BOOK REVIEW: Ecotheology: A Christian Conversation
January 25th, 2022
EDITED BY KIARA A. JORGENSON AND ALAN G. PADGETT, WITH A FOREWORD BY KATHARINE HAYHOE
Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2020. 228 pp. $24.99
This is an exemplary ecumenical dialogue on ecothology and will be essential reading for those in the field. Four leading ecotheologians—Anglican, Lutheran, evangelical-Reformed and Catholic—each offer an account of what they see as the central points in ecotheology. The other three authors provide comments which critique and expand on that essay, illumining one another. The book is an excellent introduction to the basics of ecotheology and also takes the reader deeper with rigor and substance.
The first essay is by biblical scholar Richard Bauckham, who states that while the interpretation of “dominion” (Gen. 1:28) as “stewardship,” however flawed, has proved useful, it is not sufficient. Based on meticulous exegesis of key verses in Genesis 1, he proposes that humans see themselves as “fellow creatures” within the interconnected community of creation. Bauckham points out that the biblical perspective is neither anthropocentric nor biocentric, but theocentric—and that all creation is included in God’s plan for our future. Click here for full book review.
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