In the writings of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the word “nature” occurs more than a thousand times, though this term is not listed in the Teilhard Lexicon by Siôn Cowell. A qualitative analysis of nature throughout Teilhard's writings produced 13 distinct definitions that can be summarized into five categories; nature can be an inherent way of being, sacred, an object, or that which is not artificial. The multivalent term has produced different interpretations of Teilhard's work, specifically in the ecological eschatological (...) question of whether living organisms will be included in the final transformation. Theologians’ responses to this question range from affirmation to dissension, with varying levels of certainty, demonstrating the variability that can be caused by ambiguous language. (shrink)