebuhr, drawing out of it an approach to ecological issues that I have called "theocentric relatedness." I propose that a theocentric, relational ethics is most adequate for today's churches, providing a counter to the anthropocentrism and radical individualism that pervade in contemporary conversations. I have discovered that the utter relationality of Niebuhr's thought aligns him with ecofeminist thinking. He articulates theologically what ecofeminist are saying ecologically---that is, that "all is connectedness." His thought provides a theological undergirding for ecofeminist attitudes toward the natural world---an approach that can lead Christians to recognize the integral connection between faith and ecological concerns because we recognize that this connection is rooted in the very nature of the Divine.