The Sacred Edge

Seascape as Spiritual Resource for an Australian Eco-eschatology

Abstract

In the Australian context, the desert or bush landscape has provided the primary sense of place for spiritual and ecotheological reflection. But what is it about Australians and the sea? This exploration makes the case that a spiritual sense of place as seascape can inform the constructive work of Australian eco-eschatology. By shifting perspectives from desert fathers to ocean mothers, an alternative spiritual map can be imagined that re-names the geographical margins as a sacred edge. Through the ocean-wisdom of life's risk, fluidity and dynamic openness, the article explores the critical construction of an eco-eschatology of dis/closive possibility. No one has marked the sea. The shore is an ancient world, for as long as there has been an earth and sea there has been this place of the meeting of land and water. Yet it is a world that keeps alive the sense of continuing creation and of the relentless drive of life. Beach for all!