This new era will require new developments in theology, developing ancient ideas in new ways, recognizing that nature is not an immutable datum, but something which is always being created anew. Although we use the phrase new theology we really mean only a new light on very old ideas. Israeli mysticism, Kabala, has always referred to the possibility of unlocking the secrets of nature and changing it. Saying that we are partners with God in creation may sound a little speciesist, putting humans in a special position. But this may only seem to be so.
Viruses change ecosystems.
So do bacteria and so do migrating animals and floods and earthquakes. We too are part of nature and participate in changing it as do all other parts of nature. Whether there is an essential difference between our intervention in nature and that of other creatures is a large question depending on whether we have free choice and a level of consciousness unique to humans. But as we have seen, nature will not protect itself against our irresponsibilities. We shall probably overcome every mechanism which nature has to protect the integrity of genomes.