The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation

by Richard Bauckham

Overview

With his characteristic rigor and perceptiveness, Richard Bauckham embarks on a biblical investigation into the relationship between human beings and the rest of creation. Bauckham argues that there is much more to the Bible’s understanding of this relationship than the mandate of human dominion given in Genesis 1—which, he writes, has too often been used as a justification for domination and exploitation of the earth’s resources. Instead, Bauckham considers the ecological perspectives found in the book of Job, the Psalms, and the Gospels, all of which, he determines, require a reevaluation of the biblical tradition of "dominion." Bauckham discovers a tradition of a "community of creation" in which human beings are fellow members with God’s other creatures and true reconciliation to God involves the entire creation. Short, reliable, and engaging, The Bible and Ecology is essential reading for anyone looking for a biblically grounded approach to ecology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781602583108
Publisher:	Baylor University Press
Publication date:	08/25/2010
Series:	Sarum Theological Lectures
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	238
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Richard Bauckham was, until 2007, Professor of New Testament Studies and Bishop Wardlaw Professor in the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and is now Professor Emeritus at St Andrews. A fellow of both the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he is the author of many books including Jesus and the Eye-Witnesses (winner of the 2009 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing) and Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World.

Read an Excerpt

"Modern ecological science is constantly revealing more and more of the complex balance and flux of interrelationships within the biosphere of the earth and its component ecosystems, but a great deal remains to be known, probably much more than we already know. Biblical writers were not able to plot such interconnections scientifically, but they articulate a vision of creation that is coherent with the science, while focusing, as science properly cannot, on matters of value, ethics, responsibility, and, especially, creation's relationship with God."

— adapted from the Introduction

Table of Contents

Preface

1 Stewardship in Question

2 Putting Us in Our Place

3 The Community of Creation

4 Where the Wild Things Are

5 From Alpha to Omega

What People are Saying About This

In this book Richard Bauckham brings his characteristic clarity of thought and attentiveness to textual detail to matters of theology and ecology. Ranging well beyond the accounts of Genesis 1-2, Bauckham presents the rich, complex and multilayered ways in which the Bible speaks about humans, animals and the rest of creation. Bauckham's analysis suggests a lively and life-giving set of prescriptions for how humans might engage and even enhance creation without violating its God-given integrity.

Norman Habel

Bauckham has a made a valuable contribution to the debate about how ecology relates to the Bible, especially the move from ecological inter-dependence to creation as a community of crucial and meaningful inter-relationships.

Bruce Longenecker

Extremely significant in its thesis and compelling in its execution, The Bible and Ecology even has a touch of humor here and there.

Stephen Fowl

In this book Richard Bauckham brings his characteristic clarity of thought and attentiveness to textual detail to matters of theology and ecology. Ranging well beyond the accounts of Genesis 1-2, Bauckham presents the rich, complex and multilayered ways in which the Bible speaks about humans, animals and the rest of creation. Bauckham's analysis suggests a lively and life-giving set of prescriptions for how humans might engage and even enhance creation without violating its God-given integrity.

Editorial Reviews

Overall, this is a very successful book which demonstrates the Bible’s relevance to a vital issue.

Evangelical Quarterly - Stephen Finamore

Bauckham has forced us to reconsider again the question of stewardship and the place of humans in the community of creation. He carefully explores a range of biblical texts that highlight God's care of creation and the place of humans in that community.

Review of Biblical Literature

Without question the book is essential reading for anyone interested in the Bible's understanding of ecology and humanity's place in God's community of creation. The book is accessible to general readers and is an indispensable source for scholars. It should be carefully and widely read.

Reviews in Religion and Theology

… an excellent text for a class in ecotheology or Christian environmental ethics.

Stone-Campbell Journal - Nathan Babcock

… a superb choice for lay people, pastors and Bible college students...

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society - Christina Richie

A great resource... on Christianity and the environment.

Themelios - Brian C. Dennert

Without question the book is essential reading for anyone interested in the Bible's understanding of ecology and humanity's place in God's community of creation. The book is accessible to general readers and is an indispensable source for scholars. It should be carefully and widely read.

Bauckham has forced us to reconsider again the question of stewardship and the place of humans in the community of creation. He carefully explores a range of biblical texts that highlight God's care of creation and the place of humans in that community.

Bauckham has a made a valuable contribution to the debate about how ecology relates to the Bible, especially the move from ecological inter-dependence to creation as a community of crucial and meaningful inter-relationships.

In this book Richard Bauckham brings his characteristic clarity of thought and attentiveness to textual detail to matters of theology and ecology. Ranging well beyond the accounts of Genesis 1-2, Bauckham presents the rich, complex and multilayered ways in which the Bible speaks about humans, animals and the rest of creation. Bauckham's analysis suggests a lively and life-giving set of prescriptions for how humans might engage and even enhance creation without violating its God-given integrity.

Extremely significant in its thesis and compelling in its execution, The Bible and Ecology even has a touch of humor here and there.

… a superb choice for lay people, pastors and Bible college students ...

… an excellent text for a class in ecotheology or Christian environmental ethics.

From the Publisher