Content uploaded by John R Berkman
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by John R Berkman
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
A Trinitarian Theology of the "Chief End" of "All Flesh"
Abstract
In light of the scriptural witness that humans and other animals share in the ultimate end, which is God's peaceable kingdom, we thus believe that each and every creature is created to manifest God's glory. Animals will not manifest God's glory insofar as their lives are measured in terms of human interests, but only insofar as their lives serve God's good pleasure. Similarly, humans manifest God's glory when we learn to see animals as God sees animals, recognizing that animals exist not to serve us, but rather for God's good pleasure.
... Both stories are also suggestive that there is an eschatological telos in Judaism and Christianity, as Walter Brueggemann argues, towards a progressive extension of the "circle of neighborliness" to a growing range of "others" who, in the course of Christian history, come to include other kind (Brueggemann 2002, p. 143;see also Miller 2013). In similar vein, that most eschatological of modern Protestant theologians, Karl Barth, argues that the progressive realization of Christian redemption as a distinctive form of human ethical life would tend towards vegetarianism over time since the original pre-fallen creaturely ethic of Adam and Eve in Paradise is said to have been vegetarian and hence one in which there was no killing (Barth 1989; see also Hauerwas andBerkman 1993, andClough 2019). ...
... Both stories are also suggestive that there is an eschatological telos in Judaism and Christianity, as Walter Brueggemann argues, towards a progressive extension of the "circle of neighborliness" to a growing range of "others" who, in the course of Christian history, come to include other kind (Brueggemann 2002, p. 143;see also Miller 2013). In similar vein, that most eschatological of modern Protestant theologians, Karl Barth, argues that the progressive realization of Christian redemption as a distinctive form of human ethical life would tend towards vegetarianism over time since the original pre-fallen creaturely ethic of Adam and Eve in Paradise is said to have been vegetarian and hence one in which there was no killing (Barth 1989; see also Hauerwas andBerkman 1993, andClough 2019). ...
Horkeimer and Adorno, and later Lynn White Jr, blame the anti-animist strain in Western Christianity, its origination of the scientific and industrial revolutions, and the European Enlightenment, as the cultural roots of the ecological crisis. But evidence shows there is no necessary connection between animism and care for other kind. I propose that a more fruitful approach is to reconsider the post-Reformation and scientific eschewal of agency in nonhuman beings and ecosystems such as forests, rivers, and the oceans. Rediscovering the “agency of the others” is also essential as a means to resolve the ecological crisis, since humans alone cannot restore or “save” the Earth from the systemic effects of 200 years of industrial pollution and destruction of resilient biodiverse habitats. Christian eschatological hope has valuable resources for this approach including evidence that in the lives of the saints new friendships were formed between humans and other animals. Analogously, recent developments in ecological restoration and “rewilding” indicate a new peaceable partnership between humans and other kind and, in the light of Christian messianism, and the “theory of hope,” may be said to anticipate a wider ecological reconciliation between humans and other kind.
... Both stories are also suggestive that there is an eschatological telos in Judaism and Christianity, as Walter Brueggemann argues, towards a progressive extension of the "circle of neighborliness" to a growing range of "others" who, in the course of Christian history, come to include other kind (Brueggemann 2002, p. 143; see also Miller 2013). In similar vein, that most eschatological of modern Protestant theologians, Karl Barth, argues that the progressive realization of Christian redemption as a distinctive form of human ethical life would tend towards vegetarianism over time since the original pre-fallen creaturely ethic of Adam and Eve in Paradise is said to have been vegetarian and hence one in which there was no killing (Barth 1989; see also Hauerwas andBerkman 1993, andClough 2019). ...
This open access volume makes an important contribution to the ongoing research on hope theory by combining insights from both its long history and its increasing multi-disciplinarity. In the first part, it recognizes the importance of the centuries-old reflection on hope by offering historical perspectives and tracing it back to ancient Greek philosophy. At the same time, it provides novel perspectives on often-overlooked historical theories and developments and challenges established views. The second part of the volume documents the state of the art of current research in hope across eight disciplines, which are philosophy, theology, psychology, economy, sociology, health studies, ecology, and development studies. Taken together, this volume provides an integrated view on hope as a multi-faced phenomenon. It contributes to the further understanding of hope as an essential human capacity, with the possibility of transforming our human societies.
The previous chapter explores the manner in which Aquinas’s anthropocentrism and conservationism have been appropriated in contemporary Catholic thought. I suggest there that the magisterial teachings of the Catholic Church continue to maintain the ethics grounded in Aquinas’s theology, albeit at times ambiguously so. In this chapter I seek to contribute to a perspective, already delineated by careful thinkers, that honors a traditional differentiation between humans and animals and at the same time avoids viewing the nonhuman creation strictly in terms of utility.
Hauerwas is used to hearing that he is a sectarian, that he is fideist, and that he lacks a doctrine of creation. In this essay I have claimed that if he expanded his understanding of eschatology, he could successfully withstand all these criticisms. Hauerwas could avoid being called a sectarian if he stopped using spatial metaphors (such as 'living in between' Church and world) and conceived of the distinction in terms of time. The traditional language of eschatology has much to offer ethics when it becomes clear that it lends a particular approach to time. The community of the new time, embodied in the resurrection, shares a space with the rest of society but has a different view of the timeful dimension of all its actions. Eschatology has much to offer Hauerwas in his controversial use of narrative also. Many of the hermeneutical problems associated with postliberal hermeneutics appear very different when attention is paid to the end of the story. While Hauerwas usually addresses such questions by drawing attention to the hermeneutical community, it would help him greatly if he underlined that this community is eschatological in its understanding of revelation. Eschatology is not a gnostic way of devaluing concrete history and ethical practice, nor is it away of reducing the stress on the centrality of Christ. If one concentrates on the non-violent character of creation and the non-violence of the one who went to the cross, one has a theme - peace - which unites all the stages of the Christian story with the definitive character of the Church.
The author aims to retrieve and creatively develop a strand of Christian thought, stretching from early Christian interpretations of biblical data through the hagiographies of the saints into modern Christian thought, which provides a foundation for concern over the welfare of nonhuman animals. To provide the framework for this strand, the author explores the theology of Irenaeus of Lyons and Ephrem the Syrian. First, he considers their positions regarding the place of nonhuman animals in protology and eschatology. Then, he notes their view that the created order is in via toward its eschatological consummation. With this framework in place, he turns to other voices in the Christian tradition, including the hagiographies of the saints, in order to further develop the framework. Ultimately, the author suggests that, within this particular strand of Christian thought, the further a human being progresses along the path of redemption, the more he or she ought to serve as a prolepsis of eschatological hope, which includes peaceful relationships between humans and animals.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.