Climate Change and the Symbol Deficit in the Christian Tradition

Climate Change and the Symbol Deficit in the Christian Tradition PDF

Author: Jan-Olav Henriksen

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-02-24

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 0567705005

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Exploring how the climate crisis discloses the symbol deficit in the Christian tradition, this book argues that Christianity is rich in symbols that identify and address the failures of humans and the obstacles that prevent humans from doing well, while positive symbols that can engage people in constructive action seem underdeveloped. Henriksen examines the potential of the Christian tradition to develop symbols that can engage peoples in committed and sustained action to prevent further crisis. To do so, he argues that we need symbols that engage both intellectually and emotionally, and which enhance our perception of belonging in relationships with other humans, be it both in the present and in the future. According to Henriksen, the deficit can only be obliterated if we can develop symbols that have some root or resonance in the Christian tradition, provide concrete and specified guidance of agency, engage people both emotionally and intellectually, and finally open up to visions for a moral agency that provide positive motivations for caring about environmental conditions as a whole.

Theological Anthropology in the Anthropocene

Theological Anthropology in the Anthropocene PDF

Author: Jan-Olav Henriksen

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-12-14

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 3031210581

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The Anthropocene presents theology, and especially theological anthropology, with unprecedented challenges. There are no immediately available resources in the theological tradition that reflect directly on such experiences. Accordingly, the situation calls for contextually based theological reflection of what it means to be human under such circumstances. This book discusses the main elements in theological anthropology in light of the fundamental points: a) that theological anthropology needs to be articulated with reference to, and informed by, the concrete historical circumstances in which humanity presently finds itself, and b) that the notion of the Anthropocene can be used as a heuristic tool to describe important traits and conditions that call for a response by humanity, and which entail the need for a renewal of what a Christian self-understanding means. Jan-Olav Henriksen explores what such a response entails from the point of view of contemporary theological anthropology and discusses selected topics that can contribute to a contextually based position.

T&T Clark Handbook of Christian Theology and Climate Change

T&T Clark Handbook of Christian Theology and Climate Change PDF

Author:

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-12-12

Total Pages: 728

ISBN-13: 0567675173

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The T&T Clark Handbook of Christian Theology and Climate Change entails a wide-ranging conversation between Christian theology and various other discourses on climate change. Given the far-reaching complicity of "North Atlantic Christianity" in anthropogenic climate change, the question is whether it can still collaborate with and contribute to ongoing mitigation and adaptation efforts. The main essays in this volume are written by leading scholars from within North Atlantic Christianity and addressed primarily to readers in the same context; these essays are critically engaged by respondents situated in other geographic regions, minority communities, non-Christian traditions, or non-theological disciplines. Structured in seven main parts, the handbook explores: 1) the need for collaboration with disciplines outside of Christian theology to address climate change; 2) the need to find common moral ground for such collaboration; 3) the difficulties posed by collaborating with other Christian traditions from within; 4) the questions that emerge from such collaboration for understanding the story of God's work; and 5) God's identity and character; 6) the implications of such collaboration for ecclesial praxis; and 7) concluding reflections examining whether this volume does justice to issues of race, gender, class, other animals, religious diversity, geographical divides and carbon mitigation. This rich ecumenical, cross-cultural conversation provides a comprehensive and in-depth engagement with the theological and moral challenges raised by anthropogenic climate change.

Love in a Time of Climate Change

Love in a Time of Climate Change PDF

Author: Sharon Delgado

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2017-07-15

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1506418864

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Love in a Time of Climate Change challenges readers to develop a loving response to climate change, which disproportionately harms the poor, threatens future generations, and damages God’s creation. This book creatively adapts John Wesley’s theological method by using scripture, tradition, reason, and experience to explore the themes of creation and justice in the context of the earth’s changing climate. By consciously employing these four sources of authority, readers discover a unique way to reflect on planetary warming theologically and to discern a faithful response. The book’s premise is that love of God and neighbor in this time of climate change requires us to honor creation and establish justice for our human family, for future generations, and for all creation. From the introduction: “As we entrust our lives to God, we are enabled to join with others in the movement for climate justice and to carry a unified message of healing, love, and solidarity as we live into God’s future, offering hope in the midst of the climate crisis that ‘another world is possible.’ God is ever present, always with us. Love never ends.”

Spiritual Life on a Burning Planet

Spiritual Life on a Burning Planet PDF

Author: David T. Bradford

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2020-10-09

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 1725282119

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Spiritual Life on a Burning Planet draws on scientific research in developing religious perspectives on anthropogenic climate change. Its four chapters are entitled “Tolling Bells,” “Burning Planet,” “Eschatology in the Anthropocene,” and “The Downward Passage.” “Tolling Bells” introduces the topic of climate change and several of its emotional and biblical implications. “Burning Planet” provides an overview of the science of climate change and surveys the effects of global warming on human life later this century. The essays in “Eschatology in the Anthropocene” develop theological interpretations of climate change and examine its moral, spiritual, social, and psychological dimensions. “The Downward Passage” focuses on Christ's descent, the harrowing of hell, understood as a point of doctrine and an exemplary image of forthcoming challenges as we advance more deeply into the Anthropocene. A spiritual path suited to the Anthropocene is outlined. Its watchword is penthos, a traditional practice with sufficient power to convey a person through the grief and mourning that represent a true grasp of our having forced the earth into a new geological epoch.

Christians, the Care of Creation, and Global Climate Change

Christians, the Care of Creation, and Global Climate Change PDF

Author: Lindy Scott

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2008-03-01

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 1630877026

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Christians, the Care of Creation, and Global Climate Change is a wake-up call for Christians and others. It is a cogent and persuasive call to love God and our neighbors by caring for creation--especially in light of the dramatic climate changes occurring before our eyes. This book is not the final word on the subject, but it is a sincere invitation to examine the scientific evidence for global warming and to respond with individual and collective faithful actions. CONTRIBUTORS: Douglas Allen, Jeffrey K. Greenberg, P. J. Hill, Sir John T. Houghton, A. Duane Litfin, Ben Lowe, Vincent E. Morris, L. Kristen Page, Lindy Scott, Noah J. Toly

God, Creation, and Climate Change

God, Creation, and Climate Change PDF

Author: Richard W. Miller (II.)

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13:

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Leading theologians and ethicists reflect on the most serious crisis of our time, offering insights from theology, history, and ethics to aid in the transformation required to meet it. The magnitude of the problem of environmental degradation and climate change requires a complete rethinking and reorientation of our way of being in the world. Responding to this crisis requires not only a conversion of the will but even more fundamentally a transformation of the imagination-that is, the capacity to think of other ways of being, thinking, and acting in the world. These original essays, by a distinguished group of Catholic scholars, assess the gravity of the situation and offer resources from biblical and theological traditions for the necessary mobilization of will and the conversion of our imaginations. Book jacket.

Climate Change Cultural Change

Climate Change Cultural Change PDF

Author: David Gormley-O'Brien

Publisher:

Published: 2016-12-31

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 9781925208702

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Tackles the urgent issues arising from climate change and explores how hidden resources in our religious traditions can guide our responses. Various chapters in the book draw from the Scriptures startling and fresh insights on how both Hebrew and Christian writers see God at work in the entire Creation, loving it and holding it in being. Other chapters recover patristic and later theological thinking on how deeply connected we humans are with matter itself, along with all living things, and hence our responsibility to reverence the entire Creation as a part of Gods handiwork.

Hope in the Age of Climate Change

Hope in the Age of Climate Change PDF

Author: Chris Doran

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2017-04-27

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 149829703X

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It is difficult to be hopeful in the midst of daily news about the effects of climate change on people and our planet. While the Christian basis for hope is the resurrection of Jesus, unfortunately far too many American Protestant Christians do not connect this belief with the daily witness of their faith. This book argues that the resurrection proclaims a notion of hope that should be the foundation of a theology of creation care that manifests itself explicitly in the daily lives of believers. Christian hope not only inspires us to do great and courageous things but also serves as a critique of current systems and powers that degrade humans, nonhumans, and the rest of creation and thus cause us to be hopeless. Belief in the resurrection hope should cause us to be a different sort of people. Christians should think, purchase, eat, and act in novel and courageous ways because they are motivated daily by the resurrection of Jesus. This is the only way to be hopeful in the age of climate change.