*** DEBUG START ***
*** DEBUG END ***

Animals, Theology and the Incarnation by Kris Hiuser

by
25 August 2017

Remember that the incarnation was for them as well, urges Dominic Walker 

 

IT IS claimed that the best-loved verse in the Bible is John 3.16, which is often understood as “God so loved human beings that he sent his only Son Jesus Christ into the world . . .”. The Greek word cosmos, however, reminds us that the incarnation happened because God loved the whole of his creation, and that includes non-human animals. This book seeks to explore what the implications of the incarnation are for both human and non-human animals, when so often Christians have viewed the incarnation as being only salvific for themselves.

It has been said that theologians answer questions that nobody else is asking, and readers may wonder why the author begins by asking why God chose to become incarnate in a human rather than a non-human animal. He addresses that first question to answer the second question: what are the implications of Christ’s human incarnation for non-human animals, in terms of their redemption, and our relationship with them.

The book aims to be a systematic theology of the incarnation, but one that fills a theological gap by examining how incarnational theology applies to non-human animals, and what, therefore, our ethical response should be.

The author, Kris Hiuser, examines the doctrine of the incarnation through the work of four great theologians, and provides a thorough analysis and critique of each. He devotes a chapter to each: “Anselm of Canterbury and Sin”, “Gregory of Nyssa and the Image of God”, “Maximus the Confessor and Microcosmic Constitution”, and “Barth and the Representative Covenantal Partnership”.

He also mentions other less well-known theologians and their theological models based on biblical principles by which humans might better relate to non-human animals. I should have liked the author to fill another gap by examining also the writings of Duns Scotus, an important theologian who took a radically different approach to the incarnation and atonement, and influenced the Franciscan attitude towards creation.

This is a scholarly work arising out of the author’s doctoral studies at the University of Chester, where Professor David Clough and others are engaged in serious academic studies in animal theology. Their contribution in educating Christians about animal issues is much needed, since animal theology is rarely taught in theological colleges, or from pulpits. During public worship, animals are rarely mentioned in prayer — sometimes not even at harvest festivals. As the author reminds us, however, some 60 billion animals are killed each year for our consumption, which raises serious ethical and welfare issues.

The author concludes by stating that there is still much to learn about the proper human relationship with non-human animals, and the implications this has for our own self-understanding as humans. He recognises that the field of animal theology, though a relatively new one, is a growing one, because in studying our relationship with nature, “our capacity to become more fully who we are made to be becomes an ever more real possibility.”

 

The Rt Revd Dominic Walker OGS is a former Bishop of Monmouth.

 

Animals, Theology and the Incarnation

Kris Hiuser

SCM Press £70

(978-0-334-05538-9)

Church Times Bookshop £63

 

 

Browse Church and Charity jobs on the Church Times jobsite

Church Times Bookshop

Save money on books reviewed or featured in the Church Times. To get your reader discount:

> Click on the “Church Times Bookshop” link at the end of the review.

> Call 0845 017 6965 (Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5pm).

The reader discount is valid for two months after the review publication date. E&OE

Forthcoming Events

Women Mystics: Female Theologians through Christian History

13 January - 19 May 2025

An online evening lecture series, run jointly by Sarum College and The Church Times

tickets available

 

Festival of Faith and Literature

28 February - 2 March 2025

tickets available

 

Visit our Events page for upcoming and past events 

The Church Times Archive

Read reports from issues stretching back to 1863, search for your parish or see if any of the clergy you know get a mention.

FREE for Church Times subscribers.

Explore the archive

Welcome to the Church Times

 

To explore the Church Times website fully, please sign in or subscribe.

Non-subscribers can read four articles for free each month. (You will need to register.)