JORAS - Nigerian Journal of Religion and Society

The ecological degradation brought upon our planet though human greed is to be recognised today as a moral and an ethical challenge to humanity which falls within the realm of social ethics. There is need today to move from an econocentric to an ecocentric worldview and to correct that 'anthropological error' on which today's ecological crisis can be blamed. A Christian theology of the environment is needed to counteract the excessively anthropocentric interpretations of the Creation story of Genesis which have justified humanity's irresponsible subjection, exploitation and manipulation of the rest of creation. The elements of creation have been seen as of no intrinsic value except in terms of their usefulness to humanity. Often forgotten is that human beings do not just live within the natural environment but we are part of that environment; we are a part of nature, depend on nature and are subject to the inscrutable laws of nature. Today ecological responsibility and ecological justice call us to repentance and conversion for the sins we have committed against natural creation. This demands a revision of certain presuppositions we have had regarding ourselves and the rest of our environment.

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