Environmental Reading List
Commentaries
We invite your comments to books already appearing on this page. Opinions
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Reviews marked
were added at the most recent update.
Complete List of Books
Asch, Sholem, Moses,
This is an old tale -- a fictionalized account of
Moses leading the Israelites in the Wilderness on their way from
slavery in Egypt to a new life in the Promised Land. Moses
is depicted as agonized about his role as leader, which state of
mind compels him to rely on God more and more as the people complain
about their circumstances. It provides an insight to the people
themselves, who had been slaves for several generations in a strange
and different land. Their lifestyles were influenced very
much by that background, and Moses experienced many difficulties
as he tried to return them to their faith as Israelites and to the
one true God. – Nan Stokes.
Austin, Richard Cartwright, Environmental
Theology, 4 volumes (1987-1990; Creekside
Press, PO Box 331, Abingdon, VA 24210).
NOTE: John Knox Press published the first 3
volumes of this series. Creekside Press then bought out the
series and published the final volume. The 4 books may be
read in any order or independently. Robert McAfee Brown recommended
this series: “Austin provides a much-needed theology of ecological
relationships. This series gives us the direction we need
to fulfill our Christian responsibility for ‘the care of the earth.’”
Reviews by John G. Gibbs, PhD.
-
Baptized into Wilderness: A Christian Perspective on John
Muir portrays Muir’s (1838-1914) commitment
to the world of nature and his campaigns to found the Sierra
Club and get the Yosemite made into a National Park.
-
Beauty of the Lord: Awakening the Senses
surprises us with recovery of the profound aesthetics in Jonathan
Edwards’ (1703-1758) theology. At the same time Austin
models the opening of Christian sensuous experience to nature.
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Hope for the Land: Nature in the Bible
wisely does more than assemble “creation texts.” Austin
takes us through 5 major biblical themes, demonstrating their
relevance to our life together today: Liberation, Creativity,
Sabbath Ecology, The Fall, and Ecological Visions. George
M. Landes commented: “While ‘ecology’ is not a clearly articulated
biblical concept, Austin shows how various biblical traditions
make helpful contributions to developing an environmental theology.”
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Reclaiming America: Restoring Nature to Culture,
the final volume, opens with “Jefferson’s vision” and “translates
biblical insights into images appropriate to American social
dialogue” such as: “America the beautiful,” Agriculture, Civil
Rights (also for the Earth), and Open Communion (going natural,
staying faithful).
Barbour, Ian G., Religion
and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues.
A revised and expanded edition of Religion in an Age of Science.
San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997.
A magisterial overview of issues surrounding the
relationship between religious and scientific ways of viewing the
world. Barbour opts for a panentheistic, process-oriented
view of the world, in which the universe is seen as a multilayered
system of levels of organization. Science and religion are
both model-making activities, which strive to represent aspects
of reality according to some integrative interpretive scheme.
Barbour suggests that the universe can be interpreted as a cosmic
community, in which God acts as a creative participant and all-inclusive
community leader. This book will be helpful to anyone seeking
a conceptual framework for the physical and metaphysical questions
undergirding an environmental spirituality.–
The Rev. Dr. Paul Nancarrow
Barnes-Davies, Rebecca (Editor), Energy in God's World:
Our Future, Our Choice (March/April 2004 issue of the journal
Church and Society
, Vol 94 #4; available through e-mail
order).
Though not a book, the 96 pp. of this journal are
the size of many a paperback book. Rebecca Barnes-Davies is Chair
of the national PC(USA) Presbyterians for Restoring Creation. This
issue brings together articles from 16 authors who introduce the
reader to such matters as: "Electric Power, Investors and Climate
Change," "Calling for a Just and Sustainable National
Energy Policy," "Electric Stewardship," "Energy,
Food and You," "Environmental Justice Principles,"
and "The Science of Climate Change." To each article Becky
adds thoughts "For Reflection and Action," and the issue
concludes with 4 pages of online resources.
John G. Gibbs, PhD
Berry, Thomas, The
Dream of the Earth, Sierra Club Books, 1988 (paperback).
A passionate Priest, author, teacher, and geologian,
Thomas believes the universe is constantly creating – we are part
of this creating and our response and relationship can make all
the difference. – Mary Jo Gould.
Cobb, John B., Jr., Sustainability:
Economics, Ecology & Justice. Maryknoll, NY:
Orbis Books, 1992.
An excellent introduction to a central concept in
ecoethics and ecotheology. While Cobb faces realistically
the Earth-devastating results of our unsustainable lifestyles, he
calls people to hope in the Spirit and hope-full action to change
our destructive ways..– The Rev. Dr. Paul Nancarrow
Collingwood, R. G., The
Idea of Nature (NY:
OUP Galaxay Book, 1960), 183pp. in paperback
Collingwood (1889-1943) was Professor of Metaphysical
Philosophy at Oxford University, and was one of our most influential
thinkers at the time. He is known for many other books including
The Idea of History and The Principles of Art.
His lifework was intent on “bridge-building” between philosophy
and the natural sciences. The Idea of Nature displays in
outline 3 massive approaches to nature: Greek cosmology (Pythagoras,
Plato, Aristotle), “the Renaissance view of nature” (from
Copernicus through Kant), and “the modern view of nature” (biology,
physics, and modern cosmology). – John G. Gibbs,
PhD
Diamant, Anita, The
Red Tent, St. Martin's Press, Inc. , 1997.
Dinah was the only daughter of the patriarch, Jacob,
who was remembered for his twelve sons who became leaders of the
twelve tribes of Israel. This story is a fiction account of
the life of that daughter, but it is told by a woman who is well
acquainted with the Jewish religion and her insights become a compelling
tale. Dinah relates the importance of community in her life
and the profound ways it affects her as she matures and becomes
involved with the world. – Nan Stokes.
Deffenbaugh and Dungan, “The Bible and Ecology,” The
International Bible Commentary, pp. 314-23 (William R.
Farmer, Editor; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1998).
This concise survey of biblical creation texts includes
a 1-p. bibliography, and excerpts from Pope John Paul II’s 1989
message, “The Ecological Crisis—A Common Responsibility.”
5 themes included: The Bible’s Holistic Vision; The Entire Creation
is a Harmonious Community; Humans Created in the Image of God; Humans,
the World, and Redemption; The Redeemed Creation.– J.
G. Gibbs, PhD.
Eiseley, Loren, The
Firmament of Time (NY: Atheneum, 1966), 184 pp. (in paperback).
“I make no apology for my attempt to treat simply
of great matters, nor to promote that humane tolerance of mind which
is a growing necessity for man’s survival,” states Eiseley.
Elected in 1971 to the prestigious National Institute of Arts and
Letters, Eiseley is a rare combination of naturalist and excellent
writer. As a person of extraordinary spiritual depth and literary
sensitivity, Eiseley has long been one of my favorite authors.
This book, which received 2 prizes in 1961, inquires how the world,
death, life, and humanity “became natural,” and asks: “how human
is man,” and how natural is ‘natural”? –John
G. Gibbs, PhD
Eiseley, Loren, The
Immense Journey ( NY: Random House Vintage Books, 1957),
211pp. (in paperback).
A native of Lincoln, NE, Eiseley went on in 1947
to chair the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania.
This exploration of “the mysteries of man and nature” probably remains
his most famous book. Check out, for instances, these chapters:
“How Flowers Changed the World,” “The Flow of the River,” “The Judgment
of the Birds,” and “The Secret of Life.” – John
G. Gibbs, PhD
Eiseley, Loren, The
Night Country (NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971), 241pp
(in hardcover).
In reference to W. H. Hudson’s landscapes, Eiseley
finds that “always a strange nostalgia haunts his pages—the light
of some lost star within his individual mind” (143). The book
is dedicated “in memory of my grandmother Malvina McKee Corey, 1850-1936,
who sleeps as all my people sleep by the ways of the westward crossing.”
I aim to tease you with these snippets from his style. Check
out here” “Paw Marks and Buried Towns,” “Barbed Wire and Brown Skulls,”
“Obituary of a Bone Hunter,” and “The Mind as Nature.” – John
G. Gibbs, PhD
Eiseley, Loren, The
Unexpected Universe (NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1969),
239pp. (in paperback).
The book is dedicated “To Wolf, who sleeps forever
with an ice age bone across his heart, the last gift of one who
loved him.” The superb essay “The Star Thrower” is included
here. The title is suggested by Heraclitus” statement: “If
you do not expect it, you will not find the unexpected, for it is
hard to find and difficult.” – John G. Gibbs,
PhD
Eisenberg, Evan, The
Ecology of Eden. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
1998.
Written from a contemporary Jewish perspective, this
book examines the tensions between "Eden" and "Babel" as types of
the wilderness and the city, and introduces the notion of "Earth
Jazz" as a metaphor for cooperative improvisation within the environment.–
The Rev. Paul Nancarrow
Fick, Gary W., Farming
By The Book: Food, Farming, and the Environment in the Bible and
in the Qur-an, Cornell University, Department of Crop
and Soil Sciences, CSS Teaching Series;T05-1.
Gary W. Fick, professor of agronomy, Cornell University
is a comprehensive compilation of quotations from these religious
writings, supplemented by brief annotations. The goal of the publication
is to help current and future agricultural development workers understand
and communicate in terms that audiences with those religious backgrounds
will appreciate. More
.... Tim Kautza, National
Catholic Rural Life Conference
Fox, Matthew, Original
Blessing; The Coming of the Cosmic Christ; A Spirituality Named
Compassion; Creation Spiritualilty, Harper Collins, San
Francisco.
-
These four books are by a Dominican theologan
and one of the most infuluential religious-ecology thinkers
of our age. Central to Mr. Fox's thought is that Christian Theology
has placed too much emphasis on original sin and no focus on
the original blessing of God's creation. Creation is being crucified
and we must follow the path of Christ in order to rescue it
– Mary Jo Gould,
-
This book has been around for several years,
and its impact was greater in the beginning of its publication.
However, it has much to offer about how our religious practices
and beliefs are moulded by ancient beliefs and theology.
It is not an easy read -- like a textbook in its explanations,
but well worth "plowing through" as the author develops his
argument that God intended that we are blessed, not sinful,
from the beginning of Creation. – Nan Stokes.
Gibbs, John G., Creation
and Redemption: A Study in Pauline Theology (Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1971), 194pp. (in hardcover).
A monograph in the series Supplements to Novum Testamentum
(Vol. 26), this study is an early attempt to recover the place of
the creation in one segment of earliest Christian thought.
How could a first century C.E. rabbi, schooled in the Hebrew Scriptures
of at least 2 creation myths, have no interest in the creation?
Impossible, as I began to see by 1961. Some detailed attention
is given here to Romans 5:12-21; 8:19-23, 38-39; I Cor. 8:6; Phil.
2:6-11; Col. 1:15-20; and Eph. 1:3-14. There is a survey of
the evidence on pp. 134ff. The Journal of Biblical Literature
in December, 1971 published my article (which I have misplaced)
based on this monograph. – John G. Gibbs, PhD
Gibbs, John G., “Pauline Theology and Rehumanization,” Studies
in Religion 5/4 (Spring 1975/6), pp. 373-79.
“The cosmic lordship that characterizes Pauline
theology is the basis of the new order he proclaimed, an order of
liberation.” So starts this article, which explores some of
the relevance of cosmic Christology for contemporary life. – John
G. Gibbs, PhD
Graham, Mark, Sustainable
Agriculture: A Christian ethic of gratitude. The Pilgrim
Press, Cleveland Ohio
Mark Graham, assistant professor of theology and
religious studies, Villanova University, is religiously important
for anyone who eats and ethically important for anyone involved
in agriculture according to Edward Vacek, SJ, professor of moral
theology, Weston Jesuit School of Theology. More...
Tim Kautza, National Catholic Rural Life
Conference
Gruchow, Paul, Grass
Roots: The Universe of Home, Milkweed Editions, Minneapolis,
MN, 1995.
Considered to be in the tradition of Wendell Berry
and Rachel Carson, Paul Gruchow writes of the life on a farm in
West Central Minnesota that he experienced as a youth. He writes
an epitath for a world and time that is no more, for an approach
to working with and within nature that was replaced by scientific
techniques based on chemicals. It is a personal love story to each
element of creation, a celebration of reqcquaintance and a mourning
of disappearance. Paul Gruchow grew up in a family that did organic
farming when it was not "stylish" and he grew to appreciate the
beauty and simplicity of nature as God presented it to us. In his
discussion of the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, IA, he
sums up his view of nature and our relationship to it: "...we are
all at the center of something, and no place automatically confers
either virtue or simplicity. Human nature is human nature; it does
not vary from census to census. We all stand in need of redemption."
– Chuck Morello
Kirk, G. S., Myth:
Its Meaning and Functions in Ancient and Other Cultures
(London: CUP and Berkeley: U of California, 1971), 299pp. (in hardcover).
Myth is not falsehood, but truth presented in non-propositional
ways. It is essential for readers of biblical literature to
grasp the nature of mythic writing, given the amount of mythic material
therein. The importance of myth for early Jewish and Christian
creation theology can hardly be overstressed. Kirk’s study
is widely recommended for scholars of myth, including Mesopotamian,
Greek, and biblical. His “working typology of mythical functions”
includes three: narrative and entertaining, “operative, iterative
and validatory,” and “the third speculative and explanatory” (253-4).
– John G. Gibbs, PhD
LaDuke, Winona, Recovering
the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming (Cambridge,
MA: South End Press, 2005), 295 pp., paperback.
Leading activist/scholar writing from among the
Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) of northern Minnesota, Winona LaDuke brings
to all of us the ecological wisdom of Native Americans. The sacred
has to be "recovered" by "naming and claiming"
a people's land, its holy sites, and its "relatives" among
other creatures (such as sturgeon, horse, and manoomin or wild rice).
In a splendid blend of wit, good humor, necessary polemic, personal
experience (not only as Founding Director of the White Earth Land
Recovery Project, but also as world traveler), and copious research,
this book lays down its assertive challenge to a dehumanizing materialism
that has relegated "the sacred" to an allegedly peripheral
irrelevancy. – John G. Gibbs, PhD
Leopold, Aldo, A
Sand County Almanac, Oxford University Press, 1989.
First published in 1949, this book is now an established
environmental classic. Beginning with a beautifully written description
of the seasonal chaanges in nature in the sandy areas of Wisconsin
and their effects on the delicate ecological balance, this book
proceeds to examples of man's destructive interference and ends
with a plea for a wilderness aesthetic conservation ethic. – Mary
Jo Gould.
Linzey, Andrew, Animal
Gospel (Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2000), 171 pp., paperback.
Linzey is the world's first professor in Christian
theology and animal rights. He is at Mansfield College, Oxford University
where he has championed animal rights for some 30 years, and where
he wrote this book under the title Animal Gospel: Christian Faith
as if Animals Mattered. It was first published by Hodder and
Stoughton in 1998. Part I of the book lays out biblical bases (in
contrast to certain church teachings) for animal rights within a
spiritual vision of compassion. Part 2 challenges cruelty to animals
in the name of scientific research or for the sake of fancy furs
to wear or for meat eteing, all such being "works of darkness."
If you ever wanted to be a vegetarian or a vegan, but could never
quite persuade yourself to make that change, Linzey just might convert
you! – John G. Gibbs, PhD
Lopez, Berry, Crossing
Open Ground, Bantam Books, 1990 (paperback).
One of the best nature writers of the 1990s, Berry
Lopez – with sensitivity, wit, and intelligence – reminds us of
the age-old ties between the earth places and humanity. – Mary
Jo Gould.
McDaniel, Jay B, With
Roots and Wings: Christianity in an Age of Ecology and Dialogue.
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1995.
A challenging exploration of the notion of "greenpeace":
"the image of shalom in the Bible, ... that suggests a harmony among
people, animals, and the Earth," "a state in which maximum cooperation
is obtained among people, animals, and the Earth, so that all flourish."
McDaniel suggests that we think of Creation as an unfinished symphony,
in which Christ-centered human beings are called to play a special
music of redemption, restoration, and healing for the planet. –
The Rev Paul Nancarrow
McDonagh, Sean, To
Care for the Earth, Bear & Co., 1986 (paperback).
Writing as a Colombian missionary from his experience
in the Philippines, Sean McDonagh presents information that threatens
all the countries of the earth. Christian churches, he believes,
have been too slow to give lead in this area. A fresh look at the
Bible and Christian tradition call for a passionate appeal to a
new theology. – Mary Jo Gould.
McFague, Sallie, The
Body of God: An Ecological Theology, Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 1993
This book is a sequel to her Models of God (1987),
whose major emphasis is its effort to recover the value of the physical
body. It does this by revisiting Incarnation, especially as viewed
in the context of today's ecological crisis. In McFague's view,
there has been too much emphasis on God's transcendence. Her
dominant concern is the ethical one that humanity be "re-centered"
toward caring for the earth . Even more, the major incarnational
emphasis is on "inclusion of the neglected oppressed," including
oppressed nature. There is much in McFague's intention that most
Christians might well support. On the other hand, there are
some serious difficulties with this book, and these limit its usefulness
within the Church.
– John G Gibbs, PhD. A detailed
review is available
McFague, Sallie, Models
of God, Minneapolis: Fortress Press
Understanding metaphorical language. Finding additional
metaphores for God, especially those we encounter often in nature.–
The Rev Margaret W. Thomas
McFague, Sallie, Super,
Natural Christians, Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 1997.
-
A follow-up volume to her earlier The Body
of God, this book explores the question of how Christians
should love nature. McFague proposes, in the place of
the typical Western dualist subject-object model of relationships,
a subject-subjects model, recognizing that "earth others" have
a relational integrity of their own, and we can enter into relationships
with them on that basis. They are thus included in the
Christian mandate to "love your neighbor as you love yourself"
in a global ecoethic of care. – The Rev
Dr Paul Nancarrow
-
How to relearn relationship building with
all the creatures and fauna of the earth. A new appreciation
of nature, with lots of Biblical references. A good study
group type book for highly educated adults who may have missed
the natural connections along the way. –
The Rev Margaret W. Thomas
McGaa, Ed (Eagle Man), Mother
Earth Spirituality: Native American Paths to Healing Ourselves and
Our World, Harper & Row, 1990 (paperback).
Written by a Native American from the Ogala Sioux
nation who believes it is time that native spirituality be shared
in order to help save the earth. – Mary Jo
Gould.
Nancarrow, Paul S. "Wisdom's Information: Rereading
a Biblical Image in the Light of Some Contemporary Science and Speculation."
Zygon: Journal
of Religion and Science. 32:1 (March 1997), 51-64.
An exploration of the biblical figure of Wisdom as
God's agent in creation, and the informing link between the processes
of "God Godding," "Nature naturing," and "humans humaning." –
The Rev DrPaul Nancarrow
Neidhardt, John G., Black
Elk Speaks, Simon &
Schuster, orginally published 1932, with many reprints.
Hailes as a great religious classic especially for
young Indians searching for roots of their own structure of universal
reality. To all, this is a profound and eloquent vision of the unity
of all creation. – Mary Jo Gould.
Olson, Sigurd F., Listening
Point (Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1997; reprint
from Knopf, 1958), 243pp. (in paperback).
This university press accurately claims in its jacket
blurb: “Sigurd F. Olson (1899-1982) was one of the greatest environmentalists
of the twentieth century.” For most of his life he lived in
Ely, MN. His writings should be required reading for all visitors
to the BWCAW. It was at Listening Point that Sigurd Olson
built his retreat cabin, and there much of his observation in preparation
for writing was done. Outside his Ely house there still stands
the tiny one-room study where he did most of his writing. – John
G. Gibbs, PhD
Olson, Sigurd F., The
Singing Wilderness (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989 reprint
from 1956), 245pp. (in hardcover).
“I have heard the singing,” wrote Olson, “in many
places, but I seem to hear it best in the wilderness lake countryt
of the Quetico-Superior, where travel is still by pack and canoe
over the ancient trails of the Indians and voyageurs” (pp. 5-6).
If I had to pick one most favored piece of Olson writing, I think
it would be the chapter herein titled “The Way of a Canoe.” – John
G. Gibbs, PhD
Peacocke, Arthur, Theology
for a Scientific Age: Being and Becoming – Natural, Divine,
and Human. Enlarged edition. Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 1993.
Peacocke, a physical chemist and Anglican priest,
presents a picture of the universe as a nested hierarchy of organizational
levels, in which each level displays emergent properties that were
not present in, nor predictable from, lower levels. Thus atoms
present properties not guessable from protons, neutrons, and electrons;
molecules present properties not guessable from atoms; living cells
present properties not guessable from molecules; multicellular organisms
present properties not guessable from single cells; and so on.
Each new level exerts a kind of "downward causation" on its constituent
sublevels, so that the behavior of generations of termites, say,
has an influence on the evolving structure of termite DNA molecules.
Peacocke suggests that God interacts with the universe on the largest,
most all-encompassing level of organization, and exerts a "downward
causation" on even the slightest physical units of existence --
and on everything in between. Questions of human existence
can be interpreted in this framework of a universe in which God's
interaction and creativity is universally present -- as can the
articles of the Christian faith: creation, sin, incarnation,
redemption, prayer, sacraments, and salvation.
– The Rev Dr Paul Nancarrow
Polkinghorne, John, Quarks,
Chaos & Christianity: Questions to Science and Religion.
New York: Crossroad, 1996.
Polkinghorne presents science and religion as "intellectual
cousins" in the pursuit of truth. This slim volume is an excellent
introduction to the author's careful and balanced examination of
the truth-claims of religious and scientific disciplines.
The sections on the Anthropic Principle ("Is There Anyone There?")
and prayer ("Can a Scientist Pray?") are especially helpful. –
The Rev Dr Paul Nancarrow
Roberts, Elizabeth, and Elias Amidon, editors, Earth
Prayers from Around the World: 365 Prayers, Poems, and Invocations
for Honoring the Earth, Harper Collins, San Francisco,
1991 (paperback).
Included are writing from Walt Whitman, T.S. Elliot,
Margaret Atwood, Robert Frost, Starhawk, D.H. Lawrence, Black Elk,
Wendell Berry, Alla Bozarth, Isaiah, and many, many more. This book
makes a wonderful gift. – Mary Jo Gould.
Rolston, Holmes, III, Genes,
Genesis and God: Values and Their Origins in Natural and Human History
(The Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh, 1997-98;
Cambridge University Press, 1999), xvi and 400 pages, paperback.
"The earth is remarkable, and valuable, for
the genesis that occurs on it," writes Rolston, a genesis that
is described by science in terms of "genes" and by theology
in terms of "God." Here is an extraordinarily learned
interdisciplinary study, firmly rooted in the categories and methodologies
of biology and philosophy and theology, which well deserves its
place within the prestigious Gifford Lectures series, now more than
a century old. Rolston relates "cultural genesis to natural
genesis." "It is important to see (so far as one can)
how biological phenomena gave rise to culture, but it is just as
critical to realize how culture exceeds biology, just as it is vital
to see how biology exceeds physics and chemistry." Further:
"Unlike coyotes or bats, humans are not just what they are
by nature; they come into the world by nature quite unfinished and
become what they become by culture. Though the genes remain indispensable,
they no longer carry all the genesis. There is generative creativity
in culture, a second level of genesis." Accordingly, as Rolston
insists throughout, religion and ethics are not reducible to the
genes of biology. There is no DNA of culture, it seems to this reviewer.
John G. Gibbs, PhD
Shiva, Vandana, Water
Wars: Privatization, Pollution and Profit
(Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2002), xvi and 156 pp.,
paperback.
Formerly one of India's leading physicists, Shiva
is a world-renowned ecological activist who has at least 5 other
books in print, who is Director of the Research Foundation for Science,
Technology, and Natural Resource Policy, and who is a leader in
the International Forum on Globalization along with Ralph Nader
and Jeremy Rifkin. Imagine living on a mountainous terrain where
pure water flows freely until a multinational corporation works
out a deal with your government whereby that company "owns"
the water, often in perpetuity, and makes you pay for it. That is
the "privatization" that both threatens "the ecology
of peace," and provokes the "water wars" that Shiva
describes in detail. Without water there is no life, so the struggle
is intense between capitalist greed and, on the other hand, the
human rights that depend on equitably distributed water. Water is
a gift from nature, and Shiva is an inspred and inspiring interpreter
of its combined material and spiritual value. –
John G. Gibbs, PhD
Swimme, Brian, and Thomas Berry, The
Universe Story. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco,
1992.
A wonderfully poetic melding of scientific data and
spiritual interpretation, this volume presents the history of the
cosmos as an ever-unfolding and ever-intensifying celebration of
creative power.
– The Rev Dr Paul Nancarrow
von Weizscker, Carl Friedrich, The
History of Nature (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Phoenix
Books, 1949), 191pp. (in paperback).
Carl Friedrich von Weizscker, one of Germany’s
most celebrated physicists, was “a natural scientist who really
understands the unique dimension of human existence,” as Reinhold
Niebuhr stated. He attempts to work out a synthesis on the
basis of the specialized sciences that are “powerless to give us
a world-view that could sustain us in the confusion of our existence”
(p. 1). Chapters 2-5 look “back into the most distant past”
(p. 15). Then Chapters 6-8 look forward “from the remotest
reaches of cosmic history…to where we as human beings of today are
standing” (p. 75)
John B. Cobb, Jr, has also compiled an Ecotheology
Book List (titles only).
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