Ending Extinction

Abstract

Given that today’s mass extinction of species is driven by human activity, it matters profoundly how the place and role of humans vis-à-vis the earth’s biodiversity is construed. In this regard, Anglican theologian Christopher Southgate argues that the idea of being created in God’s image (imago Dei) results in an eschatological calling to counter both anthropogenic and natural extinction as co-redeemers with God. How should Southgate’s perspective be evaluated in light of the ever-worsening extinction crisis and our attempts to mitigate it through conservation efforts? To answer this question, this article connects systematic theology with ethnographic research in the environmental humanities. In particular, it engages the work of philosopher and anthropologist Thom van Dooren on ‘extinction stories’ in order to explore how human and nonhuman life is interrelated in conservation. It is argued that speaking of humans as co-redeemers is problematic, given the crucial difference between God’s saving and redeeming work and human faulty and contingent ‘doings’ in conservation that remain ambiguous.