Abstract

Predation and natural suffering present one of the most difficult tensions for theological reflection on the natural world. This chapter examines how the realities of animal suffering and death may be interpreted through a pneumatological lens. Engaging debates surrounding the Fall, evolutionary processes, and the moral status of animals, it argues that non-human creatures are not moral agents responsible for sin, but sentient beings affected by its consequences. Rather than resolving the problem of predation, the discussion considers how the Spirit may be understood as present within the cycles of life and death that sustain creation, accompanying animal life in its vulnerability while orienting the whole created order toward eschatological renewal.