In the Shadow of Christ
A Theology of Creational Suffering
- Theology
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
In the Shadow of Christ presents a fresh theological interpretation of nature's violent and suffering character, as determined by God's self-interpretation in Jesus Christ. Grounded in the rich spiritual tradition of premodern natural theology, Wiertel retrieves a figural reading of nature that interprets the entire span of created existence through Scripture's symbolic landscape. This restored vision of the "two books," rooted in God's creative and redemptive word, establishes an interpretive framework that sees all of creation--its beauty, its strangeness, and its tragedies--through the creative dynamics of God's revelatory speech. In this essay, Wiertel critically embraces scriptural figuration, with its profoundly Christocentric metaphysical orientation, to offer a rich theological vision of creational suffering. By engaging Scripture and the natural world figurally and in critical dialogue with contemporary philosophy, ethics, and biology, Wiertel unfolds an expansive theological narrative. He maps creation's suffering within the mystery of Jesus Christ, inviting readers to see all of natural history as a divine gift ordered toward its eschatological transformation.
Endorsements (3)
Foreword
“Anyone who goes with [Derek Wiertel] through this journey of theological questioning will emerge, I am certain, with a transformed sense of who they are, of what the world is, and of the fundamental grace and beauty of the God who creates and orders this world of difficult wonders. That is, In the Shadow of Christ is a volume of tremendous hope.”
“Reading the ‘Book of Nature’ interactively with the sacred Scriptures, Wiertel argues persuasively that the violence suffered and inflicted by non-human animals finds its deepest meaning in the mystery of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. Beautifully written and learnedly argued, this is a ‘must read’ book for eco-theologians.”
“Displaying the immense fruitfulness of the vision of his mentor Ephraim Radner, Wiertel addresses the presence of disease and death in the fabric of animal life: ‘nature’s ontic strife.’ Inspired also by Aquinas, Bulgakov, and Bouyer, he shows that Hugh of St. Victor’s figural vision of creation as an ark and temple whose center is the sacrificial Lamb should instruct contemporary theologians about the nature of Scripture and about the death-ridden world. A brilliant work.”
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