Diversity and Dominion

by Kyle S Van Houtan (Editor), Michael S Northcott (Editor), Stanley Hauerwas (Foreword by)

Overview

This book records a set of dialogues between scientists, theologians, and philosophers on what can be done to prevent a global slide into ecological collapse. It is a uniquely multidisciplinary book that exemplifies the kinds of cultural and scholarly dialogue urgently needed to address the threat to the earth represented by our super-industrial civilization. The authors debate the conventional account of nature conservation as protection from human activity. In contrast to standard accounts, they argue what is needed is a new relationship between human beings and the earth that recovers a primal respect for all things. This approach seeks to recover forgotten resources in ancient cultures and in the foundational narratives of Western civilization contained in the Bible and in the culture of classical Greece.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781606088210
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	02/15/2010
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	1 - 17 Years

About the Author

kyle s. van houtan is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Program in Science and Society and a Research Fellow in the Center for Ethics at Emory University. He has served as a biologist with the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Geological Service.

Michael S. Northcott is Professor of Ethics in the School of Divinity in the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the author of The Environment and Christian Ethics (1996)

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Foreword Stanley Hauerwas xi

Introduction Kyle S. Van Houtan Michael S. Northcott 1

1 Eyes Wide Shut William H. Schlesinger 13

Response: Science Itself Is Only Half-Prophetic Jeffrey D. Vickery 21

2 Censuring Nature and Critiquing God Lisa Sideris 25

Response: Wrestling with Evolutionary Biology and Theology Norman Christensen 42

3 A Walk on the Wild Side: The Idea of Nature Revisited Michael Jackson 146

Response: Good Work Kyle S. Van Houtan 64

4 Thanks for the Dirt: Gratitude as a Basis for Environmental Action Norman Wirzba 69

Response: Biogeochemistry on the Farm William H. Schlesinger 87

5 The Dominion Lie: How Millennial Theology Erodes Creation Care Michael S. Northcott 89

Response: A False Dominion of Control Robert B. Jackson 109

6 Anti-Imperial Themes and Care for Living Nature in Early Christian Art: The Good Shepherd as a Model for Christian Environmental Ethics Susan P. Bratton 113

Response: Seeing through a Columbine Flower Makoto Fujimura 134

7 Nature and the Nation-State: Ambivalence, Evil, and American Environmentalism Kyle S. Van Houtan Michael S. Northcott 138

Response: Conservative Christians and Environmentalism, 1970-2005 Seth Dowland Brantley Gasaway 157

8 Biodiversity and the Kingdom of God Laura Yordy 166

Response: Biodiversity and the Ministry of Reconciliation Fred Van Dyke 191

Bibliography 199

List of Contributors 211

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A refreshing critique of both evangelical and liberal North American environmental discourse, a bold exercise in multi-disciplinary conversation, and a welcome retrieval of the virtues of creaturely humility and gratitude."
-Ernst M. Conradie
University of the Western Cape, South Africa

"This wonderfully rich book is a model of deep conversation on crucial challenges we face. The most important issues are intrinsically interdisciplinary, yet we often settle for talking 'at' or 'to' one another. This is especially true among the 'environmental' and 'religious' communities. The conversations in this book show that deep interdisciplinary engagements offer opportunities to re-frame the questions and re-describe the challenges in more promising and life-giving ways, transforming participants and the issues alike. A terrific achievement."
-L. Gregory Jones
Duke University

"Underlying the environmental movement are a set of mostly undiscussed ethical and theological assumptions about the nature of the world and our relationship to it. In this pioneering volume, scholars from various perspectives engage in a deep exploration of the relationship of ecology, theology, and ethics. The results are often illuminating, sometimes surprising, and uniformly worth engaging."
—Paul Root Wolpe
Emory University

"Van Houtan and Northcott engage scientists, ethicists, theologians, and other thinking persons in dialogue, working to re-ligate the torn academic and social fabric, and bringing all to see and respond to the biosphere—the awesome creation that calls for our guardianship and respectful service. They have us join this dialogue, motivating us—guardeners all—toward nurturing the kind of wisdom and humility that brings good news to every creature."
—Calvin DeWitt
University of Wisconsin

"This book is a must-read for scholars interested in ecological ethics as well as people who seek to 'do their bit' for the environment."
— Jenny Anne Wright, as reviewed in The Expository Times

Editorial Reviews

"A refreshing critique of both evangelical and liberal North American environmental discourse, a bold exercise in multi-disciplinary conversation, and a welcome retrieval of the virtues of creaturely humility and gratitude."
-Ernst M. Conradie
University of the Western Cape, South Africa

"This wonderfully rich book is a model of deep conversation on crucial challenges we face. The most important issues are intrinsically interdisciplinary, yet we often settle for talking 'at' or 'to' one another. This is especially true among the 'environmental' and 'religious' communities. The conversations in this book show that deep interdisciplinary engagements offer opportunities to re-frame the questions and re-describe the challenges in more promising and life-giving ways, transforming participants and the issues alike. A terrific achievement."
-L. Gregory Jones
Duke University

"Underlying the environmental movement are a set of mostly undiscussed ethical and theological assumptions about the nature of the world and our relationship to it. In this pioneering volume, scholars from various perspectives engage in a deep exploration of the relationship of ecology, theology, and ethics. The results are often illuminating, sometimes surprising, and uniformly worth engaging."
—Paul Root Wolpe
Emory University

"Van Houtan and Northcott engage scientists, ethicists, theologians, and other thinking persons in dialogue, working to re-ligate the torn academic and social fabric, and bringing all to see and respond to the biosphere—the awesome creation that calls for our guardianship and respectful service. They have us join this dialogue, motivating us—guardeners all—toward nurturing the kind of wisdom and humility that brings good news to every creature."
—Calvin DeWitt
University of Wisconsin

"This book is a must-read for scholars interested in ecological ethics as well as people who seek to 'do their bit' for the environment."
— Jenny Anne Wright, as reviewed in The Expository Times

From the Publisher