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Keeping God’s Earth

Reviewed by Philip Joy.

At last a thoroughly biblical and scientific ‘green’ Christian book! This is the volume I wanted to read 10 years ago and which probably should have been written 20 years ago. Better late than never, however. Toly is a lecturer in environmental politics at Wheaton, Illinois, and has served as policy fellow at the Centre for Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Delaware; Block is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, Illinois. Teaming up with a host of Christian scholars from various fields they attempt answer the question: what does the Lord want of us in the current ecological crisis.

Together they succeed in sounding a wake-up call for evangelicals everywhere to care, not just for the fate of souls, nor additionally for the fate of the poor, but also for the fate of the creation itself. Though it can be read from cover to cover, this book, as a set of essays, is well adapted for ‘dipping’ into where reading on a particular area is required.

Part One consists of an introduction setting out the biblical case for environmental engagement and a chapter by Douglas J Moo on eschatology and environmental ethics. Part Two continues with a chapter by Toly on Cities and the global environment, and a chapter by M Daniel Carroll R on the biblical theology of the city in relation to the environment. Part Three considers the diversity of life with a chapter by Fred Van Dyke on the loss and conservation of biodiversity, and a chapter by Block on the biblical case for human responsibility in the face of the biodiversity crisis. Part Four considers the depletion of fresh water reserves, with a chapter by Michael Guebert describing the problem, and a chapter by David Toshio Tsumura considering the biblical theology of water: plenty and drought in the created order. Part Five addresses climate change with a chapter by Sir John Houghton on the evidence for it, and a chapter by Christopher J H Wright on the biblical foundations for global ecological ethics. Part Six is a conclusion consisting of a chapter by David Gushee bringing environmental ethics down to a personal level, and an Afterword by Douglas J Green reconsidering the notion of Adam’s dominion over the environment from an ecological perspective.

What I like about the book is its depth of interaction at both the biblical and scientific levels. The science is thorough and well foot-noted and the theology attempts to engage the reader in the necessity for a personal response. One comes away from it with an unshakeable conviction that “The earth is the Lord’s”, and that theology and science are thoroughly integrated in presenting that essential truth.