Humans are creatures made in the image of God who are actors not only in a divine drama, but also in an evolutionary play unfolding in an ecological theater. We are ecological citizens who have a relationship to God, one another, and the natural world. After four centuries of a division between creation and redemption in God’s plan of salvation, the Church is calling Christians to rediscover who God is as Creator and to see, with a broader vision, the sacramental nature of reality and the interconnectedness of social and ecological life. This broader vision requires an “ecological conversion” such that care for God’s creation is seen as intrinsic to being a Christian.
| Tuesday, February 21 | Theological Anthropology: Identity and Mission |
| Tuesday, March 7 | Biodiversity and Invasive Species |
| Tuesday, March 21 | Water: Refreshment, Resource, and Waste |
| Tuesday, April 11 | Agriculture: Feeding the Human Family |
| Tuesday, April 18 | Energy: The Power to Do Good |
| Tuesday, May 2 | Liturgy and Ecology |
Series Overview:
The Earth is our common home in which we live out our lives in relationship with one another, the natural world, and God. Pope Francis calls for a “broader vision of reality” to address the single complex social and ecological crisis of our day. This vision requires an integral ecology that recognizes that we are not separated from the ecological world but are integral participants in the ecosystem. Our distinctly human activity—social, economic, cultural, and spiritual—is integrally connected with the natural world. Everything in life is interconnected. This lecture series will develop the “broader vision of reality” needed to respond to the social-ecological crisis by analyzing who we are, how we live, and what impacts we have within the context of being interconnected with the human family and natural world within our local ecological home in the Great Lakes watershed.
Terrence P. Ehrman, C.S.C. is the Assistant Director for Life Sciences Research and Outreach at the Center for Theology, Science and Human Flourishing. He has a concurrent position as a professional specialist in the Department of Theology, teaching Science, Theology, and Creation. Fr. Terry, who has training in aquatic ecology and systematic theology, enjoys studying the “ecotone”, or boundary, between science and theology, particularly in the area of theological anthropology as it relates to evolution and ecology. His biological publications include articles on organic matter budgets and particle transport in streams, and his interdisciplinary articles have been on evolution and providence and on ecological conversion.
Free and open to the public.
This lecture series is hosted by CTSHF and co-sponsored by the Environmental Change Initiative.
Originally published at ctshf.nd.edu.