Protestant theologian enthuses about Pope, diminishes humanity

On the occasion of the forthcoming German edition of Trees van Montfoort's book "Green Theology", Ari Troost had a conversation with the author.

Van Montfoort is a Dutch theologian who has long been deeply involved in green theology. The Dutch edition of her book was published in 2019, with an English edition following in 2022. In this groundbreaking work, she asks what theology and sustainability have to do with each other. She examines the agency of non-human life in the Bible and critiques anthropocentric thinking in theology. On the basis of an analysis of ecofeminist theologians, she pleads for a new theological paradigm in which worldview, view of human beings and view of God are reconsidered.

What do theology and sustainability have to do with each other? This question may come as a surprise, for isn't that the connection laid in green churches? Van Montfoort is clear: “Not everyone will take this connection for granted! And apart from that, you can look at the relationship in different ways. Most of the time you talk about it from an ethical point of view, we have to do something. The world is not doing well, from our Christian faith we have to take care of the world, so we should pollute less, fight further global warming and prevent animals from dying out. But this remains entirely on the surface. Theology itself is part of the problem, theology itself must change. By the way, I'm not the first to say that, but I just want to make this point very clear. In theology, the world view, the view of people and the view of God must change in order to overcome the current crises.”

Theology itself is part of the problem, theology itself must change.

“Western Christianity has identified with a worldview in which the earth and everything on it serves man. This mindset has allowed part of humanity to exploit the earth for economic growth. The 2015 environmental encyclical Laudato Si' calls this belief in technology and growth the technocratic paradigm. In this paradigm, the intrinsic value of animals, plants, and ecosystems plays no role. So not only has God receded into the background, but also non-human life. Church and theology are strongly anthropocentric and focus on people. The Bible is read as a story of God with man. This is also evident in liturgy and preaching, which focus entirely on human experience. This is a narrowing of the view that has negative consequences for our fellow creatures.”

A new paradigm in which human beings are not placed at the centre.

Van Montfoort advocates a new paradigm in theology that does not focus on the human being. As van Montfoort says, "It is a biblical idea that creation is a gift to man, but this does not mean that man is the immediate lord of creation, for to the Eternal belongs the earth and all that lives on it, as Psalm 24:1 says.”

Following philosophers such as Bruno Latour and Timothy Morton, van Montfoort rejects the distinction between culture and nature. Humans are part of creation just like all other living beings, each with their own agency, their own agency. The agency of non-humans has been written about from various quarters, including from a biblical point of view. But it is absent from most ecotheology, where creation remains an object or a collection of objects for people to care about. Van Montfoort devotes an important part of her book to this subject. “It is a biblical idea that all creation bears witness to God's nature and praises God. Especially in the Psalms and in parts of the prophets it is the forests and the mountains that are called to praise God. Although a movement towards anthropocentric thinking can already be observed among the Church Fathers, the idea of a non-human agency has long been present.”

We find it strange that the moon and stars sing the praises of God

“You can still see this agency, for example, in Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Sun. 'Blessed are You through Sister Moon and the Stars,' says Francis. This is quite consistent with the Psalms, but we find it a little odd that the moon and stars would sing the praises of God. Therefore we prefer a translation in which we praise God for the moon and the stars: 'Praise you for sister moon and the stars.' For Calvin, too, the non-human creatures are active. He uses the language of the Creation Psalms when arguing that every human being can know God: “For all created things, from heaven to earth, could bear witness to his glory to all men. For the birds sang to God in their song, the wild beasts called to him, the elements feared him, the mountains echoed to him, the rivers and springs winked at him, the grass and the flowers smiled at him. ""

The poems of South African poet Antjie Krog are sometimes used in church services in the Netherlands because she seems particularly fair to creation. In her Mass for the Universe, Krog sings of the sun, the moon and the sea, with the sea seeming to have its own agency. However, Van Montfoort is nuanced in this regard. “I fear that in Krog creation takes the place of God. But then the earth is not the body of God, then the earth takes the place of the body of God. You are not changing the Christian tradition by doing this. One then uses old forms and gives them a new fashionable content. Instead, look at the content itself. Perhaps new forms are needed for this.”

The world as God's body is important to me.

“The world as God's body is important to me. This is exactly what ecofeminist theologians like Sallie McFague and Isabel Carter Heyward worked out as early as the 1980s. Following McFague, my book examines the work of modern ecofeminist theologians such as Ivone Gebara, Catherine Keller, and Elizabeth Theokritoff. They address relevant issues at a very basic level. Weltanschauung, human view and God view are consistently examined in relation to each other.”

If you start from the agency of humans and non-humans together, doesn't it then become very difficult to act politically? Van Montfoort clearly disagrees. "It's a popular thought that we should do something, but then you put man outside of creation again! Sometimes it is concluded that if we cannot responsibly manage the world, there is nothing we can do. But that would be a mistake. Not being the centre of attention and not being able to control everything does not mean that you are powerless. They have their part in a whole, but other living beings and non-living beings do their things too. The solution lies in collaboration. Not managing, but collaborating.”

In the Bible, man is not above creation, but is part of creation.

A new perspective that takes all creation into account: this would be biblical. “If we put man at the center of our thinking, we are placing ourselves outside of creation, and that is not in accordance with the concept of the Bible. In the Bible, man is not above creation, but part of creation." So we should also listen to animals, even to trees and, as the Bible says, to mountains. And not only because we have shared concerns, but also because we believe that God can be seen in them. Do we know the Eternal by the work of your hands? Who are we that God thinks of us? Van Montfoort asks us to reflect on fundamental questions that can reshape theology.

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Text: Dr Trees van Montfoort is a pastor, theological researcher and member of the Creation and Sustainability Network of the Netherlands Ecumenical Council of Churches. Dr Ari Troost is a pastor, a researcher at the Old Catholic Seminary at Utrecht University and a member of the European Research Network Transcending Species – Transforming Religion.

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Cathcon: This theologian was enthusiastically praised by the Austrian Catholic News Agency.  

Some years ago, as the Green movement was developing, I made a speech in London pleading for human-centred environmentalism.  After all, I tested the equipment which identified the hole in the ozone layer and was talking about environmental issues even before Mrs Thatcher.

Eternal salvation is no longer necessary in this new paradigm which contradicts 

Psalm 8

4 For I will behold thy heavens, the works of thy fingers: the moon and the stars which thou hast founded. Quoniam videbo caelos tuos, opera digitorum tuorum, lunam et stellas quae tu fundasti. 

5 What is man that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? Quid est homo, quod memor es ejus? aut filius hominis, quoniam visitas eum? 

6 Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour: Minuisti eum paulo minus ab angelis; gloria et honore coronasti eum; 

7 And hast set him over the works of thy hands. et constituisti eum super opera manuum tuarum. 

8 Thou hast subjected all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the fields. Omnia subjecisti sub pedibus ejus, oves et boves universas, insuper et pecora campi, 

9 The birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea, that pass through the paths of the sea. volucres caeli, et pisces maris qui perambulant semitas maris. 

10 O Lord our Lord, how admirable is thy name in all the earth! Domine, Dominus noster, quam admirabile est nomen tuum in universa terra!