Interestingly, even though Tillich's conception of God is the most consonant with
the ecological motif of all the theologians Santmire considers, he excludes
Tillich from his book. In a footnote toward the end of the book, Santmire
explains his reason for this exclusion by claiming that "Tillich writes
self-consciously 'on the boundary' of classical Christian thought. This is
indicated most dramatically, perhaps, by his 'hyper-personalism,' his refusal
to think of God in personal terms. He asserts that the personal is rooted in
God, not that God is personal" (p. 252). As Santmire notes, this places
Tillich's thought outside of the ecological dilemma that traditional Christian
thought finds itself in, namely, the confession that a personal, highest being called God is master of all of impersonal nature. Santmire,
nonetheless, makes the following observation: "Some critics of the
Christian tradition would perhaps maintain that the only way for Christians to
have both God and nature is to follow Tillich's path. That may be. But that is
moving outside of the classical theological tradition, as we know it in the
West" (Ibid.). Thus, Santmire neglects Tillich in this work, even while
acknowledging his significance. For a sustained discussion of the relevance of
Tillich's thought for environmental ethics, see Jeremy Yunt, "Reverencing
Life in its Multidimensionality: Implications in the Thought of Paul Tillich
for a Deep Environmental Ethic," unpublished Master's thesis, Pacific
School of Religion (Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA), 1999.
To return to the previous topic, click on your browser's 'Back' button. |
|