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A Critical and Comparative Analysis of Jürgen Moltmann’S and Gordon Kaufman’S Environmental Theologies

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A Critical and Comparative Analysis of Jürgen Moltmann’S and Gordon Kaufman’S Environmental Theologies A CRITICAL AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF JÜRGEN MOLTMANN’S AND GORDON KAUFMAN’S ENVIRONMENTAL THEOLOGIES A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2019 ANTHONY FLOYD SCHOOL OF ARTS, LANGUAGES AND CULTURES 2 Contents Abstract 5 Declaration 6 Copyright Statement 7 Chapter 1: Introduction: Two Environmental Theologians 1.1 Theological Beginnings 8 1.2 The Concept of God 11 1.3 Theology and the Environmental Crisis 13 1.4 Deep Problems in Environmental Theology 16 1.5 Key Questions in Environmental Theology 21 Chapter 2: Jürgen Moltmann and Gordon Kaufman within the History of Environmental Theology 2.1 What is environmental theology? 24 2.2 Early Environmental Theology 26 2.3 Environmental Hope and Environmental Responsibility 30 2.4 Hope and Responsibility: The Tension Driving Environmental Theology? 34 Chapter 3: An analysis of the respective styles, audiences and receptions of Jürgen Moltmann and Gordon Kaufman 3.1 Jürgen Moltmann, Style Audience and Reception 37 3.1.1 Style: Moltmann the Ecumenical Theologian 37 3.1.2 Audience: Moltmann a Global Theologian? 43 3.1.3 Reception: The Theological Breadth of Moltmann 48 3.1.4 Concluding Remarks 51 3.2 Gordon Kaufman: Style, Audience and Reception 53 3.2.1 Style: Kaufman a Pragmatic and Historicist Theologian 53 3.2.2 Audience: Kaufman an Academic Theologian 59 3.2.3 Reception: Kaufman a Creative Theologian 64 3.2.4 Concluding remarks 68 3.3 Style, Audience and Reception Conclusion 70 Chapter 4: Jürgen Moltmann: Towards an Environmental Theology 4.1 Moltmann’s Theological Method: A realist rejection of Kant? 73 4.2 How Suffering Shaped Moltmann’s Theology 77 4.3 How does Moltmann’s Theology provide us with Hope? 80 4.4 Suffering, History and the Trinitarian God 81 4.5 Can a Suffering God help Humanity? 83 4.6 Hope and a Theology of the Environment 85 3 4.7 Is a Theological worldview complicit with Environmental Degradation? 90 4.8 Science and Religion in the West 91 4.9 The task for Moltmann’s Environmental Theology 92 Chapter 5: Jürgen Moltmann’s Environmental Theology 5.1 God and Creation 94 5.1.1 Why does God Create? 94 5.1.2 How does God Create? 96 5.1.3 What does God Create? 98 5.1.4 Shekinah: God’s suffering presence in Creation 101 5.1.5 Christ: God’s redemptive presence in Creation 105 5.1.6 Trinity and Creation 108 5.1.7 The Consummation of Creation: Eternal Sabbath 109 5.2 Humanity and Creation 114 5.2.1 Theological anthropology in the Context of Environmental Crisis 114 5.2.2 Human Identity and the Community of Creation 118 5.2.3 The Evolution of Moltmann’s Theology 123 Chapter 6: Gordon Kaufman; Towards Environmental Theology 6.1 Kaufman’s Theological Method: A Constructivist Reading of Kant? 128 6.2 Kaufman: Theology, Anthropology and the Environment 138 6.3 God, Humanity and the Environment 142 6.4 Telos and Environment 144 6.5 Towards an Environmental Theology 147 Chapter 7: Gordon Kaufman’s Environmental Theology 7.1 Environmental Theology as a Response to Humanity’s Nuclear Potential 149 7.1.1 The Development of Kaufman’s Environmental Theology 149 7.1.2 Theology for a Nuclear Age 150 7.1.3 God and the Apocalyptic Potential of Humanity 151 7.1.4 Christ and Spirit 153 7.1.5 Kaufman’s New Eschatology 155 7.1.6 The Character of our Eschatological Lives 159 7.1.7 Problems Arising from Kaufman’s Environmental Theology 161 7.2 Environmental Theology as a Response to Humanity’s Environmental Interrelation 163 7.2.1. Environmental Theology Revisited 163 7.2.2 Revisiting the Relationship between Humanity and God 167 7.2.3 God, Humanity and Creation 170 7.2.4 Christ, Humanity and the Environment Revisited 175 7.2.5 Towards a Biohistorical Morality 177 7.2.6 The Evolution of Kaufman’s Theology 180 4 Chapter 8: A Critical and Comparative Analysis of the influence of Jürgen Moltmann’s and Gordon Kaufman’s environmental consciousness on their accounts of Anthropology, Eschatology and Theology 8.1: Anthropology: The Ontology of Humanity and Environmental Responsibility 185 8.1.1 Consciousness and the Individual: Self and Other vs Self and Culture 186 8.1.2: Reason and Humanity’s Alienation from the Environment 187 8.1.3: Anthropology and the Future of the Environment 190 8.1.4: Concluding remarks on Anthropology: The Ontology of Humanity and Environmental Responsibility 192 8.2: Eschatology: Universal Telos and Human Action 195 8.2.1: Eschatology and Environmental Consciousness 196 8.2.2: Hope for the Future of the Environment: Resolving the tension between Future and Action 198 8.2.3: Concluding remarks on Eschatology: Universal Telos and Human Action 200 8.3: Theology: God’s Ontology and Environmental Sustainability 202 8.3.1: What constitutes knowledge of God? 202 8.3.2: Who is God? 204 8.3.3: What difference does God make? 207 8.3.4: Concluding remarks on Theology: God’s Ontology and Environmental Sustainability 209 8.4 Thesis Conclusion 211 Bibliography 216 Word count: 79709 5 Abstract The aim of this thesis is to compare the environmental theologies of Jürgen Moltmann and Gordon Kaufman in order to explore the manner in which their thought exemplifies certain tensions within environmental theology itself, and to help us investigate those tensions. Moltmann and Kaufman are environmental theologians with different theological commitments. Moltmann (b. 1926) is a theological realist and theologian of radical environmental hope, and Kaufman (1925-2011), was a theological constructivist and theologian of radical environmental responsibility. I argue a tension within environmental theology between hope and responsibility can be explored through a comparison of the manner in which these thinkers--one realist, one constructivist-- revised their positions on anthropology, eschatology and task of theology itself on the basis of their developing environmental consciousness. This comparison reveals that matters of human situatedness, universal telos and understandings of God have foundational significance for attempts to construct a theological response to the environmental crisis. Moltmann and Kaufman’s positions on these foundational issues were informed by the different answers that they gave to certain fundamental questions within systematic theology, namely, what constitutes knowledge of God, the identity of God and what difference God makes in the world. I contend that the centrality of these questions to the construction of these two disparate thinkers’ environmental theologies is exemplary of environmental theology as a whole. That is to say, these systematic issues are rarely highlighted within environmental theology and yet, I argue, they are fundamental and crucial. Through such an exemplary comparison, this thesis makes a contribution to the critical appraisal of the theologies of Moltmann and Kaufman and also to the development of environmental theology itself. 6 Declaration No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. 7 Copyright Statement i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns certain copyright or related rights in it (the “Copyright”) and s/he has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it or, where appropriate, in accordance Presentation of Theses Policy You are required to submit your thesis electronically Page 11 of 25 with licensing agreements which the University has from time to time. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of certain Copyright, patents, designs, trademarks and other intellectual property (the “Intellectual Property”) and any reproductions of copyright works in the thesis, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions. iv. Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy (see http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=2442 0), in any relevant Thesis restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, The University Library’s regulations (see http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/about/regulations/) and in The University’s policy on Presentation of Theses 8 Chapter 1: Introduction: Two Environmental Theologians Jürgen Moltmann and Gordon Kaufman present theological accounts of humanity’s relationship with the environment as a response to their growing awareness of the consequences of global environmental destruction. These thinkers, as we shall see, have radically different views on what constitutes theology. However, they are united in their conviction that theology contains a wealth of resources that can aid humanity in reconstructing their relationship with the environment. Nonetheless, they are exemplars of opposing approaches to environmental theology. Moltmann is a theological realist whose environmental theology is based upon the radical hope given to humanity in Christ. Kaufman, by contrast, is a theological constructivist whose environmental theology is based on radical human responsibility. They offer us differing accounts of the content of anthropology, eschatology and God’s relationship with the world within the context of environmental crisis.
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