Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World

by Douglas J. Moo, Jonathan A. Moo, Jonathan Lunde (Editor)

Overview

What does the Bible say about the natural world and its place within God's purpose?

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible reveals a God whose creative power and loving care embrace all that exists, from earth and sky and sea to every creature. Yet the significance of the Bible's extensive teaching about the natural world is easily overlooked by Christians accustomed to focusing only on what the Bible says about God's interaction with human beings.

In Creation Care, father and son team Douglas and Jonathan Moo invite readers to open their Bibles afresh to explore a comprehensive biblical theology of creation care as well as a careful analysis of the most up-to-date scientific data about the state of our world. Following the contours of the biblical storyline, they uncover answers to questions such as:

• What is the purpose of the non-human creation?
• Can a world with things like predators, parasites, and natural disasters still be the 'good' world described in Genesis 1?
• What difference does the narrative of the 'Fall' make for humankind’s responsibility to rule over other creatures?
• What difference does Jesus make for our understanding of the natural world?
• How does our call to care for creation fit within the hope for a new heaven and a new earth?
• What is unique about Christian creation care compared with other approaches to 'environmental' issues?
• How does creation care fit within the charge to proclaim the gospel and care for the poor?

 

Rather than merely offering a response to environmental concerns, Creation Care invites readers into a joyful vision of the world as God's creation in which they can rediscover who they truly are as creatures called to love and serve the Creator and to delight in all he has made.

____________

Part of the Biblical Theology for Life series, this practical and robust book will help you develop an effective and faithful Christian response to the scriptural teaching about the created world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310416555
Publisher:	Zondervan Academic
Publication date:	02/27/2018
Series:	Biblical Theology for Life
Sold by:	HarperCollins Publishing
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Douglas J. Moo (PhD, St. Andrews) is professor of New Testament emeritus at Wheaton College.

Jonathan A. Moo (PhD, University of Cambridge) is associate professor of New Testament and environmental studies at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. In addition to his work in biblical studies, he earned a graduate degree in wildlife ecology from Utah State University and has written a number articles and books on the understanding of nature in early Judaism and Christianity. He has worked extensively with the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge (UK) and was a key contributor to the Lausanne Movement’s Global Consultation on Creation Care and the Gospel.

Jonathan Lunde (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is associate professor of biblical and theological studies at Talbot School of Theology of Biola University. He is coeditor (with Kenneth Berding) of Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament and has contributed articles to The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels and the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Jon and his wife, Pamela, have three children and reside in Brea, California.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations 16

Series Preface 17

Acknowledgments 19

Queuing the Questions

1 What Do Christians Have to Do with Creation? 23

What Ate We Talking About? 24

Why Are We Talking about It? 26

2 How Do We Think Biblically and Theologically about Creation? 31

Strategies of Interpretation 32

The Bridge 35

The Roundabout 37

Historical and Systematic Theology 37

Culture 38

Science 40

Arriving at Answers

3 A Beautiful World 45

God and Creation 46

God's Beautiful World 48

Orderedness and Contingency 48

Goodness 50

Diversity and Abundance 52

Responding to God's Beautiful World 53

Celebrating God's Expansive Care 53

Recognizing Creation's Testimony 58

Perceiving Creation's Enduring Goodness 60

Acknowledging Humanity's Limits 61

Acknowledging God's Ownership 64

Joining the Cosmic Choir 65

Summary 67

Relevant Questions 67

4 Members, Rulers, and Keepers of Creation 68

Members of the Community of Creation 69

Image of God 72

Dominion 76

Noah and the Preservation of Life 80

Dominion as Stewardship? 85

Summary 86

Relevant Questions 87

5 Humanity and the Earth, Israel and the Land 88

Life in a Land of Abundance 88

The Lives of Other Creatures and the Sacrificial System 92

Sustainability and Restraint in the Law of Israel 93

Sabbath and Jubilee 96

Summary 97

Relevant Questions 97

6 A Creation Subjected to Frustration 99

An Enduring Goodness 99

The World Is Changed 100

The Earth Mourns 104

The Creation Groans 107

God Weeps for Creation 110

Our Response 111

Summary 112

Relevant Questions 113

7 Jesus and Creation 114

The Significance of Jesus's Incarnation 114

The Peaceable Kingdom of God's Messiah 116

Looking to Jesus to Learn What It Is to Be Human 118

Looking to Jesus to Learn What It Is to Rule 119

Looking with Jesus at Creation: Consider the Lilies 121

Looking to Jesus for Creation's Goal: Resurrection and New Creation 123

Creation's Response to Jesus 123

Summary 125

Relevant Questions 125

8 "What Counts Is the New Creation" 126

The Pattern of Fulfillment 126

God, Human Beings-And Nature? 129

The Land 131

The "Land" Becomes the "World" 133

Long Life on the Earth 134

New Creation 136

The Roots of New Creation 137

Galatians 6:15 138

2 Corinthians 5:17 139

Creation and New Creation 141

Reconciling All Things 141

Summary: The World of Nature in the "Last Days" 143

Relevant Questions 145

9 "I Am Making Everything New!" 146

Creation's Destiny: Liberation 147

Creation's Destiny: A Place "Where Righteousness Dwells" 153

Creation's Destiny: "A New Heaven and a New Earth" 161

Creation Transformed 163

What about Heaven? 164

Summary: A Material Eternity 166

Relevant Questions 167

Reflecting on Relevance

10 The Gospel and Creation Care 171

Creation Care as Part of the Gospel 172

Transformed by the Gospel 177

Summary: The Eyes of Faith 178

Relevant Questions 179

11 Humans and Creation: Understanding Our Place 180

Stewards of Creation 180

Caring for Creation and Caring for Humans 184

Summary: Living the Whole Story 187

Relevant Questions 188

12 Wisdom and Creation Care 189

Difficult Decisions 189

The Way of Wisdom 192

Learning about Our World 192

Making Good Decisions 192

Appreciating Our Limitations 193

Summary: Stewarding with Renewed Minds 194

Relevant Questions 194

13 Creation in Crisis? 195

"The Earth Is Full of Your Creatures": Biodiversity Loss 197

"People Go out to Their Work, to Their Labor until Evening": Dominion or Domination? 200

Where "Birds Make Their Nests" and "Sing among the Branches": Loss of the World's Forests 202

"The Sea, Vast and Spacious, Teeming with Creatures beyond Number": The Plight of the World's Oceans 203

"Bringing Forth Food from the Earth": Agriculture in Crisis? 205

"The Sun Knows When to Go Down": A Changing Climate 209

Assessing Our Cumulative Impact 217

Summary 219

Relevant Questions 220

14 Caring for Creation and Worshipping the Creator 221

Two Necessary Things 222

Putting Creation Back into New Creation 222

Putting Ourselves Back into Creation 223

Practicing What We Preach: Transformed Living for a Transformed World 225

Attentiveness 227

Walking 228

Activism 229

Konsumerism 231

Eating 232

Summary 234

Scripture Index 237

Subject Index 243

Author Index 249

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Learning how to live faithfully as part of God's good but groaning creation is a defining challenge facing the church and world today. For too long, however, caring for creation has been a blind spot for many Christians. Instead, we have often allowed our cultural and political lenses to dictate how we approach environmental issues. In this rich resource, two highly respected theologians refocus our attention on where it should have always been—the Bible. We have a divine opportunity—and an urgent responsibility—to help the church recover a more faithful role in caring for all God's creation, and this book lays an essential foundation for doing just that. It is an excellent and trustworthy guide for understanding and living out the biblical call to creation care. I highly recommend it to Christians, churches, and colleges everywhere. — Ben Lowe, activist and author, The Future of Our Faith and Doing Good without Giving Up

It's vital that the evangelical tradition is taking seriously the vast biblical resources pointing toward creation care. No one should be surprised that God would like us to look after the beautiful world we were given—and after reading this book, no one will be. — Bill Mc Kibben, author of The Comforting Whirlwind: God, Job, and the Scale of Creation

In 2012 the Jamaica Call to Action, which one of the authors assisted in writing, called for 'new and robust theological work,' including 'an integrated theology of creation care.' Douglas and Jonathan Moo's work in Creation Care is exactly what we need. Beautifully written, it nonetheless provides a deep understanding of the exegetical, theological, scientific, and even practical issues involved in a Christian examination of this important area. Creation Care should become the standard text for any course on environmental theology and required reading for any pastor who wants a solid biblical framework for understanding and teaching about creation care. — Ed Brown, director of Care of Creation

Douglas and Jonathan Moo have written a theologically profound assessment of the critical issue of creation care. Their analysis is scripturally sound and rich, and their understanding of our present predicament is insightful. Rather than browbeating their readers, they present a hopeful vision that will stir the church to action. Every Christian needs to read this important book. — Tremper Longman III, Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

This book deserves to become the standard work of its kind. One of its many merits is that it grounds creation care in the whole biblical story from creation to new creation. Another is its well-informed and up-to-date account of the plight of creation today. A third is its thoughtful attention to practical and realistic ways of caring about and caring for creation in our contemporary Western contexts. — Richard Bauckham, emeritus professor of New Testament, University of St Andrews, Scotland

Oh how we need this book! And many more like it. Douglas and Jonathan Moo seamlessly combine their biblical and scientific expertise to achieve two very important objectives. On the one hand, they argue a thorough biblical case for including God's creation within God's redemptive mission—that is, within the full biblical meaning of the gospel itself. The Bible has good news for all creation! The great Bible narrative does not begin in Genesis 3 (sin) and end in Revelation 20 (judgment), but begins with creation and ends in new creation. They expose the sheer unbiblical fallacy of popular 'theologies' of obliteration (of the cosmos) and evacuation (of the saints) and make abundantly clear the biblical hope of resurrection (of our bodies) and liberation (of creation), so that our future is not to be saved out of the earth (by 'going to heaven') but to be saved with the earth (by God coming here, as the ending of the Bible graphically portrays). On the other hand, they provide abundant scientific evidence to refute the political and corporate myths that so-called 'environmental issues' (like the impacts of climate change) are a 'hoax' or still in scientific dispute, while calling us to a range of practical measures that will help us move (as this series intends) from biblical theology to life and its fundamental ethical choices. One of the biggest challenges facing the Christian church (especially in the West) is whether or not those who fervently and evangelically claim to 'love God' and 'love our neighbour' will recognise that you cannot say you love God and trash his property, and you cannot say you love your neighbour and care nothing for neighbours on our planet who are suffering the impact of ecological damage at every level. This book is for those who are willing to be challenged on both counts from the Bible itself. — Christopher J. H. Wright, Langham Partnership, author of The Mission of God's People

Creation Care represents a thorough and thoughtful account of the biblical view of creation and how we should live in light of it. Douglas and Jonathan Moo call us away from the apathy that many, in the church and out, display toward the care of the earth and atmosphere around us. At the same time, they model charity on issues where faithful Christians might disagree on how best to apply these truths. This book will make you think and will help you think as one shaped and formed by Scripture. — Russell D. Moore, president, the Ethics and Religious Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

At the heart of Christian theology lies the relationship of God and humanity. Yet this relationship—this heart—takes place in the 'body' of our natural world, and it is this material world that is the focus of Doug and Jonathan Moo's biblical theology of creation care. Creation, what Calvin calls the 'theater' of God's glory, is the stage for the drama of redemption. More than that: the way human creatures engage the natural world, and the way God's Son enters his creation to redeem it, are themselves important parts of the biblical story. Just as Israel honored God by treating the promised land as a gift, so too Christians honor God by treating the earth itself as a good though fragile gift that will eventually realize the purpose for which God originally intended it: to be a place for divine-human fellowship. This is an important book by two biblical scholars that reminds us that the Bible is good news not only for the church but for the whole material creation to which the human creature is inextricably and forever bound. — Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Editorial Reviews

Crisply written and clearly organized, comprehensive and yet concise, Creation Care is an excellent book. It offers insightful readings of a great many biblical texts while also making judicious use of important early church leaders such as Basil of Caesarea and Athanasius as well as prophetic contemporary writers such as Wendell Berry and Aldo Leopold. A most welcome addition to the literature showing that care for creation is integral to Christian discipleship.

Steve Bouma-Prediger

Oh how we need this book! And many more like it. Douglas and Jonathan Moo seamlessly combine their biblical and scientific expertise to achieve two very important objectives. On the one hand, they argue a thorough biblical case for including God’s creation within God’s redemptive mission—that is, within the full biblical meaning of the gospel itself. The Bible has good news for all creation! The great Bible narrative does not begin in Genesis 3 (sin) and end in Revelation 20 (judgment), but begins with creation and ends in new creation. They expose the sheer unbiblical fallacy of popular “theologies” of obliteration (of the cosmos) and evacuation (of the saints) and make abundantly clear the biblical hope of resurrection (of our bodies) and liberation (of creation), so that our future is not to be saved out of the earth (by “going to heaven”) but to be saved with the earth (by God coming here, as the ending of the Bible graphically portrays). On the other hand, they provide abundant scientific evidence to refute the political and corporate myths that so-called “environmental issues” (like the impacts of climate change) are a “hoax” or still in scientific dispute, while calling us to a range of practical measures that will help us move (as this series intends) from biblical theology to life and its fundamental ethical choices. One of the biggest challenges facing the Christian church (especially in the West) is whether or not those who fervently and evangelically claim to ‘love God’ and ‘love our neighbour’ will recognise that you cannot say you love God and trash his property, and you cannot say you love your neighbour and care nothing for neighbours on our planet who are suffering the impact of ecological damage at every level. This book is for those who are willing to be challenged on both counts from the Bible itself.

Langham Partnership Christopher J. H. Wright

At the heart of Christian theology lies the relationship of God and humanity. Yet this relationship—this heart—takes place in the “body” of our natural world, and it is this material world that is the focus of Doug and Jonathan Moo’s biblical theology of creation care. Creation, what Calvin calls the “theater” of God’s glory, is the stage for the drama of redemption. More than that: the way human creatures engage the natural world, and the way God’s Son enters his creation to redeem it, are themselves important parts of the biblical story. Just as Israel honored God by treating the promised land as a gift, so too Christians honor God by treating the earth itself as a good though fragile gift that will eventually realize the purpose for which God originally intended it: to be a place for divine-human fellowship. This is an important book by two biblical scholars that reminds us that the Bible is good news not only for the church but for the whole material creation to which the human creature is inextricably and forever bound.

Kevin J. Vanhoozer

Learning how to live faithfully as part of God’s good but groaning creation is a defining challenge facing the church and world today. For too long, however, caring for creation has been a blind spot for many Christians. Instead, we have often allowed our cultural and political lenses to dictate how we approach environmental issues. In this rich resource, two highly respected theologians refocus our attention on where it should have always been—the Bible. We have a divine opportunity—and an urgent responsibility—to help the church recover a more faithful role in caring for all God’s creation, and this book lays an essential foundation for doing just that. It is an excellent and trustworthy guide for understanding and living out the biblical call to creation care. I highly recommend it to Christians, churches, and colleges everywhere.

Rev. Ben Lowe

This careful and comprehensive book will be not only a major resource for all those who want to explore the full contours of biblical thinking about the care of creation but should also be understood as a powerful call to action. With deceptive ease, Douglas and Jonathan Moo recapitulate the major areas of debate and discussion from the recent decades of slowly dawning evangelical engagement with our current global, environmental crisis. They argue that our human and Christian calling means that we are to care for God’s good earth, and with thoughtful but readable expertise they guide us through a complex landscape of ancient texts and contemporary challenges. As we follow their lead, it becomes increasingly clear that both of these distinguished scholars are writing not just out of their studies but out of a coherent and committed life. So it is a privilege to commend this book and a delight to know that it will now be available to the growing numbers of those who need firm foundations for their Christian worship, work, and witness in a groaning but good creation.

Peter Harris

Douglas and Jonathan Moo have written a theologically profound assessment of the critical issue of creation care. Their analysis is scripturally sound and rich, and their understanding of our present predicament is insightful. Rather than browbeating their readers, they present a hopeful vision that will stir the church to action. Every Christian needs to read this important book.

Tremper Longman III

In 2012 the Jamaica Call to Action, which one of the authors assisted in writing, called for “new and robust theological work,” including “an integrated theology of creation care.” Douglas and Jonathan Moo’s work in Creation Care is exactly what we need. Beautifully written, it nonetheless provides a deep understanding of the exegetical, theological, scientific, and even practical issues involved in a Christian examination of this important area. Creation Care should become the standard text for any course on environmental theology and required reading for any pastor who wants a solid biblical framework for understanding and teaching about creation care.

director of Care of Creation Rev. Ed Brown

It’s vital that the evangelical tradition is taking seriously the vast biblical resources pointing toward creation care. No one should be surprised that God would like us to look after the beautiful world we were given—and after reading this book, no one will be.

Bill Mc Kibben

Creation care is an integral part of both our worship of God and of our proclamation of the gospel. This book is rich in clear biblical exegesis of the interrelationships between God the creator, his creation, and us his creatures. It is also rich in practical common sense of how this should play out in the lives and priorities of Christians. Read it, be challenged by it, and do it.

Bob White

Creation Care represents a thorough and thoughtful account of the biblical view of creation and how we should live in light of it. Douglas and Jonathan Moo call us away from the apathy that many, in the church and out, display toward the care of the earth and atmosphere around us. At the same time, they model charity on issues where faithful Christians might disagree on how best to apply these truths. This book will make you think and will help you think as one shaped and formed by Scripture.

Russell Moore

This book deserves to become the standard work of its kind. One of its many merits is that it grounds creation care in the whole biblical story from creation to new creation. Another is its well-informed and up-to- date account of the plight of creation today. A third is its thoughtful attention to practical and realistic ways of caring about and caring for creation in our contemporary Western contexts.

Richard Bauckham

In Creation Care, Drs. Moo and Moo do precisely what they promise to—“advance what [they] think is a faithful and balanced vision of the created world as it is presented in the Bible.” They do so by engaging historical and systematic theology, cultural analysis, and science, resulting in a balanced understanding of how Christians are to care for creation. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a resource on earth keeping that is both faithful to Scripture and incredibly relevant to the pressing environmental concerns of today. A critical contribution and one that will have an impact for years to come.

A. J. Swoboda

"At the heart of Christian theology lies the relationship of God and humanity. Yet this relationship---this heart---takes place in the "body" of our natural world, and it is this material world that is the focus of Doug and Jonathan Moo's biblical theology of creation care. Creation, what Calvin calls the "theater" of God's glory, is the stage for the drama of redemption. More than that: the way human creatures engage the natural world, and the way God's Son enters his creation to redeem it, are themselves important parts of the biblical story. Just as Israel honored God by treating the promised land as a gift, so too Christians honor God by treating the earth itself as a good though fragile gift that will eventually realize the purpose for which God originally intended it: to be a place for divine-human fellowship. This is an important book by two biblical scholars that reminds us that the Bible is good news not only for the church but for the whole material creation to which the human creature is inextricably and forever bound."--Kevin J. Vanhoozer, research professor of systematic theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"Creation care is an integral part of both our worship of God and of our proclamation of the gospel. This book is rich in clear biblical exegesis of the interrelationships between God the creator, his creation, and us his creatures. It is also rich in practical common sense of how this should play out in the lives and priorities of Christians. Read it, be challenged by it, and do it."--Bob White, FRS, professor of geophysics at Cambridge University and director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at Cambridge

"Creation Care represents a thorough and thoughtful account of the biblical view of creation and how we should live in light of it. Douglas and Jonathan Moo call us away from the apathy that many, in the church and out, display toward the care of the earth and atmosphere around us. At the same time, they model charity on issues where faithful Christians might disagree on how best to apply these truths. This book will make you think and will help you think as one shaped and formed by Scripture."--Russell Moore, president, the Ethics and Religious Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

"Crisply written and clearly organized, comprehensive and yet concise, Creation Care is an excellent book. It offers insightful readings of a great many biblical texts while also making judicious use of important early church leaders such as Basil of Caesarea and Athanasius as well as prophetic contemporary writers such as Wendell Berry and Aldo Leopold. A most welcome addition to the literature showing that care for creation is integral to Christian discipleship."--Steve Bouma-Prediger, Leonard and Marjorie Maas Professor of Reformed Theology, Hope College

"Douglas and Jonathan Moo have written a theologically profound assessment of the critical issue of creation care. Their analysis is scripturally sound and rich, and their understanding of our present predicament is insightful. Rather than browbeating their readers, they present a hopeful vision that will stir the church to action. Every Christian needs to read this important book."--Tremper Longman III, distinguished scholar and professor emeritus of biblical studies, Westmont College

"In Creation Care, Drs. Moo and Moo do precisely what they promise to---"advance what [they] think is a faithful and balanced vision of the created world as it is presented in the Bible." They do so by engaging historical and systematic theology, cultural analysis, and science, resulting in a balanced understanding of how Christians are to care for creation. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a resource on earth keeping that is both faithful to Scripture and incredibly relevant to the pressing environmental concerns of today. A critical contribution and one that will have an impact for years to come."--A. J. Swoboda, pastor, author, professor

"In 2012 the Jamaica Call to Action, which one of the authors assisted in writing, called for "new and robust theological work," including "an integrated theology of creation care." Douglas and Jonathan Moo's work in Creation Care is exactly what we need. Beautifully written, it nonetheless provides a deep understanding of the exegetical, theological, scientific, and even practical issues involved in a Christian examination of this important area. Creation Care should become the standard text for any course on environmental theology and required reading for any pastor who wants a solid biblical framework for understanding and teaching about creation care."--Rev. Ed Brown, director of Care of Creation

"It's vital that the evangelical tradition is taking seriously the vast biblical resources pointing toward creation care. No one should be surprised that God would like us to look after the beautiful world we were given---and after reading this book, no one will be."--Bill McKibben, author of The Comforting Whirlwind: God, Job, and the Scale of Creation

"Learning how to live faithfully as part of God's good but groaning creation is a defining challenge facing the church and world today. For too long, however, caring for creation has been a blind spot for many Christians. Instead, we have often allowed our cultural and political lenses to dictate how we approach environmental issues. In this rich resource, two highly respected theologians refocus our attention on where it should have always been---the Bible. We have a divine opportunity---and an urgent responsibility---to help the church recover a more faithful role in caring for all God's creation, and this book lays an essential foundation for doing just that. It is an excellent and trustworthy guide for understanding and living out the biblical call to creation care. I highly recommend it to Christians, churches, and colleges everywhere."--Rev. Ben Lowe, activist and author, The Future of Our Faith and Doing Good without Giving Up

"Oh how we need this book! And many more like it. Douglas and Jonathan Moo seamlessly combine their biblical and scientific expertise to achieve two very important objectives. On the one hand, they argue a thorough biblical case for including God's creation within God's redemptive mission---that is, within the full biblical meaning of the gospel itself. The Bible has good news for all creation! The great Bible narrative does not begin in Genesis 3 (sin) and end in Revelation 20 (judgment), but begins with creation and ends in new creation. They expose the sheer unbiblical fallacy of popular "theologies" of obliteration (of the cosmos) and evacuation (of the saints) and make abundantly clear the biblical hope of resurrection (of our bodies) and liberation (of creation), so that our future is not to be saved out of the earth (by "going to heaven") but to be saved with the earth (by God coming here, as the ending of the Bible graphically portrays). On the other hand, they provide abundant scientific evidence to refute the political and corporate myths that so-called "environmental issues" (like the impacts of climate change) are a "hoax" or still in scientific dispute, while calling us to a range of practical measures that will help us move (as this series intends) from biblical theology to life and its fundamental ethical choices. One of the biggest challenges facing the Christian church (especially in the West) is whether or not those who fervently and evangelically claim to 'love God' and 'love our neighbour' will recognise that you cannot say you love God and trash his property, and you cannot say you love your neighbour and care nothing for neighbours on our planet who are suffering the impact of ecological damage at every level. This book is for those who are willing to be challenged on both counts from the Bible itself."--Christopher J. H. Wright, Langham Partnership

"This book deserves to become the standard work of its kind. One of its many merits is that it grounds creation care in the whole biblical story from creation to new creation. Another is its well-informed and up-to- date account of the plight of creation today. A third is its thoughtful attention to practical and realistic ways of caring about and caring for creation in our contemporary Western contexts."--Richard Bauckham, emeritus professor of New Testament, University of St Andrews, Scotland

"This careful and comprehensive book will be not only a major resource for all those who want to explore the full contours of biblical thinking about the care of creation but should also be understood as a powerful call to action. With deceptive ease, Douglas and Jonathan Moo recapitulate the major areas of debate and discussion from the recent decades of slowly dawning evangelical engagement with our current global, environmental crisis. They argue that our human and Christian calling means that we are to care for God's good earth, and with thoughtful but readable expertise they guide us through a complex landscape of ancient texts and contemporary challenges. As we follow their lead, it becomes increasingly clear that both of these distinguished scholars are writing not just out of their studies but out of a coherent and committed life. So it is a privilege to commend this book and a delight to know that it will now be available to the growing numbers of those who need firm foundations for their Christian worship, work, and witness in a groaning but good creation."--Peter Harris, cofounder and president, A Rocha International

From the Publisher

It’s vital that the evangelical tradition is taking seriously the vast biblical resources pointing toward creation care. No one should be surprised that God would like us to look after the beautiful world we were given---and after reading this book, no one will be.

Bill McKibben