Deconstructing Eschatological Violence against Ecology: Planting Images of Ecological Justice

Abstract

Deconstructing Eschatological Violence against Ecology: Planting Images of Ecological Justice Ilsup Ahn Introduction One of the charges brought against Christianity regarding the worldwide ecological crisis is its “otherworldly” eschatology. Known also as the “unearthly eschatology,” its many varieties are based on a traditional belief that with the second coming of Christ, “the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire” (2 Peter 12). If the earth is inevitably coming to an end, there is no need or responsibility for us to develop any programs or practices of sustainable use of natural resources. The neo‐fundamentalist imagination of rapture out of this world renders it even more futile for us to care for our natural environment. The hope for an afterlife has effectively diminished our focus on life itself, at least in Christian world, and as theologian Catherine Keller notes, “[T]he disregard of creation and environment does indeed seem to be endemic to the culture that has called itself Christian.” The purpose of this paper is to address the following questions: Can there be a greening of Christian eschatology? Is it possible for us to construct a new ecological eschatology? If so, how is it biblically and theologically possible? How could Christian religious education facilitate the unlearning of the mundane eschatology as well as the learning of a new ecological eschatology? In this paper, I attempt to answer these questions by focusing on two key fronts: the theological examination of different versions of eschatology and the pedagogical endeavor to deconstruct eschatological violence against ecology. Transformation of the Traditional Eschatology: From the Otherworldly Eschatology to the Ecological Eschatology Eschatology traditionally has been understood as the study of the “last things” (or “end‐time”) and the doctrine that issues from such study. According to Peter C. Phan, in the history of Christian theology, there has been a struggle between two basic metaphors in addressing the Christian account of the last things: the metaphor of “ascent” and the metaphor of “migration to a good land.” He calls the former “the spiritual motif,” the latter “the ecological motif.” The spiritual motif is characterized by its total severance of the relation between God and humanity on one hand and nature on the other, whereas the ecological motif emphasizes the connection and thus humanity's dwelling in history and rootedness in the earth. There are many different versions of eschatology modeled after the spiritual motif, and they are commonly known as “otherworldly” eschatology. Origen is one of the earliest Christian thinkers who promote an otherworldly eschatology. As Phan notes, Origen's otherworldly eschatology is marked by his dualistic worldview. “The material world was not intended by God in his original creative plan; it was subsequently made as the place into which souls are consigned as a punishment for their pre‐temporal fall…. In the end‐time the world will not share in eternal beatitude and will presumably fall back into nothingness.” Although Origen does not argue that evil resides in matter, he holds that matter is created “only for the purpose of educating humanity, through trials and tribulations, to return to a higher incorporeal, spiritual destiny.” The neo‐fundamentalist Christian images of a total annihilation of this wicked world fall largely into this category of Origen's dualistic theological vision. At the center of these types of eschatology lies a skewed perspective which encourages us to live oriented toward a spiritualized heavenly home while turning away from this world. Unfortunately, this view has promoted an attitude of indifference toward nature in many believers. If the material world is inevitably coming to an end, there is no need for us to protect and conserve our natural environment and natural resources. This becomes an important reason that otherworldly eschatology is not just a matter of one's theological stance on the final status of the material world; it is more importantly an ethical issue in that it is deeply related to the shaping of our ethical attitude toward our natural environment. In this respect, Francis Bridger's argument seems convincing: “The rise of a Christian ecological ethic based on eschatology must be set within an understanding of the overall relationship between eschatology...