ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the serious charges being levied against Christian tradition concerning its role in relation to the ecological crisis. It begins with a review of Lynn White's groundbreaking article charging that the roots of our ecological crisis are historical/theological and then sharpened the challenge by adding criticisms from other perspectives. The chapter argues that either denial of the charges posed or easy acquiescence to them would constitute a "false start" that does not advance the project of formulating a theology of nature that is both relevant and Christian. In the wake of the ecological crisis, Christian tradition faces a charge that its influence on how nature is viewed and treated has been mostly negative. Process thinkers make an interesting analysis that combines a critique of philosophical dualism with the problem of the desacralization of nature.
