Un-Hey Kim

BIOGRAPHY

Professor of Presbyterian University and Theological Semanary (PUTS). She is teaching Christian Ethics and Theology of Culture including many research areas: Eco-Theology, Postmodern Theology and Theology and Technology and Science Recently she published books and articles on Christian Culture and Life, Christian Ethics in Postmodernity, Christian Values and Act.

ABSTRACT

Un-Hey Kim, “Human responsibility and Animal Liberation”

The basis of Christian ecology is ‘life’; and the specific place where numerous lives are is the Earth. In the era of climate crisis, I think the reconstruction of earth planetary community, which recognizes the sky and land that make up the life system, humans, animals, plants, and material environment as God’s world of creation, is an urgent mission of the church. In particular, thorough reflection on the anthropocentric theological tradition is required to establish the theological relationship between humans and nonhuman animals that has been newly illuminated since the pandemic. This paper reflects on the absence of Christians’ awareness of animal rights and deep-rooted human superior thoughts inherent in traditional theology and proposes a theoretical alternative to animal liberation. In the process of proposing an alternative, I will bring the early Christian tradition in a liberating light of animals theology through the reflection of Confessor, Maximus’ logoi theology. This research aims to emphasize the intrinsic value of animals from the creation theological perspective by more fundamentally reconsidering the relationship between humans and nonhuman animals beyond the discussion of the moral status or severity of animals based on human perception.