Published by Center for Theological Inquiry, Princeton. (Free) Reviewed by Peter Matheson

The online magazine Fresh Thinking from the Princeton Center for Theological Inquiry offers theological perspectives of scholars from around the world including Aotearoa. The 2022/2023 issue shows how theology can offer insight and hope on global warming.

William Barbierri highlights Pope Francis’s concept of “integral ecology”, the nexus between social justice, sexual morality, peacemaking and Earth ethics. This is the central insight: political and technological solutions need to be complemented by a paradigm shift in our relationship to nature.

For Maina Tallia, of Tuvalu, the theological understanding of tuakoi (neighbour) embraces the whole global community, human and non-human. James Miller traces how Daoist thought links landscape with the bones, fluids, energies within us. We need “ecological metanoia” because human exceptionalism — king of the universe stuff — “disembeds” us from the land and animal life. Our individualism is poisoning the environment as much as are fossil fuels.

The artist and poet Elaine Rutherford talks of the “break space”, the threshold between us and creation: “the unbounded space / Of the in-between.” Lisa Sideris says: “COVID 19 has revealed our bankrupt concepts of freedom and our impoverished sense of community. Let’s recover the Gospel of hope!

Read Fresh Thinking: https://www.ctinquiry.org/magazine
Sign up for the Center’s illustrated newsletter, Insights: https://www.ctinquiry.org

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 267 November 2022: 31