Ellen Davis Caring For The Environment

Ellen Davis and Willis Jenkins raised questions that ultimately respond to that overarching question of why should Christians care about environmental issues. On the other hand, Pope Francis and Patricia Tull offers reflections on how Christians should care for the environment. Pope Francis brings the heart of the matter when he quotes Pope Benedict: “The misuse of creation begins when we no longer recognize any higher instance than ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves” (Pope Francis, 10); and when he spoke of the kinship that St. Francis felt about creation that “he would call creatures, no matter how small, by the name of ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ (13). Additionally, Davis provides the biblical text (Gen 2:7) for kinship between humans and the earth (Davis, 29). Furthermore, Tull points out that human “kingship” over creation does not mean exploitation and depletion, but serving, protecting, preserving, and caring (Tull 25-26). Environmental care boils down to our Christian identity, experience, and theology (Jenkins, 4). …show more content…
He proposes three ecologies of grace: ecojustice, stewardship, and ecological spirituality (20). On the other hand, Davis questions what it means to participate in the renewal of creation and proposes an agrarian reading of the Bible (Davis,