Theological Implications of the Existence of "Offensive" Animals and the Ascetical Opportunities They Provide.
Charles Darwin was unimpressed by the natural theology of his time, owing to his observations of suffering in nature and, famously, the particularly elegant viciousness of parasitoid wasps (Ichneumonidae). Presented here is a theological reflection, from a largely Eastern Orthodox perspective, about...
| Publicado en: | Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science Vol. 60; no. 1; pp. 228 - 248 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Open Library of Humanities
Mar2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=186809175&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 186809175 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 05912385 ZYG jtl: Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science issn: 05912385 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2025 vid: 60 iid: 1 pid: 15576 pub: Open Library of Humanities artinfo: ui: 186809175 10.16995/zygon.11113 ppf: 228 ppct: 20 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 618KB tig: atl: Theological Implications of the Existence of "Offensive" Animals and the Ascetical Opportunities They Provide. aug: au: Nosal, Andrew P. affil: Associate Professor of Biology, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA, USA su: Theology Asceticism Suffering Naturalists Orthodox Christianity Compassion Design Animal species sug: subj: Theology Asceticism Suffering Naturalists Orthodox Christianity Compassion Design Animal species ab: Charles Darwin was unimpressed by the natural theology of his time, owing to his observations of suffering in nature and, famously, the particularly elegant viciousness of parasitoid wasps (Ichneumonidae). Presented here is a theological reflection, from a largely Eastern Orthodox perspective, about these wasps and other hard-to-love animals that exhibit behaviors so disturbing or "offensive" that their mere existence may seem incompatible with the existence of an all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful Creator-God. These include infanticide in lions, siblicide in boobies, intrauterine cannibalism in sharks, and brood parasitism in cuckoos. These behaviors are obligate, intrinsic to these species— intrinsic to their design. I consider how these animals became so "offensive," including alteristic (Creation being drastically altered, namely, corrupted, by the human Fall into sin) and non-alteristic explanations. I conclude by reflecting on what should be the Christian response to these creatures, including how they present unique ascetical opportunities for Christians to cultivate an all-embracing cosmic love for Creation. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science is the property of Open Library of Humanities and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science holder: Open Library of Humanities dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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