A Unit 3: Contents


E Devon‘In the Image of God’:

Humanity’s Role within Creation and Ecological Responsibility

3.1            THE BACKGROUND TO ‘ECOLOGICAL CRISIS’

3.1.1            Introduction to Unit 3

3.1.2            Looking again at Unit 2’s historical outline

3.1.3            Non-human nature as a scarce resource

3.1.4            ‘Ecological crisis’

3.2            EVIDENCE FOR ECOLOGICAL CRISIS?

3.2.1            Introduction

3.2.2            The 1950s and 1960s

3.2.3            The 1970s: deforestation and desertification

3.2.4            The Philippine Catholic Bishops: ‘Our Beautiful Land’

3.2.5            The 1980s: ecological problems on a global scale

3.2.6            1990 to the present: a growing consensus

3.2.7            Ecological destruction and human poverty

3.3            ECOLOGICAL CRISIS: HAS CHRISTIANITY CAUSED IT?

3.3.1            Lynn White Jr’s argument

3.3.2            A patron saint for ecology

3.3.3            Scriptural texts relating to ecological responsibility

3.3.4            ‘In the image of God’: introduction

3.3.5            ‘In the image of God’: (a) dominion in the good creation

3.3.6            ‘In the image of God’: (b) humans as ‘persons in relation’

3.3.7            ‘In the image of God’: summary

3.3.8            Questions for discussion half way through unit

3.4            STATEMENTS IN CST ON ECOLOGICAL ISSUES

3.4.1            Beginnings

3.4.2            Pope John Paul II

3.4.3            The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales

3.4.4            Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis

3.5            ASSESSMENT AND ACTION

3.5.1            Critical overview of CST on ecology: Dorr

3.5.2            Critical overview of CST on ecology: Deane-Drummond

3.5.3            ‘Living life to the full’ with all creation

3.5.4            Review and discussion of Unit 3

3.6            COMMENTS ON UNIT 3

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Go to Unit 4

Back to Module A Outline

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