Matthew T. Riley
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780823263196
- eISBN:
- 9780823266531
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823263196.003.0016
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Matthew T. Riley's essay returns to the beginnings of ecotheology, but only in order to tell the tale differently and expose the overlooked place of the animal in it. Ecotheology in its early stages ...
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Matthew T. Riley's essay returns to the beginnings of ecotheology, but only in order to tell the tale differently and expose the overlooked place of the animal in it. Ecotheology in its early stages largely coalesced in response to the accusations leveled at Christianity by Lynn White, Jr. in his 1967 article, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis.” Riley argues, however, that the White of the popular ecotheological imagination is a reductionistic construct. Reading White's seminal article in the context of his larger body of work reveals a profound theological vision of “a spiritual democracy of all God's creatures,” human and nonhuman alike. White was not just a critic of Christianity, Riley contends, but a prophetic Christian voice.Less
Matthew T. Riley's essay returns to the beginnings of ecotheology, but only in order to tell the tale differently and expose the overlooked place of the animal in it. Ecotheology in its early stages largely coalesced in response to the accusations leveled at Christianity by Lynn White, Jr. in his 1967 article, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis.” Riley argues, however, that the White of the popular ecotheological imagination is a reductionistic construct. Reading White's seminal article in the context of his larger body of work reveals a profound theological vision of “a spiritual democracy of all God's creatures,” human and nonhuman alike. White was not just a critic of Christianity, Riley contends, but a prophetic Christian voice.
