Fale-'o-Kainga: Rethinking Biblical Interpretation Eco-wise

Abstract A few paradigms that theologians have discussed offer us an opportunity to see whether a non-anthropocentric biblical view, counter to dominion could be possible. If Gen. 1.26-28 is isolated, we may think that dominion is the normative biblical orientation for human-earth relations. However, a theology of creation must be situated within the broader context of the entire Bible. A draft of my Presentation in ECOTHEE 2015 Under the Topic: Eco-theology

Six entries on ecology and the Bible, including Hebrew Bible, Rabbinic Judaism, modern Judaism, Christianity, Islam. My entry is the second one here (II. A.), pp.974-81, with other sections by Ellen Bernstein, Russell Butkus, David Johnston, Gaye Ortiz.

Scriptura, 2012

This review essay on the five volumes of the Earth Bible series focuses on the critical Biblical hermeneutics employed in the series. It describes the background of the project within the context of the emergence of ecological theology and assesses the significance of the project towards the development of an ecological Biblical hermeneutics.

This paper explores how Gen. 1:1-2:4a reflects the concept of sustainable development (SD) and posits symbols for addressing ecological crisis: symbols that can be used to inform our belief systems. This investigation is imperative in the face of the integrated effort in finding solutions to ecological and environmental difficulties. Its rationale, therefore, is to demonstrate that the Bible can equally engage in the discourse on SD. It, indeed, has something to offer in the quest for solutions to ecological crisis. In this respect, there is the need for exploratory studies aimed at investigating the prospects for positive interface between the Bible and ecology, toward pragmatic response to ecological crisis.

JAOT, 2023

Commencing with a personal prelude to ecological biblical hermeneutics and inspired by a prophetic call of Pope Francis, the present paper outlines how in times of profound crisis, the need to choose what counts is urgent. With recourse to the same model of crisis and choice, a brief overview of some of the salient eco-biblical proposals is presented which then sets the stage for the author's eco-hermeneutical reading of Isaiah 34-35, which brings to the fore the prophetic portrayal wherein otherwise marginal/ized earth-companions meaningfully show similarity with the cherished Israelite traditions and theological visions.

Scriptura, 2012

The article argues that discourse about the Bible and the environment is often insufficiently materialistic and insufficiently theological. Ideas are not the motive force of history, but arise in a complex dialectic in which humans create and are created by their environment (Marx). This is briefly illustrated by examples from the Old Testament, focusing on how Israel encountered her environment as promise and problem. When it comes to disinterested concern for the earth, however, we have to go beyond this-closer to God, not closer to nature which offers no unambiguous moral resources. This too is implicit in the Bible.

Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, 2019

Since the publication of Lynn White Jr.’s “the Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis” (1967) Christian theologians and Biblical scholars alike have been hard pressed to search the Christian tradition for theological funding for positive ecological engagement. As a result of this endeavor, it has been revealed that the Christian tradition, identified by White as the culprit guilty for the onset and exacerbation of our current environmental crisis, has been historically misinterpreted by anthropocentric communities, whose theological formulations have resulted in an ecologically degenerative Christian dogmatics. Thus, theologians and Biblical scholars alike have tirelessly sought to reinterpret the Christian tradition revealing the ecological sensitivity espoused by the Biblical tradition itself. Among such pioneers are New Testament scholars who have attempted to read Paul’s letters ecologically, interpreting the Pauline material with a view towards positive ecological engagement. However, despite the recent surge in such ecological readings of Paul, NT scholars have consistently failed to identify and/or justify the interpretive strategies employed in their various construals of Pauline texts. The strategies employed range from: historical-critical readings of recovery, which seek to recover the original meaning of Paul’s authorial intent in attempt to generate contemporary eco-ethical action; personal-ascetical readings, which contend that modern ecological appropriation must take place through the liturgical embodiment of NT eschatological texts; doctrinal construct readings, which attempt to construct an eco-theological conceptual lens through which other Scriptural texts are interpreted and appropriated ecologically; narrative readings, which place modern readers within the substructural Pauline creation narratives to incite modern ecological activism; ethical principle strategies, which seek to identify general ethical principles from Paul’s particular situational ethics; and reconstructive readings, which seek to read Pauline scripture from the perspective of the Earth in order to construct an inventive eco-theological tradition from Christian Scripture. Given such hermeneutical diversity, if any substantive progress is to be made in the ecological interpretation of Paul, NT scholars must first identify (and/or formulate) and validate the hermeneutical strategies by which ecological interpretations can proceed. To foster such methodological progress the following paper presents a survey of all available ecological readings of Paul followed by an evaluation of each interpretive strategy according to its hermeneutical and exegetical validity. To conclude, the paper gestures towards a promising hermeneutical trajectory for future “ecological” readings. Ultimately, this paper exposes the inherent weaknesses of NT/Pauline ecological interpretation, and suggests a fruitful way forward for “ecological” engagement with the NT.

Landscapes: the journal of the international centre for landscape and language, 2019

McMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry 14, 2012

Christian Theocentric Environmentalism, 2023

Theocentrism is the position that places God at the center of discourse; God is the Landlord and Manager of everything that exists. Analogous to other environmental theories such as anthropocentrism, zoocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism, and eco-feminism, theocentrism posits that God owns the universe and so the best manual on how to come to terms with the universe emanates from Him. God's commands are contained both in written scriptures and in oral traditions. While the former includes the Bible, Qur'an, and Bhagavad Gita, amongst others, the latter includes proverbs, myths, taboos, totems and rituals observed by different cultures across the globe. Unfortunately, a prevailing misinterpretation of scriptures considers theocentrism as nothing but ontological anthropocentrism, of which anthropocentric position in all its strands is egoistic. It is the moribund environmentalist position humanity has ever devised. The argument of this paper is that the authentic theocentric position is anti-anthropocentric. This position is embedded implicitly or explicitly in the Scriptures if it can be carefully unraveled. It continues thenceforth to establish that theocentric position is distinctly different from every other position. It is yet the most environmentally friendly position, without necessarily being at the expense of humans.

Studies in Christian Ethics, 2008

This article surveys and classifies the kinds of appeal to the Bible made in recent theological discussions of ecology and environmental ethics. These are, first, readings of 'recovery', followed by two types of readings of 'resistance'. The first of these modes of resistance entails the exercise of suspicion against the text, a willingness to resist it given a commitment to a particular (ethical) reading perspective. The second, by contrast, entails a resistance to the contemporary ethical agenda, given a perceived commitment to the Bible. This initial typology, and the various reading strategies surveyed, are then subjected to criticism, as part of an attempt to begin to develop an ecological hermeneutic, a hermeneutic which operates between recovery and resistance with an approach that may be labelled 'revision', 'reformation', or 'reconfiguration'.

Indonesian Journal of English Language Studies (IJELS)

Whether one chooses to acknowledge or disregard its significance, nature has always been part of us. In an anthropogenic era, the dire state of the environment has made it an increasingly concerning topic of discussion among us. Nature has been extensively examined in numerous scholarly discussions ranging from secular to religious perspectives. This paper examines how nature plays a crucial role in helping us understand the relationship between God and humans, as portrayed in the Bible. The Bible being a religious text exists with very specific purposes. That being said, elements of nature were also used very specifically in the Bible. Most presently available scholarly research focuses on reading the significance of nature elements from religious perspectives. However, this research employs the eco-spirituality theory to examine the book of Jonah from the Bible to determine the relationship between Jonah, God, and nature. Through this secular perspective, the aim is to show that e...

Relations, 2017

The aim of this paper is double. On the one hand, it focuses on the relationship between Christian religion and ecology in order to inquire into the most common charges that environmentalist movements address to Christians and to evaluate them showing their historical roots. On the other, this study will show how some recent suggestions taken from Catholic authors-who, at the same time, are the traditional ones-and from the teachings of the Church, could be useful to encourage and to promote ecological ethics founded on human responsibility. In order to do so, an historical method will be used. In the first part, some authors from the Patristic-Scholastic age will be take into consideration, with particular care to Augustine. In the second part an article by Lynn White will be presented as an emblematic turning point in the relationship between Christian religion and ecologists, paying attention first, to the Puritan context of his writings, and, second, to the birth of contemporary environmentalist theories. In the last part Romano Guardini's work and Francis' "Laudato si'" will be considered. My attention will be focused on the interpretation of some relevant verses taken from the Bible book of Genesis.

Wittenberg suggested that the dominion metaphor in Gen 1:28 and Ps 8 should be transformed to have a less dominating character. In this he followed Vicky Balabanski's idea that a Stoic interpretation of the Christ hymn in Col 1:15-20 could be used as a hermeneutic key to achieve such a transformation. Wittenberg's suggestions that ecotheology should involve more than analysing a few isolated texts and thus become central to biblical theology, that biblical metaphors should be transformed when necessary and that ecotheology should be informed by modern science, are appraised as important markers for doing ecotheology. The success of transforming the dominion metaphor by using the idea of interconnectedness is however questioned because of the fundamental difference between the biological and biblical concepts of interconnectedness. It is further suggested that ecotheology should be linked more deliberately to the larger hermeneutical frameworks of Rudolph Bultmann and Hans-Georg Gadamer when exploring the transformation of biblical metaphors. Finally it is suggested that the biblical concept of wilderness may be a more fruitful metaphor when exploring such transformations.