ABSTRACT
The coronavirus pandemic throws religion scholars for a loop. The magnitude of the pandemic shatters the classic defense strategy of theodicy, which justifies God’s benevolent character in the face of natural catastrophe. This chapter advocates a holistic approach to nature by disentangling it from the grasp of scientific objectification. The chapter moves from premodern examples of natural agency to a focus on nature’s role as ally in the modern thought of W. James and, especially, R. W. Emerson. Breaking through the nature-culture divide, Emerson provides us with a unique take on nature’s otherness as inherently religious.
