Christian Environmental Ethics

Introduction Among m any environmentalists religious belief is often viewed, at best, as irrelevant in addressing environmental issues or, at worst - in particular in the case of Christianity - as a leading culprit in creating the global environmental crisis. No worship, either east or Western, primitive or modern, has ever prevented environmental degradation, and in some instances religions have aided and abetted the destruction of ecosystems. This pooh-pooh for religion reflects the largely unexamined position espoused by scores of ecologists, historians, philosophers, poets, nature writers, governmental activists, and even some theologians who have identified themselves with the ecology causal agent (Santmire, 1985). Two articles which conveniently frame the growth of popular ecological consciousness over the last quarter-century reflect this environmentalist disdain for religion. In his now classic essay, The Historical Roots of Our bionomic Crisis Lynn White, Jr indicts Christianity as the source of humanitys unnatural treatment of nature and its deplorable results (White, 1983). According to White, Christian theology stripped nature of any sacred status leaving it composed of inanimate objects and coarse beasts that humans could exploit and manipulate with impunity.

When this anthropocentric faith was unambiguously joined with modern science and technology an unprecedented foul power was unleashed. Nor did Christianitys destructive influence wane with modern secularity. Although the forms of our cerebration and language have largely ceased to be Christian, we heretofore continue to live ... very largely in a context of Christian axioms (White, 1983). Consequently, in terms of the global environmental crisis, Christianity bears a huge burden of guilt (White, 1983). Twenty-five years after the publication of Whites essay, Wendell Berry, in his article, Christianity and the Survival of initiation, notes that Christians are culpable for the 0960-3115 ©... If you want to get a complete essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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