Theology and the culture of the sciences

This is a PDF version of an article published in New Blackfriars© 2000. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.This article discusses the relationship between religion and science. It focuses on facts and values, encultured science, exploring elements of scientific culture, theology and scientism, and theology and the future of science

Gaia as science made myth: Implications for environmental ethics

This is a PDF version of an article published in Studies in Christian Ethics© 1996. The definitive version is available at http://sce.sagepub.comThis article discusses the Gaia hypothesis - the earth as a giant ecosystem. It comments on scientific models of Gaia (the interconnected model, the homeostatic process model, the cooperative evolutionary model, the ideological/technological model) and ambiguous ethical implications. The article particularly comments on the work of James Lovelock

Fabricated humans? Human genetics, ethics and the Christian wisdom tradition

This is a PDF version of an article published in Dialog© 2005. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.This article discusses moral and ethical issues surrounding genetic screening and testing and argues that principles of Christian ethics and wisdom can guide this debate

Genetic engineering for the environment: Ethical implications of the biotechnology revolution

This is a PDF version of an article published in Heythrop Journal© 1995. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.This article discusses the environmental consequences of genetic engineering for agricultural purposes within a theological and philosophical framework. The advanatges and disadvantages of genetic engineering of crop plants are anlaysed. Theological aspects of genetic engineering and animals and nature are commented upon

Development and environment: in dialogue with liberation theology

This is a PDF version of an article published in New Blackfriars© 1997. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.This article discusses the relationship between environmental issues and liberation theology and focuses on how liberation theology can contribute to the current debate over an inclusive enviromental theology

Futurenatural? A future of science through the lens of wisdom

This is a PDF version of an article published in Heythrop Journal© 1999. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.This article discusses genetic engineering and Christian theories of wisdom, particularly in relation in creation, redemption, and apocalyptic literature. It concludes by discussing a future of science through the lens of wisdom

Eco-Theology

Concern for the environment has developed and intensified over the last few decades to the point where it now dominates much of our contemporary political landscape and culture. The rise of religious environmentalism in particular adds its own distinctive voice to the debate, for it seeks to trace both the malaise and a potential solution to environmental understanding. In Eco-Theology, Celia Deane-Drummond offers a comprehensive resource book for this burgeoning field of enquiry that highlights and seeks to evaluate the merits or otherwise of contemporary eco-theologies. She introduces the reader to critical debates in eco-theology, tracing trends from around the globe and key theological responses, and encourages reflection and analysis through further reading sections at the end of each chapter and questions for discussion

Introduction (to Creaturely theology)

This book chapter is not available through ChesterRep.This book chapter introduces the edited book Creaturely theology: On God, humans and other animals. It discusses the term 'creaturely theology' - theology which is conscious of the theologian's own creatureliness and begins with the recognition of humans likeliness to others of God's creatures rather than differences between them

Re-imaginando a imagem de Deus: Natureza humana, evolução e outros animais

The image of God has, for much of the history of Christian theology, sought to defi ne the meaning of human uniqueness by stressing human superiority over against other animals. Many environmentalists and other scientists now argue that we have entered a new era, the Anthropocene, where humans dominate the life on planet earth, reinforced by a restricted interpretation of Neo-Darwinian human evolution in terms of survival of the fittest. Against such separation narratives, the importance of acknowledging the fluidity of the human/other animal boundary surfaces in literature, philosophy, religious studies and current anthropology. I will draw on current anthropology to present a case that even prior to the emergence of symbolic religious capabilities humans evolved in cooperative communities that recognized the signifi cance of other animals as part of a wider community niche. I argue in this lecture that a constructive theological anthropology needs to be sensitive to such insights, while offering its own distinctive voice. In order to do this, I press for an interpretation of the image of God in terms of theodrama, one that has some analogies with current anthropological understanding of hominid evolution through community niche construction. Theodrama does not eschew human distinctiveness, but it places greater emphasis on an enlarged vision of community of creatures. Theodrama is, in this view, about the specifi c performance of humanity in relation to God, but it is responsive in evolutionary and ecological terms to the active presence of other creatures.A imagem de Deus, por boa parte da história da teologia cristã, buscou definir o significado da singularidade humana ao enfatizar a superioridade humana sobre os outros animais. Muitos ambientalistas e outros cientistas agora argumentam que entramos em uma nova era, a era Antropocena, na qual humanos dominam a vida no planeta Terra, reforçado por uma interpretação restrita à evolução humana neodarwinista em termos de sobrevivência do mais forte. Contra tais narrativas de separação está a importância de reconhecer a fluidez das superfícies limítrofes de humanos/animais na literatura, filosofia, estudos de religião e antropologia atual. Recorro à antropologia atual para apresentar um caso de que até antes da emergência das capacidades religiosas simbólicas os humanos evoluíram em comunidades humanas que reconheceram a signifi cância de outros animais como parte de um nicho comunitário mais amplo. Neste artigo, trago a argumentação de que uma antropologia teológica construtiva precisa ser sensível a tais insights, enquanto oferece sua própria voz distintiva. Para fazer isso, pressiono por uma interpretação da imagem de Deus em termos de teodrama, que tenha algumas analogias com a compreensão antropológica atual da evolução hominídea por meio da construção de um nicho comunitário. Teodrama não evita o distintivo humano, mas coloca mais ênfase numa visão mais ampla de comunidade de criaturas. Teodrama, nessa perspectiva, é sobre a atuação específica da humanidade em relação a Deus, mas é responsiva em termos evolucionários e ecológicos à presença ativa de outras criaturas