An Analysis of Lynn White 's Views of Eco-theology in Comparison with the Response of the Academic Community
In 1967, Lynn White published an article in the Science journal that ushered in years of debate over the role of Christianity in the ecological crisis that the world is in today. In his article, White argued that Christianity is anthropocentric in nature, meaning that the religion views the world through a point of view that is human-centered. Subsequently, White makes a case regarding the role of Christianity 's anthropocentrism in contributing to the development of science and technology with a Western lens. As a consequence, White makes the statement that ecological disaster began to occur as more technology gave humanity power over nature. Lastly, he asserts that Christianity acts in the opposite manner of environmentalism due to its religious values founded in its origin stories. In this paper, I …show more content…
To begin, White contends that the victory of Christianity over paganism in this era had a large effect on humanity 's relationship with the earth. Unlike Greco-Roman mythology, Christianity has a distinct creation story with the idea that time is non-repetitive and linear. Within this creation story, God creates the atmosphere, animals, and plants and finally creates the first humans, Adam and Eve. Then, the man named all of the animals signaling his dominion over them. Additionally, God makes a man out of clay in His image, which further sets man apart from nature. Due to the creation story, Lynn White states that "Christianity is the most anthropocentric religion the world has ever seen" (White 1967, 1205). Anthropocentric means considering humans the most important component of existence. In conclusion, White argues that religious zealous, formed by Christian creationism, gave Western science
In 1967, Lynn White published an article in the Science journal that ushered in years of debate over the role of Christianity in the ecological crisis that the world is in today. In his article, White argued that Christianity is anthropocentric in nature, meaning that the religion views the world through a point of view that is human-centered. Subsequently, White makes a case regarding the role of Christianity 's anthropocentrism in contributing to the development of science and technology with a Western lens. As a consequence, White makes the statement that ecological disaster began to occur as more technology gave humanity power over nature. Lastly, he asserts that Christianity acts in the opposite manner of environmentalism due to its religious values founded in its origin stories. In this paper, I …show more content…
To begin, White contends that the victory of Christianity over paganism in this era had a large effect on humanity 's relationship with the earth. Unlike Greco-Roman mythology, Christianity has a distinct creation story with the idea that time is non-repetitive and linear. Within this creation story, God creates the atmosphere, animals, and plants and finally creates the first humans, Adam and Eve. Then, the man named all of the animals signaling his dominion over them. Additionally, God makes a man out of clay in His image, which further sets man apart from nature. Due to the creation story, Lynn White states that "Christianity is the most anthropocentric religion the world has ever seen" (White 1967, 1205). Anthropocentric means considering humans the most important component of existence. In conclusion, White argues that religious zealous, formed by Christian creationism, gave Western science