A New Climate for Christology: Kenosis, Climate Change, and Befriending Nature

by Sallie McFague

For decades, Sallie McFague lent her voice and her theological imagination to addressing and advocating for the most important issues of our time. In doing so, she influenced an entire generation and empowered countless people in their efforts to put religion in the service of meeting human needs in difficult times. In this final book, finished in the year before her death in 2019, McFague summarizes the work of a lifetime with a clear call to live in "such a way that all might flourish." The way, she argues, is the "kenotic interpretation of the odd arrangement whereby in order to gain your life, you must lose it. The way of the cross is total self-emptying so that one can receive life, real life, and then pass this life on." A masterful and life-giving summing-up of a theology that makes a profound difference for us, our communities, and our planet.

125 pages, Paperback

Published November 2, 2021

About the author

Sallie McFague (born 1933) was an American feminist Christian theologian.

Reviews

[Andrew Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps now more than ever, my fellow Christians and I need to heed the call to seriously ponder who Christ is as the Self-Giving One (see Philippians 2:5-11) and the “so what?” question that inevitably follows. McFague argues convincingly that as we see this as lens as key to grasping who Christ is, the One who reveals the heart of our Triune God (John 1:18), this dramatically reframes how we think of everything and how we get to live in response.

The self-emptying, or kenotic, tradition speaks of the character of our Triune God, who at the core is relational and has a love which overflows and creates new life because that is who God is. Creation itself reflect such fingerprints of the Divine, as the fabric of the universe is grounded on the constant, self-giving and other-receiving process that characterizes the competitive/collaborative, dying/renewing universe in which we live. A kenotic theology sees Christ’s life, death, and resurrection as the centerpiece of who Jesus is as the exemplar of what it means to die to self and live to/with God- a model that we don’t imitate note for note, but we join in out of the graciousness of God who calls us friend (see John 15:13-15, Galatians 2:19-21, and Romans 6:5-11). I am because we are, because everything before me has given of itself and I inevitably will do the same. What does my conscious awareness of such God-given truths cultivate? It certainly calls into question actions and practices that favor one’s own financial security over the collective health of the most vulnerable, be they human or another of fellow inhabitants on earth. It also calls each of us to follow Jesus’ lived testimony, finding our life in giving it away, as Jesus did, as God’s creation has always done, and as our relational God has always done.

I’ll really start preaching if I don’t stop here, but this text succinctly encapsulates the meaningful intersections between key-yet-often-overlooked themes of Christian tradition (esp. in the West), the world in which we live, and the praxis that we are moved to engage. I read this text on Hoopla on several different devices, and page numbers seemed unreliable for citing these reflections, but this short text dives into these critical themes in an accessible way. I think the Lutheran tradition’s perspective on the freeing power of God’s grace actually works quite well with McFague’s more ecumenical engagement, even as there are differences in language that we might use in this conversation.

All in all, in these chaotic times where fear, anger, and selfishness threatens to have each and every one of us turn inward, McFague follows the lead of Jesus by inviting us to live another way- a way which finds life in living the kenotic way: giving of oneself, thereby participating within the life of God who continually nourishes us and lives in such a radically giving way too.

[Jonathan A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sallie McFague is one of the leading theological minds in the early 21st century and this book (her last one) continues to demonstrate her prophetic and insightful abilities. McFague is bringing in various conversation partners to offer not only a different approach to Western Christianity, but a way of engaging with the environment that may offer some hope. The challenge that McFague gives is that we need to sacrifice for the sake of the world; this is a challenge that is not easily accepted by many first world Christians. Her connection to the self-giving (kenosis) nature of God as seen in the the cross offers a solid and convincing argument for a change in theological approaches. It is a book that I would hope many of my more conservative/evangelical friends would read as it offers a different take of the cross than that of Christus Victor, or atonement. And it offers a different approach to creation/nature than that of denomination and control. I regret that it is McFague's final work because I know she had so much more to say and we desperately need to glean from her wisdom.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

a magnificent contribution to ecotheology.

[Grace Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to read this book for a class, but I really enjoyed it. Sallie McFague goes head on with the "Western" theology to argue that the heart of Christianity is radically relational. She pulls in many other philosophers and theologians to build her argument. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about how theology and climate change intersect.