The World as the Body of God

Feminist Perspectives on Ecology and Social Justice

Abstract

Introduction Is there anything specific to be said on ecology, social justice and biblical perspectives from an Asian, women’s perspective? I hesitate greatly to launch into generalizations of this kind. There are deep cleavages of caste, class, religious community and culture dividing Asian women among themselves. Some basic insights have been expressed by the Korean theologian Chung Hyung Kyung in her address to the WCC Assembly in Canberra. In the name of the spirit (Ruah) she has called for metanoia—a repentance and return towards life. She has talked there of interdependence, a return to the earth, an affirmation of a culture of life against the culture of death that has been perpetuated by patriarchal structures. And she has danced her invocation in order to show that this return happens not just in the head but in a matter of rhythm and touch with the whole of creation. Her presentation has created many worries among more orthodox Western theologians who feared syncretism and disorder.