한국침례신학대학교 도서관

Ecology, eschatology, and Christian ethics- [e-book]

초록/해제: 요약 : This dissertation is a constructive theological proposal, drawing on a variety of historic and contemporary sources, for how Christian churches should respond to the 'environmental crisis.' I identify the churches' past weak response as resulting from a worldview that sees environmental damage as a problem to be solved. Because no one can solve a global crisis, Christians are left with the temptation either to force the results they desire, or to drift into despair. I argue that rather than seeing the earth as an object that needs fixing, Christians should understand the universe as the ongoing activity of God's creation. God's activity, through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, moves from creation through sustaining providence to, ultimately, the Kingdom of Heaven. The universe, therefore, can only rightly be seen eschatologically---that is, through the lens of God's promise of what it will become.

초록/해제: 요약 : This eschatological understanding of creation points toward a particular formulation of Christian ethics, that of witnessing to the Kingdom of God. Witness allows for a way out of the dilemma between messianism and despair in our ecological lives; it ensures the Christian unity of faith and action; it demonstrates the connection between creation and redemption; and it facilitates a sensitivity to differences in social location among Christian lives. Because this witness is a response to God's gift and promise for creation which is delivered to and through the church, the church must become the center of Christian witness. Christian communities of faith witness to the Kingdom's peace, justice/reconciliation/liberation, abundance, diversity, and communication with God---for humans as well as nonhuman creation.

초록/해제: 요약 : In the context of ecological destruction, the churches' witness entails modeling (at least a small measure of) interspecies peace; the eschatological abundance of material resources such that hoarding is unnecessary; a conscious adoption of practices that demonstrate and promote environmental justice; and a joyful austerity in the consumption of natural resources. These practices both require and inculcate the virtue of patience for the church to endure hardship, persevere faithfully without visible successes, and attend closely to the particular needs and possibilities of the biophysical community.