Luminaries / H. Paul Santmire / (Protestant) Eco-theology

The Theology Mill

The Luminaries series is a collection of interviews with premier thinkers working in the theological academy and the church.

In this Luminaries interview, I talk with Dr. H. Paul Santmire, a historian and pastoral scholar in the disciplines of ecological theology, environmental ethics, and Christian liturgy and spirituality.

On this episode, Dr. Santmire and I discuss eco-theology, Martin Luther, modern Lutheran theology, Barth and Bonhoeffer, and doing theology from the margins.

COUPON CODE:

*Use code “SANTMIRE23” for 40% off* Dr. Santmire’s Wipf and Stock books, Behold the Lilies (2017), Celebrating Nature by Faith (2020), and EcoActivist Testament (2022): https://wipfandstock.com/search-results/?contributor=h-paul-santmire

PODCAST LINKS:

Blog post: [coming soon]

Dr. Santmire’s website: https://hpaulsantmire.net/

Dr. Santmire’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/HPaulSantmire

Dr. Santmire’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRevDrHPaulSantmire

Dr. Santmire’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hpaulsantmire/

CONNECT:

Website: https://wipfandstock.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wipfandstock

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wipfandstock

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wipfandstock/

SOURCES MENTIONED:

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship.

———. Letters and Papers from Prison.

Santmire, H. Paul. Behold the Lilies: Jesus and the Contemplation of Nature—A Primer.

———. Celebrating Nature by Faith: Studies in Reformation Theology in an Era of Global Emergency.

———. EcoActivist Testament: Explorations of Faith and Nature for Fellow Travelers.

———. South African Testament: From Personal Encounter to Theological Challenge.

———. The Travail of Nature: The Ambiguous Ecological Promise of Christian Theology.

OUTLINE:

(01:52) – Orange juice, virgin mary

(03:02) – Lutherans (and Luther), Nazis, the Holocaust, Bonhoeffer

(10:42) – Studying with Paul Tillich, Heiko Oberman, and Martin Heinecken

(14:04) – The influence of Christian liturgy

(17:04) – “Behold the lilies” vs. “Consider the lilies”

(22:28) – Nature and civilization

(26:34) – American Lutheran (eco)theology

(31:53) – Jürgen Moltmann

(34:12) – Tradition-specific approaches to global issues

(38:25) – Karl Barth and theology of nature

(46:36) – God and humanity (and nature?)

(48:23) – Advice to eco-activists: do nothing for a spell

(52:28) – Eco-justice organizations

(56:02) – Interracial work in apartheid South Africa

(01:00:47) – Theology that starts from the margins