The limits of theodicy: Ecological theology, natural selection, and the problem of suffering in nature

This dissertation offers a critical examination of Christian environmental ethics (ecological theology). I argue that much of ecological theology has ignored natural science, particularly evolutionary perspectives. This neglect of science produces practical and theoretical problems for environmental ethics, many of which revolve around the problem of suffering in nature and the issue of whether it can and ought to be eradicated. These environmentalists invoke an 'ecological model' of nature that resembles pre-Darwinian and Romantic views. With this model in mind, they issue an imperative to love and liberate nature from conditions of suffering which are, in fact, integral to nature. This ethic is therefore inconsistent with basic scientific knowledge regarding natural processes. I propose an alternative approach that incorporates elements of science and theology, arguing that it is possible to extend a qualified, less-interventionist, and more discriminating ethic of love to nature.