Christianity - Environmental Ethics

Ethics

System of moral principles by which human moral actions must be judged to be right or wrong

Morals

Description of actual human behaviour

Revealed law

Source of ethical guidance gained from the scriptures

Natural law

Source of ethical guidance derived from the conscious of individuals

Church

Source of ethical guidance from human experience, authorities or traditions

Catholic Church

Greater emphasis on natural law and authoritative churches

Protestant Churches

Very much based upon revealed law, in particular the reformation churches

Old Testament

Rules and laws on every aspect of life, although it must be regarded as secondary to the teachings of Jesus which provide salvation

Golden rule

Love of God and love of neighbour

Jesus

Moral teacher which grounds ethics within Christianity through providing a new covenant, new commandment, and perfecting/complementing Jewish ethical commands

Beatitudes

List of commandments, and source of ethical guidance delivered by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount

Humanity

Made in the image and likeness of God and can find redemption and salvation accoringly

Ecotheology

Belief in the connection between ecology and Christian theology recently developed.

Australian Christianity

Progression of Christianity theology in order to provide greater harmony with the Australian environment

Genesis 1:28

"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it"

Genesis 2:15

"... work and take care of it"

Salvation

Begins with faith in Christ

Human destiny

Motivation for ethical living

Endangered species

Survival of such should - theoretically - be ensured by the connectedness of all species

Reign of God

Situation whereby respect, consideration, harmony and balance thrive

St Francis of Assisi

Rejected power and wealth to live a life in harmony with nature

Hildegard of Bingen

Utilised the healing qualities of nature, respecting it and learning from it

Anthropocentric view

Stance whereby humans are placed at the core, and central to creation

Anthropocentric view of creation

Stance held throughout the majority of the 20th century, where control of the environment was viewed as a form of worship of the creator

Pope John Paul II

Catholic who presented 'Peace with God the Creator, Peace with all Creation' in the Peace Day message on January 1 1990

Bartholomew I

Greek Orthodox Patriarch who said 'To commit a crime against the natural world is a sin' (1999)

Theologians

Developed the field of environmental ethics

Sallie McFague

Liberal Protestant who believes the Physical world is an expression of God

Matthew Fox

Catholic who proposed a mystical approach to the environment

Liberal members

Very aware of environmental ethics teachings

Conservative members

Less likely to be engaged in a significant way

Poor countries

Immensely affected by environmental impacts, and hence substantially involved in the teachings on environmental ethics