Date of Award
2002
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Colby Access Only)
Department
Colby College. Religious Studies Dept.
Advisor(s)
Debra Campbell
Second Advisor
Thomas RW Longstaff
Abstract
In this thesis I offer two separate arguments for the creation of an environmentally friendly Christian theology. These arguments, although interconnected, are roughly divided into the main chapters of the thesis. I will begin in Chapter Two by offering a negative argument against the assumption that the natural world is sinful. In their article Hauerwas and Berkman suggest that the suffering of animals is both an example of the sinful state of the environment and a justification for human separation from an unholy natural environment. In response to this view I will argue in the second chapter that the suffering of animals can be seen as part of God's intentions for our world. Suffering, in both the human and the larger world, is not evidence of a fundamental flaw in natural systems. Instead, the cycle of death and life found in the natural world can be profoundly spiritual.
Keywords
Christian Theology, Environment, Natural Theology
Recommended Citation
Wright, Briana, "Natural Theology: A Reevaluation of Christianity's Relationship to the Natural World" (2002). Honors Theses. Paper 549.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/549
Copyright
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