Deep Responsibility for the Deep Future

Abstract

This article enters into dialogue with Laudato Si’. Part one examines the gap between the social imagination of the future and the long-term climate effects of our actions: the “deep future.” Part two argues for the intrinsic teleological connection between the doctrines of creation, Christology, and eschatology in order to create theological foundations for opening our imaginations to the deep future. Part three addresses the apparent contradiction between God’s bringing of the kingdom, which is the ground of our hope, and human responsibility.