Towards Alternative Green Theologies - First two steps.

Developing a hermeneutic which reads the Bible from the perspective of the Earth community and deconstruct dominant theology are the two important steps we have to take before we engage ourselves towards Alternative Green Theologies.

The Earth crisis challenges us to read the Bible afresh and ask whether the biblical text itself, its interpreters or both-have contributed to this crisis. And also we have to deconstruct the dominant, anthropocentric, patriarchal theology and should move further towards a Green Theology which engages with the victims (Alternative Green Theology). It is not the matter interpreting the Creation story in different way but an ecological and subaltern approach to the Bible. Reading the Bible from the subaltern perspective questions the idea of domination and exploitation of the earth and its people in the arrogant assumption that creation exists merely for us to use and exploit. The topic for today’s discussion is “Towards Alternative Green Theologies” and the explanation given in the syllabus says that to develop a new theology we have to deconstruct the basic concepts. This deconstruction will be possible through new hermeneutical engagements from the subaltern perspectives

A close analysis of the way in which many Christian traditions, especially West, have read the Biblical texts reveals a strong tendency to devalue the earth. Earth devaluation, in turn, provides an intellectual justification for exploitation of the environment. The interpretations, readings have seen the redemption of human as the primary and the creation was secondary to creation. Christianity, and its sacred text, the Bible, have not been exempt from the search for a culprit. Lynn White Jr. criticized Christianity is the most anthropocentric religion the world has seen. Without a critical hermeneutic engagement from the perspective of the victims including nature, women, Tribals, Dalits, Adivasis and other subaltern communities Green Theology is incomplete. The Alternative Green Theology which we are talking is not an isolated theological engagement only with nature by excluding other victims but we find ourselves in an earth community.

The Deconstruction of the Christian Theology

The ecological crisis challenges the very way we do theology in the 21st century and the way we read the Bible. According to Rosemary Radford Reuther, “From Bible and tradition, Christian Theology has inherited an understanding of natural reality that often views God over creation, more than in and with the natural world, and humans as other than part of the biotic community. Classical Western cultural traditions, codified between 500 BCE and 800 CE, of which Christianity is a major expression, have sacralized relationships of domination. The Bible has more promising leads, but our inherited view of God’s relationship to creation, and our relationship to nature, have modeled certain patterns of (male white) domination of women, slaves, Indians, blacks, and so on”. When theology loose it subaltern nature it creates disintegration and collapse in and around us. My proposal is that we have to redeem theology from the dominant consciousness and we should engage ourselves in the journey towards alternative theologies.

Our task is to develop a theology which is subaltern in nature and should deconstruct the existing basic theological concepts. Six Ecojustice Principles (developed by earth Bible team) will help us in this discourse (1) The Principle of Intrinsic Worth. The universe, earth and all its components have intrinsic worth/value. (2) The Principle of Interconnectedness. Earth is a community of interconnected living things that are mutually dependent on each other for life and survival. (3) The Principle of Voice. Earth is a subject capable of raising its voice in celebration and against injustice. (4) The Principle of Purpose. The universe, Earth and all its components, are part of a dynamic cosmic design within which each piece has place in the overall goal of that design. (5) The Principle of Mutual Custodianship. Earth is a balanced and diverse domain where responsible custodians can function as partners, rather than rulers, to sustain a balanced and diverse Earth community. (6) The Principle of Resistance. Earth and its components not only differ from injustices at the hands of humans, but actively resist them in the struggle for justice.

The doctrine of redemption has to be reinterpreted and analysed in relation with the whole cosmos. Human being cannot be whole in a wounded and exploited creation and also Creation cannot be in its fullness when human beings are alienated, excluded and divided between themselves and nature.

Towards an Ecojustice Hermeneutical Engagement.

We have to formulate a fresh approach to read the Bible. Rather than reflecting about the Earth as we analyse a text, we are seeking to reflect with earth and see things from the perspective of Earth. We need to develop an eco justice hermeneutic. McAfee recognizes that an ecological approach to the world is distinct from the theological concept of creation. We have to understand that oppression of women, Dalits, Adivasis, and other subaltern communities are interconnected. The eco justice hermeneutic we are talking about will help us to uncover oppression in all kinds. We take up the cause of justice for Earth to ascertain whether Earth and Earth community are oppressed, silenced or liberated in the Biblical text. In this hermeneutic struggle we acknowledge, before reading the biblical text, that as Western interpreters we are heirs to a long anthropocentric, patriarchal and androcentric approach to reading the text that has devalued Earth and that continues to influence the way we read the text. And declare, before reading the text, that we are members of a human community that has exploited, oppressed and endangered the existence of the Earth community.

Why we need a re-reading or deconstruction when we talk about Green Theology? Because many Biblical Texts are not only androcentric but anthropocentric, meaning that the Earth is quasi absent as the drama of human (male) life takes center- stage. Since the Bible has served ideologies and practices which have led to the exploitation and destruction of the earth, it is necessary to be cautious when approaching it with Earth consciousness.

Patriarchy, as a cultural ideology and phenomenon, depends upon the dual dominations of women and nature/Earth. Biblical scholars put two options about the Bible- the choices are explicit: to accept the patriarchal Bible as sacred and authoritative and to content to expose its patriarchy, or expose its patriarchy and reject it as sacred and authoritative. Eco-feminism challenges a patriarchal, hierarchical and dualistic world view and holds that the domination of the earth is inseparable with the oppression of women.

We all are on the way towards alternative theologies which takes this earth community as a unit. Any kind of domination, exclusion and division will destruct the image God. I hope that our theological discourses and engagements help us to move with God and Creation towards the fullness of life.


(This is a response on the paper "Towards Alternative Green Theologies")