Towards an Asian ecotheology in the context of Thomas Berry's cosmology: A critical inquiry.
Published: 2004
Language: eng
Number of pages: 217
Description: The present-day ecological crisis, according to Thomas Berry, is caused by the lack of a proper cosmology. Therefore, he attempts to provide a new cosmology and suggests that the twenty-first century is a transitional period from the Cenozoic to the Ecozoic Age. In order to establish the Ecozoic Age, political, economic, intellectual, and religious systems must abandon their anthropocentric principles. Christianity also must broaden its perspectives and horizons. Berry acknowledges that Asian religions are differentiated forms of God's revelation. On the basis of Berry's new cosmology and some theological insights, this thesis attempts to contribute to a systematic development of an Asian ecotheology. In developing an Asian ecotheological framework, I employ the Middle Way, a traditional way of thinking in Asian cultures. Unlike the dominant Western "either/or" way of thinking which separates this and that and excludes one of the two, the Middle Way is a "both/and" way of thinking which includes and embraces both. By the Middle Way hermeneutics, I combine the balanced worldview of the divine, the human, and the cosmic, which is a strength of Asian culture, with a dynamic understanding of history which is a strength of Western culture.	In particular, I combine Raimon Panikkar's "cosmotheandric experience" with Thomas "historical dynamics" to develop "cosmotheanthropic dynamics" as a methodology for an Asian ecotheology. By adopting Berry's cosmology as its context, by employing "cosmotheanthropic dynamics" as key conceptual tool, and by introducing the ecological wisdom in Asian religions, I attempt to further the development of an Asian ecotheology. I offer two salient features of an Asian ecotheology: transcendence and immanence as two faces of God and the inseparability of social and ecological justice.
Notes: Adviser: Marilyn Legge.

Thesis (Th.D.)--University of St. Michael's College, 2004.

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Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-12, Section: A, page: 4603.