Jesus as ecologist: a catholic view of creation and the ecology
This essay provides only a brief exploratory examination of the part played by the natural world in different aspects of the life and teachings of Christ which resonate with ecological messages for humanity. There are also implicit ‘not’ messages to all humanity both rich and poor and everyone in be...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Gregorianum
Year: 2024, Volume: 105, Issue: 2, Pages: 441-456 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament KDB Roman Catholic Church NBD Doctrine of Creation NBF Christology |
| Further subjects: | B
Nature
B Negro spiritual B Catholic B Purification B Creation B Natural World B Metaphor B Renewal B Biblical B Ecological Crisis B Restoration B God B Environment (Art) |
| Summary: | This essay provides only a brief exploratory examination of the part played by the natural world in different aspects of the life and teachings of Christ which resonate with ecological messages for humanity. There are also implicit ‘not’ messages to all humanity both rich and poor and everyone in between leading to a more profound understanding of humanity’s relationship to the environment which makes Christ the perfect ecologist, so to speak. Nowhere does Christ advocate revolutionary political overthrow in the name of ecological crisis or blame the existence of money nor the rich for the ills of the environment or society, for that matter. Christ is presented as a living model of how humanity is instructed to relate to a natural world created by God with mutual respect and reverence. From a Catholic viewpoint, the fact that God is dynamically present within the natural world means that all of created order is at once both physical and spiritual. From the very beginning, Christ is ushered into the human world via a birth caressed by nature, as made clear in the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke. At baptism, again we see nature taking central stage in supernatural drama filled with episodes of purification - even in the way John the Baptist is dressed for the occasion. Lastly, the canvass of the natural world even provides the vivid background and testimony of nature as restoration and renewal in the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Christ. The implications of viewing nature as metaphor, teacher, purifier, restorer, renewal, and sacred are presented. |
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| ISSN: | 0017-4114 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Gregorianum
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