**7. Conclusions**

Catherine Keller writes that the earth is "not yielding submissively to the religiopolitico-economic schematisms of what we may call anthropic exceptionalism. Earth names do not matter beneath us, not space lying static beneath time, but the teeming sphere of our collectivity" (Keller 2018, p. 6). Humans are, as Keller acknowledges, profoundly dependent on, and connected to, the life of the earth. That recognition of our interdependence is perhaps what led McFague to develop the metaphor of the world as the body of God, a metaphor that supplements the dominant masculine metaphor of the Christian tradition, while raising both relevant and provocative questions about God's identity within the ecological crisis and within the sexual crises facing human bodies. This article sought to parse out some of what might be theologically at stake in this metaphor, suggesting that it has the potential to add theological value and ethical relevance to the current ecological and human crises of our day. The metaphor also parsed out a traumainformed response that might emerge from reframing the climate crisis as a series of traumatic sexual violations.

McFague, as stated earlier, never intended any of the metaphors she developed to be comprehensive. In this way, she adopted a hermeneutic of humility in her work. This hermeneutic helps readers understand both the significance of her theological contributions, while also orienting them towards a way of living in relation to God that is, in and of itself, humble at its roots. That humility may serve us well as we seek to understand the nature of God and our relationship to the Divine. It may also orient us as we step out of our denial and begin to address the trauma we have inflicted upon the earth.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.
