Image of God and New Creation: Traces of a Christian Ecological Responsibility in the Theology of John Wesley
Keywords:
John Wesley, New Creation, Image of God, Ecological ResponsibilityAbstract
The present study investigates John Wesley's theological contribution for the discussion of the Christian ecological responsibility. Although the environmental problems today are quite different from the context in which Wesley lived, his thought provides important insights into an appropriate understanding of the responsibility that a Christian should have in relation to the environment. The investigation first provides a discussion on the eighteen-century England, with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and its intense social and environmental problems. It also discusses the colonialist practices that the English empire implemented in foreign lands. Than, it focuses on the main points of Wesley's thought that points towards a theological reflection about man's attitude to nature: the concept of new creation; the notion of the restoration of the image of God in the human being as a caretaker of Creation and not its conqueror; the responsibility to nature and the care of the animals. Finally, some considerations are made co ncerning the contributions and the limitations of Wesley's theology for the discussion on the ecological responsibility of a Christian.
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