AFRICAN JOURNAL OF CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY

The abuse, misuse, destruction, dilapidation and exploitation of the environment in the present ethos have summoned both Christian theologians and ethicists to come out with several hermeneutical approaches in reading Gen. 1-2 and without considering Gen. 3 because they inappropriately envisage Gen. 3 to be an anthropocentric text as if there is no ecological dilemma in the text. The reformers and the rest of the evangelicals see the text Gen. 3 as singularly and squarely about the fall of man without concern about the fall of creation. This anthropocentric hermeneutics, characterized by a one-sided interpretation of Genesis 3 has led to an eschatological perspective of redemption from creation instead of redemption with creation and such an eschatological mindset of redemption from creation has fueled environmental exploitation and dilapidation. The paper uses the hermeneutics of eco-deigloriacentric and the exegetical approach to give an adequate interpretation of Gen. 2:16-17 and Gen. 3:17- 19 for appropriate application to our contemporary environmental ethics. The paper submits that the appropriate environmental ethics that is rooted in Gen. 2:16-17 and Gen.3:17-19 has a formation that man is not the telos of God’s creation, God’s glory is the telos and God wants humanity (God’s tenant in God’s creation) to understand that all things are created for the consummation of His glory, not for the consumption of humanity. Hence, God restricted the usability of creation by not giving man carte blanche to use creation anyhow and the African church must be guided on this principle of eco-deiglocentric hermeneutics of reading scripture for African environmental ethics.

Open Full Text (PDF)