Loving Nature: Ecological Integrity and Christian Responsibility (Churches' Center for Theology and Public Policy)

Rating:
Summary: A balanced & insightful work on Christian Environmentalism
Review: For several years I have been reading extensively in the area of Christian Environmentalism. These works range from popular to highly technical, from approaches that are fairly conservative to more progressive. I have not been completely satisfied with any of them, until I found a copy of James Nash's Loving Nature. It is by far the best book I have read on the topic. The perspective is balanced, thoughtful, insightful, and theologically sound. It is especially suitable for the Wesleyan theological tradition, to which I am belong. Nash's work is essential reading for anyone interested in Christian Environmental studies, whether they be theologians, scientists, or concerned laypersons! I recommend it especially to Christian Environmentalists, but it suitable to anyone who wants to explore an ethical approach to the Environmental crises. I used the book as required reading in a course I taught in January 1999 at Eastern Nazarene College ("A Christian Perspective on the Environment").

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION [begins with an ecological autobiography]

Character of the Crises; Purposes and Progression

1. DIMENSIONS AND DILEMMAS OF THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS: The Pollution Complex

Pollution: Poisoning Our Neighbors; Global Warming: Climate Change and Excessive Consumption; Ozone Depletion: What Price Convenience and Luxury?

2. DIMENSIONS AND DILEMMAS OF THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS: Exceeding the Limits

Resource Exhaustion: Living Beyond Planetary Means; Population Progress: Beyond Earth's Carrying Capacity; Maldistribution: The Linkage Betwen Economic Injustice and Ecological Degradation; Radical Reductions and Extinctions of Species: The Loss of Biodiversity; Genetic Enginering: Restraining Human Powers; The Ecological Virtues

3. THE ECOLOGICAL COMPLAINT AGAINST CHRISTIANITY

A Confession of Sin; No Single Cause; Christ and Culture; Ecological Sensitivity in Christian History; Interreligious Miscomparisons; Potential for Reformation;

4. FIRM FOUNDATIONS: Doctrines of Creation, Covenant, Divine Image, Incarnation, and Spiritual Presence

Creation: God's Cosmic and Relational Values; The Ecological Covenant of Relationality [Noah]; Divine Image and Dominion as Responsible Representation; The Incarnation as Cosmic Representation; Sacramental Presence of the Spirit;

5. FIRM FOUNDATIONS: Doctrines of Sin, Judgment, Redemption, and Church

Sin as an Ecological Disorder; Divine Judgments in Natural History; Consummation as Cosmic Redemption; The Church as Agent of Ecological Liberation and Reconcilation; A Summation;

6. LOVING NATURE: Christian Love in an Ecological Context.

Love: The Ground of Christian Theology and Ethics; Dilemmas of Definition; Love and Predation; Qualifications of Ecological Love; Ecological Dimensions of Love;

7. LOVE AS ECOLOGICAL JUSTICE: Rights and Responsibilities

Biblical Bases for Justice; Love and Justice; Meaning and Justice; Rights and Justice; Human Environmental Rights; Biotic Rights; Boundries of Biotic Rights; Individuals and Collectives; A Bill of Biotic Rights; Primae Facie Biotic Rights; Conclusion

8. POLITICAL DIRECTIONS FOR ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

Politics in Ethical Perspective; Resolving the Economics-Ecology Dilemma; Regulatory Sufficiency; Responsibilities to Future Generations; The Guardianship of Biodiversity; International Cooperation for Ecological Security; Linking Justice, Peace, and Ecology; Finally

NOTES

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Submitted by Laurie J. Braaten, Professor of Old Testament, Judson College.

Rating:
Summary: Great guy, great teacher, great ethicist
Review: James Nash is a great teacher. I have him in class and find him amusing, challenging, and open to others who's opinions differ from his own. Loving Nature is a great book that takes the economics-environmental crisis seriously.

Rating:
Summary: easy read, important message
Review: Sorry it is out of print. it is not only an insightful account of ecological responsibility in light of theological understanding but also a practical guide to Wesleyan theology in particular. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in ecological issues.