Exploring the landscape of historical theology through the lens of Geomorphology

Abstract

The widening spectrum of scientific and theological reflection has encompassed much of the natural sciences as was evi-denced in the August 2013 volume of Studia Historiae Eccle-siasticae that celebrated the work of Professor Cornel du Toit. But subjects like geomorphology are far removed from reflections on the human person and thus not a traditional point of departure for theological engagement. Nevertheless some key concepts in geomorphology such as the ideas of inter-connectedness, holism and scale perspectives have been tentatively explored by the author to locate human thought and actions towards and within the environment as an extension of the ethic to “love your neighbour”. Within this initial attempt of exploration were the seeds for a much greater and deeper exploration of geomorphic logic to theology, applying geomor¬phological concepts in the pursuit of theology and in the context of this article, to historical theology. The aim is to find traction between the two very different fields of geomor¬phology and theology