Is it not God’s mercy that nourishes and sustains us … forever? Some theological perspectives on entangled sustainabilities

Abstract

This essay explores the question whether and if so what contribution Christian systematic theology can make to contemporary discourse on sustainability and more specifically ‘entangled sustainabilities’. It acknowledges that any such contribution would be deeply contested. It nevertheless suggests that one such contribution can lie in a critique of the underlying assumptions of discourse on sustainability and specifically any claims for ultimacy regarding whether, how and what it is that is supposed to be sustained. This critique is complemented by a constructive response on the basis of three classic aspects of faith in God’s providence. Accordingly, it is God’s mercy and therefore God’s justice that nourishes and sustains us. This cannot be taken for granted though, as it depends upon a reading of the signs of the time, in rapidly changing circumstances. Any hope to find something that could endure and be sustained forever may well be heretical.