The Spiritual Roots of the Ecological Crisis

Many Christians are tempted to dismiss concerns over the environment and the catastrophic effects of climate change. After all, prominent voices who most vociferously warn us about this crisis tend to also advocate a wider worldview antithetical to Christian teachings. In this text, noted philosopher and scholar Jean-Claude Larchet finds the roots of the global ecological crisis in a rejection of a truly Christian cosmology. Explaining the relationship between man and nature ordained by God in the beginning, Larchet bases the degradation of the creation ultimately in the primordial fall and outlines how we have arrived at the present crisis point. Finally, the author proposes principles and actions deeply rooted in his Christian ethos that would allow mankind to restore and reinvigorate its relationship with nature.

Dr Jean-Claude Larchet is one of the most notable living philosophers and authors on Orthodox Christian Patristics. He holds a Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Nancy and a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Strasbourg. A teacher of philosophy for nearly thirty-five years, he is an author of over thirty books and countless articles whose work has been translated into seventeen languages. His magnum opus, Therapy of Spiritual Illness, and several other works have been translated into English to wide acclaim. Prof. Andrew Torrance graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1968 and obtained a Ph.D. in 1971 from Imperial College, London. After work in France and England he joined the teaching staff at Trinity College, Dublin in 1980, where he became an Associate Professor and Fellow of the College. In 2002 he was Visiting Professor at INSA de Lyon.He now lives in France with his wife Marie-Christiane.

Introduction How It Was in the Beginning: Man’s Original Relationship with Nature The Sin of Mankind and Its Ecological Consequences How Did We Reach the Present Situation? Restoring the Relationship of Man With Nature