the University of Edinburgh
Wai-Ying Ng is a PhD student in Old Testament at the University of Edinburgh. Her interdisciplinary research employs Levinas's phenomenology to interpret Isaiah, focusing on exploring ecological ethics within the text. Wai-Ying deeply values the connection between humanity and the land, finding joy in her bond when soil clings beneath her nails.
Isaiah 1–39 describes how God, in response to the rebellion of His people—particularly their injustices against the vulnerable in society—brings judgment by rendering their land desolate. To interpret the interrelationship between God, God’s people, and non-human creation within this act of God’s judgment, I draw upon Levinas’s phenomenology. Drawing on Levinas’s concept of il y a, I argue that God enacts a form of "decreation" by withdrawing the non-human creation, which the people of God cannot separate or disconnect themselves from. Through this withdrawal, non-human creation acts as a teacher, leading God’s people to confront the reality of their finite and dependent existence. This confrontation serves to restore their humanity by reawakening their role as ethical responders to the call of the Other. This paper emphasizes the intrinsic value of non-human creation by highlighting its alterity (otherness) in relation to humanity. Furthermore, it demonstrates the theological connection between social justice and climate change, rooted in the biblical theology of Isaiah.