From Biblical Eco-Theology to Contextual Eco-Ecclesiology: Answer to Peet van Dyk's Second and Third Challenges
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35312/studia.v26i2.835Keywords:
Eco-Ecclesiology, Anthropocentrism, Integral Ecology, Peet van Dyk, MagisteriumAbstract
The modern ecological crisis stems from Judeo-Christian theological hermeneutics that emphasizes dominative anthropocentrism and creates a desacralization of nature. The criticism, spearheaded by Harvey Cox and Lynn White Jr., is amplified by the drumming of Peet van Dyk's challenges that question why environmental issues are not addressed in biblical theology and how to avoid erroneous anthropocentric interpretations without tarnishing the true view of Scripture.
This essay describes and analyses the history of the Catholic Church's responses, from the Church Fathers, especially Basil the Great and Augustine, to the Magisterium, especially the teachings of the Popes from the 1960s, from John XXIII to Francis. The framework of the answers given is beyond the pattern. This study shows that the source of the ecological crisis is not from the text of Scripture, but from moral-spiritual issues and technocratic views. In fact, the Church has since its inception offered a relational and integral, moral and ecological framework, which rejected human domination over the universe.
The implication of the findings of this study is that Christianity must transform from a corrective effort to biblical hermeneutics to a church model that is responsive to ecological issues. Contextual Eco-Ecclesiology becomes the transformative-missionary command of the Church to realize integral ecological repentance and universal solidarity as a prophetic response to the socio-ecological crisis.
References
Blum, Fred H. "Harvey Cox on the Secular City." ETHICS 78 (October 2014): 43–61.
Conradie, Ernst M. Christianity and Ecological Theology. Stellenbosch: SUN PRESS, 2006.
Conradie, Ernst M. "TOWARDS AN ECOLOGICAL BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS : A REVIEW ESSAY ON THE EARTH BIBLE PROJECT." Scriptura 85 (2004): 123–35.
Cox, Harvey. THE SECULAR CITY. SECULARIZATION AND URBANIZATION IN THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE. Vol. Sixth Printing. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1965.
Derr, Thomas Sieger. "Religion's Responsibility for the Ecological Crisis: An Argument Run Amok." WORLDVIEW, January 1975, 39–45.
Dyk, Peet van. "Challenges in the Search for an Ecotheology." OTE 32/1 (2009): 186–4.
Fahey, Joseph J. "Pacem in Terris: Historical Context & the Call for Global Governance." The Journal of Social Encounters 8, no. 1 (March 3, 2024): 174–84. https://doi.org/10.69755/2995-2212.1249.
Francis I. "Laudato Yes." Vatican Editor, 2015. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/es/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html.
Habel, Norman C. "The Challenge of Ecojustice Readings for Christian Theology." Pacifica: Australasian Theological Studies 13, no. 2 (2000): 125–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/1030570x0001300202.
Hiers, Richard H. "ECOLOGY, BIBLICAL THEOLOGY, AND METHODOLOGY: BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE ENVIRONMENT." Zygon 19, no. 1 (March 1984): 43–59.
I, Francis. "Fratelli Tutti." Vatican Publisher, 2020. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783451822513.
II, John Paul. "Centesimus Annus." Vatican Press, 1991. https://doi.org/10.32418/rfs.1991.183.2882.
———. "Solicitudo Rei Socialis." Vatican Press, 1987. https://doi.org/10.32418/rfs.1988.172.3004.
Islam, Md Rafiqul. "A Study of Deep Ecology and Environmental Sustainability: Through an Eco-Feminist Lens." Sudurpaschim Spectrum 2, no. 1 (2024): 105–22.
Capt., Kivatsi Jonathan. "Ecological Hermeneutics and the Interpretation of Biblical Texts Yesterday, Today and Onwards: Critical Reflection and Assessment." Old Testament Essays 32, no. 1 (2019): 229–55. https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2019/v32n1a13.
Kochańczyk-Bonińska, Karolina. "The Concept of the Cosmos According to Basil the Great's "On the Hexaemeron." STUDIA PELPIN'SKIE, 2016, 161–69.
W'ehusha Flower. "Redeeming the Priestly Role." OTE. Vol. 27, 2014. www.worldwatch.org.
Yours truly, Alpheus. "The Interface between Ecotheology and Practical Theology: An African Indigenous Knowledge Systems Perspective." Stellenbosch Theological Journal 9, no. 2 (2023): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.17570/stj.2023.v9n2.a12.
Meganck, Martin. "Lynn White Revisited: Religious and Cultural Backgrounds for Technological Development." edited by Steen Hyldgaard Christensen (et al.), 1–18. New York: Springer, 2012.
Mpofu, Buhle. "Pursuing Fullness of Life through Harmony with Nature: Towards an African Response to Environmental Destruction and Climate Change in Southern Africa." HTS Theological Studies 77, no. 4 (2021). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v77i4.6574.
Nascimento Lorivaldo, dos Santos Brandalize Marisete, Brandalize Carlos Alexandre do. "Patristic-Augustinian Contributions to Today's Environmental Crisis." International Journal of Environmental Reslience Research and Science 05, no. N. 03 (2023): 1–18.
Ruether, Radford Rosemary. "Ecology and Theology - Ecojustice at the Center of the Church's Mission." Interpretation, October 2011, 354.
Sibley, Andrew. "Lessons from Augustine's De Genesi ad litteram-libri duodecim." || JOURNAL OF CREATION. Vol. 27, 2013.
Thoreau, Elizabeth. "Green Patriarch, Green Patristics: Reclaiming the Deep Ecology of Christian Tradition." Religions 8 (2017): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8070116.
Tucker, Bruce. "Review: The Secular City Revisited: Harvey Cox and the Religious Moment in American Culture." American Studies 26, no. No. 2 (1985): 83–89.
VI, Paul. "Populorum Progressio." Vatican Press, 1967. https://doi.org/10.1086/642083.
White, Lynn Jr. "The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis." SCIENCE 155, no. Number 3767 (March 1967): 1203–7.
Wijanarko, Robertus. "Postcolonialism and Theological Studies." Studia Philosophica et Theologica 8 (2008): 123–33.
XVI, Benedict. "Caritas in Veritate." Vatican Press, 2009. https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate.html.
XXIII, John. "Pacem in Terris." Vatican Press, 1963. https://doi.org/10.29386/reb.v23i2.5280.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ventje Felix Runtulalo, Raymundus I Made Sudhiarsa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
