Why Have You Forsaken Me? Dying in Ecology and Theology

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ASA Boston Area Chapter Mtg; Grace Chapel, Lexington, MA 02421; October 29, 2019

Ecology is a life science. But why do ecologists, who spend their time studying the mechanisms of death, rarely name it? I am a Christian. But my Christian friends emphasize hope and new life, seldom talking about death. Yes, there is Easter and the regular celebration of communion, but as the ecotheologian Paul Santmire reminds us, we Christians “are unable to deny death. A religion [with] a crucified Messiah as its fulcrum hardly permits that.” I am challenged – do we believers practically deny the death we claim by faith?

John Wood is currently Professor Emeritus at The King’s University in Edmonton and ASA Council president. He completed his BA in Biology at North Park University, Chicago. MSc-Biology at Central Washington University and his PhD is from the University of California, Berkeley, in Stream Ecology and Insect Behaviour. Current research includes the behaviour of urban White-tailed Jackrabbits and campus sustainability. He and psychologist, Dr. Heather Looy, have explored our cultural blind spot toward accepting food insects - one aspect of Western exceptionalism. Before moving to Canada in 1989 John taught for 6 years at Simpson College, then in San Francisco. His professional work includes the development and review of undergraduate environmental science programs, and he is a reviewer for the ECO Canada national accreditation process for environmental science and environmental studies programs.