9 Nature Redeemed

Abstract

AbstractPaul Santmire expressed his disappointment in a personal encounter with Barth in which the latter was roundly critical of Santmire's proddings to produce a theology of nature. This chapter argues that Santmire seems to have missed the place Barth's theology had already made for nature: the way of the Reconciler restores nature to theology and humans to the earth. Yet there are ambivalences, shortcomings, and inconsistencies in Barth's thought that may explain why Barth himself could not tell Santmire of that place. Barth failed to engage sufficiently and seriously with the natural world, for which he is rightly faulted. Despite his love of country retreats and mountain walks, it was the world of letters and politics that captivated his extratheological attentions. But that bias is not necessary to his theological commitments. In only a few cases do substantial dogmatic or interpretive decisions lie behind Barth's evasion of nature, and even here they appear unnecessary from Barth's wider project. Otherwise his theology bends in the other direction, as God claims human freedom within the environment of Jesus. In answer to the problems with stewardship ethics, Barth's account of grace counsels stewardship away from the hubris of partnership models and shows how it might theologically accommodate the use of natural sciences and environmental experience. Barth also lets stewardship theologies imagine how to talk about an ethical place of Christian witness, thus showing how stewardship may be well suited to engage issues like agriculture, built environments, and ecological restoration.