"I Have Seen": God-Talk and Christian Praxis in the Anthropocene

““If creation is intended to ‘hold together’ in Christ (Col. 1:17), then it is scandalous to find a figure whose visage more closely resembles that of Cain at the center of the Anthropocene; facing this scandal, the church must mourn, repent, and labor to repair the politico-ecological structures of the world.” ”

Team Members/Contributors

Daniel Castillo Loyola University Maryland Contact Me

About this sabbatical grant for researchers

I Have Seen argues that the Anthropocene should be interpreted in light of this geological era’s historical roots in Western colonial and neocolonial practices of extraction. As such, the Anthropocene is best understood, not as the generic “age of humanity” but more precisely as the “age of the white colonizing man.” My project posits that, within this context, three modes of theological discourse – prophecy, contemplation, and lament – must be developed in an interrelated manner, in order to begin to speak rightly about who God is and what God desires for creation. I Have Seen then argues for the cultivation of two forms of Christian praxis that are particularly consonant with a God-talk constituted by prophecy, contemplation, and lament. Specifically, my project elaborates on the need for communities of faith to cultivate beauty and justice upon the earth while simultaneously entering into practices of prophetic mourning. I Have Seen concludes by examining concretely how these practices can serve to construct both a political ecology and a spirituality of reparation.