Douglas John Hall and Seyyed Hossein Nasr: God, Creation and Human Beings in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Abstract The thesis is a comparative study of the two prominent environmental theologians, the Canadian contextual theologian Douglas John Hall and the Iranian American philosopher and Sufi scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr. My aim is to investigate the thoughts, strengths, and weaknesses of the two thinkers with respect to the current global environment crisis. While acknowledging the differences in their theological starting points, I argue that both scholars identify the environmental crisis as an extended crisis within human beings. In Hall’s perspective, it is an existential crisis, whereas for Nasr it is a moral and spiritual crisis that grips contemporary humankind. Hall and Nasr similarly view the crisis as the aftermath of modernity. Each scholar simultaneously goes further to develop parallel theological solutions in the malaise in their own religious tradition. The interpretative method of selection, identification and contextualisation of Jonathan Zittel Smith will help me clarify and illuminate parallel themes that enhance the mutually enriching theologies of Hall and Nasr. I construct a conversation between the contextual or practical theology of Hall and Sufi spirituality of Nasr on the topics of God, creation and humanity that is concerned with human situatedness and relationships, human purpose and function on earth. I argue that Hall and Nasr, unaware of each other have matching perspectives of the environmental crisis. My claim is that both thinkers simultaneously denote the crisis as a malaise within humanity and seek theological solutions to the malaise in Christianity and Islam. Both thinkers identify the need for Christians and Muslims to understand and acknowledge their creator if they want to find purpose and meaning in their lives. Moreover, Hall and Nasr demonstrate that all created entities are sacred and integral. They argue that God bestowed on the human species a special vocation to be stewards and Khulafa or khalifa on Earth.

Date of Award	31 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Todd Klutz (Supervisor), Scott Midson (Supervisor) & Kamran Karimullah (Supervisor)