De plaats van de mens in de schepping: Fundamentele heroverweging noodzakelijk?

Samenvatting

In this article I address a central issue in Christian reflection on the relationship between human beings and the non-human creation, namely whether this relationship should be seen as anthropocentric (a conviction that has long dominated Reformed theology), or whether there are good reasons to abandon this position in favour of another point of view. This second option is chosen by Matthijs de Jong and Cor Hoogerwerf in their book Hemels groen; based on a thorough re-reading of Scripture, they arrive at a different interpretation of the relationship between human beings and the non-human creation, namely a theocentric one. They argue that both human beings and non-human nature find their value and meaning in the service of God. In this article I examine this interpretation in a constructively critical way, paying particular attention to the possibility of combining a (weak) anthropocentrism with a theocentric approach to nature, a possibility hinted at by De Jong and Hoogerwerf themselves.