Ep. #127 – A Jesuit’s View of Animals & Animal Suffering w/ Fr. Steck S.J.

Summary

What place to animals have in God’s creation? Might some animals be redeemed? Why have some theologians moved beyond the traditional Thomistic framework? Can these newer answers help with the problem of evil and suffering? Fr. Christopher Steck S.J. joins the podcast to discuss these questions and more as we take a look at his book All God’s Animals.

Guest Bio

Fr. Christopher Steck S.J. is an associate professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. He was born in Pt. Arthur, TX, and after completing his Masters in Electrical Engineering at LSU worked for Texas Instruments (where he was awarded a patent for a circuit he designed). He entered the Jesuits in 1983, taught at Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida, and was ordained a priest in 1994. Upon completion of his Ph.D. in Christian Ethics at Yale University (1999), he began work at Georgetown. He received tenure in 2006 and served as department chair 2012-2015. He recently published All God’s Animals: A Catholic Theological Framework for Animal Ethics (2019). His research areas include environmental ethics, animal ethics, and theoretical issues in Catholic moral theology.

Topics

• How did you end up being a Jesuit?
• Give us an overview of your book All God’s Animals. What’s it about and why did you write it?
• In chapter 1, you indicate that you are moving beyond the Thomistic framework. Can you explain what this means?
• What do you mean by the terms “imago dei” and “covenantal anthropocentrism” and what you argue in chapter 2?
• What are some of the big ideas you present in chapter 3, “Redemption: The Divine Magis and Animals”?
• Does your account give us resources for answering versions of the problem of evil that focus on animal suffering?
• Could a Thomist who disagrees with your theological approach in various areas still accept some of the ideas in your book?

Resources

All God’s Animals: A Catholic Theological Framework for Animal Ethics by Fr. Christopher Steck S.J.

Thomism and the Problem of Animal Suffering by Dr. B. Kyle Keltz

The Problem of Animal Suffering by John DeRosa (short article for Catholic Answers Magazine Online)

Nature Red in Tooth and Claw: Theism and the Problem of Animal Suffering by Michael Murray

Related Episodes

Ep. #126 – The Problem of Animal Suffering w/ Dr. Kyle Keltz

Ep. #19 – Problem of Evil (Part 1) with Dr. Taylor O’Neill