Author: Jonathan A. Moo
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 083089635X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 191
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Book Description
The Bible is full of images of God caring for his creation in all its complexity. Yet experts warn us that a so-called perfect storm of factors threatens the future of life on earth. The authors assess the evidence for climate change and other threats that our planet faces in the coming decades while pointing to the hope God offers the world and the people he made.
Author: Chris Doran
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 149829703X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 254
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Book Description
It is difficult to be hopeful in the midst of daily news about the effects of climate change on people and our planet. While the Christian basis for hope is the resurrection of Jesus, unfortunately far too many American Protestant Christians do not connect this belief with the daily witness of their faith. This book argues that the resurrection proclaims a notion of hope that should be the foundation of a theology of creation care that manifests itself explicitly in the daily lives of believers. Christian hope not only inspires us to do great and courageous things but also serves as a critique of current systems and powers that degrade humans, nonhumans, and the rest of creation and thus cause us to be hopeless. Belief in the resurrection hope should cause us to be a different sort of people. Christians should think, purchase, eat, and act in novel and courageous ways because they are motivated daily by the resurrection of Jesus. This is the only way to be hopeful in the age of climate change.
Author: Jonathan J. Bonk
Publisher: William Carey Publishing
ISBN: 1645085597
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 393
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Book Description
Can the Desert Be Green? Our world is in peril. Environmental degradation, human suffering, and relentless calamities confront us daily, painting a picture of a planet in distress. Amid this daunting reality, how can God’s people respond effectively? This critical question beckons for a thoughtful and proactive response that intertwines faith and ecology with tangible action in our increasingly fragile world. Hope for Creation offers a unique blend of theological insight and practical application. It gathers perspectives from theologians and practitioners, each giving a comprehensive understanding of creation care. The contributors not only diagnose environmental and humanitarian issues but also propose actionable solutions rooted in biblical foundations and contemporary experiences. This book is a call to action for Christians and mission leaders worldwide, urging active participation in restoring and preserving our planet. It equips church leaders, missionaries, and believers with the knowledge and tools to make a meaningful impact. By embracing this mission, readers contribute to a sustainable, hopeful future, joining a transformative journey towards environmental and human healing.
Author: Paul Douglas
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1441230726
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 183
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Book Description
Faith-Based Solutions to Caring for the Earth Climate change is a confusing and polarizing issue. It may also prove to be the most daunting challenge of this century because children, the elderly, and the poor will be the first to feel its effects. The issue is all over the news, but what is seldom heard is a conservative, evangelical perspective. Connecting the dots between science and faith, this book explores the climate debate and how Christians can take the lead in caring for God's creation. The authors answer top questions such as "What's really happening?" and "Who can we trust?" and discuss stewarding the earth in light of evangelical values. "Acting on climate change is not about political agendas," they say. "It's about our kids. It's about being a disciple of Jesus Christ." Capping off this empowering book are practical, simple ideas for improving our environment and helping our families and those around us.
Author: Nicola Hoggard Creegan
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532609744
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224
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Book Description
We live in an ecological age. Science in the last few hundred years has given us a picture of nature as blind to the future and mechanical in its workings, even while ecology and physics have made us aware of our interconnectedness and dependency upon the web of life. As we witness a possible sixth great mass-extinction, there is increasing awareness too of the fragility of life on this planet. In such a context, what is the nature of Christian hope? St Paul declares that all of creation "will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." How are we to imagine this "freedom" when death and decay are essential to biological life as we currently experience it, and when the scientific predictions for life are bleak at best? This book explores these questions, reflecting on how our traditions shape our imagination of the future, and considering how a theology of hope may sustain Christians engaged in conservation initiatives. The essays in this volume are partly in dialogue with the ground-breaking work of Celia Deane-Drummond, and are set in the context of global and local (Aotearoa New Zealand) ecological challenges.
Author: Matthew Sleeth
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310324866
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 130
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Book Description
In this interactive companion to the Hope for Creation DVD, Dr. Matthew Sleeth provides personal questions, practical applications, and additional content to help Christ's followers dig deeper into the creation care lessons of Sessions 1-6.
Author: Douglas J. Moo
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
ISBN: 0310416558
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 255
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Book Description
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 creeping, crawling, swimming, and flying 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, part of the Biblical Theology for Life series, father and son team Douglas and Jonathan Moo invite readers to open their Bibles afresh to explore the place of the natural world within God’s purposes and to celebrate God’s love as displayed in creation and new creation. 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? Does Israel’s experience on the land have anything to teach Christians about their relationship with the earth? 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? In addition to providing a comprehensive biblical theology of creation care, they probe behind the headlines and politicized rhetoric about an ‘environmental crisis’ and climate change to provide a careful and judicious analysis of the most up-to-date scientific data about the state of our world. They conclude by setting forth a bold framework and practical suggestions for an effective and faithful Christian response to the scriptural teaching about the created world. But 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.
Author: Leah D. Schade
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538127776
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 247
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Book Description
Rooted and Rising is for everyone who worries about the climate crisis and seeks spiritual practices and perspectives to renew their capacity for compassionate, purposeful, and joyful action. Leah Schade and Margaret Bullitt-Jonas gather twenty-one faith leaders, scientists, community organizers, theologians, and grassroots climate activists to offer wisdom for fellow pilgrims grappling with the weight of climate change. Acknowledging the unprecedented nature of our predicament—the fact that climate disruption is unraveling the web of life and threatening the end of human civilization—the authors share their stories of grief and hope, fear and faith. Together, the essays, introductory sections, and discussion questions reveal that our present crisis can elicit a depth of wisdom, insight, and motivation with power to guide us toward a more peaceful, just, and Earth-honoring future. With a foreword by Mary Evelyn Tucker and a special introduction by Bill McKibben, the book presents an interfaith perspective that welcomes and challenges readers of all backgrounds.
Author: Andrew J. Spencer
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
ISBN: 1087751489
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 259
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Book Description
What are the connections between the Great Commission and creation care? In Hope for God’s Creation, Andrew Spencer develops a Christian vision for creation care that is rooted in the goodness of the physical world and the hope for new creation. Spencer demonstrates that a hopeful and realistic environmental ethic is a natural result of an orthodox, evangelical theology. An accessible, biblical, and winsome guide, Spencer’s work invites the reader to consider stewardship as a way of life and an act of worship.
Author: Thomas Blackbum Baines
Publisher: Irving Risch
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 115
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Book Description
Everybody is aware of the difference prevailing among the Lord's people as to the interpretation of those passages of Scripture which foretell the future in reserve for the Church and the world. The ordinary interpretation is, that the promises contained in the Psalms and Old Testament prophecies refer to the Church, which, as the spiritual Israel, has taken the place, in God's purposes, of the literal Israel, to whom these promises were given. So, the fulfilment of the promises is taken to be spiritual rather than literal, being brought about by the gradual spread of Christianity, and the blessings of peace and prosperity following the universal triumph of the gospel. This world-wide dominion of truth and happiness is presumed to be the period of a thousand years, during which Satan is bound, and the saints reign with Christ. It is supposed that at the close of this time, after another brief outbreak of Satan's craft and human wickedness, the world is destroyed; and that there is then a general resurrection of the dead, both bad and good, to be judged before the great white throne This is interpreted as the event called "the coming of the Lord," "the appearing of the Lord," "the day of the Lord;" "the end of the age" (mis-translated "world"), and "the coming of the Son of man" — names supposed all to refer to the same period, the closing up of the history, and indeed, of the existence, of the habitable globe. There is, however, another interpretation given to the Scriptures describing these events, which may be briefly stated as follows. The Old Testament prophecies, except where manifestly figurative, are to receive a literal fulfilment. The promises given to Israel are to be made good to Israel, not to the Church. The Old Testament prophecies being thus taken from the Church, the New Testament is found to contain no prediction of the universal spread of Christianity, but, on the contrary, sad forecasts of corruption, leading to judgment, in the body professing the name of Christ. In the midst of this gloom, however, the prospect of the Lord's coming for His saints shines as a bright hope for the hearts of the faithful. This coming, the date of which is purposely left undetermined, instead of being at the end of the world, is preliminary to the judgments awaiting the world, and to the reign of Christ with His saints. When it occurs, the living saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and at the same time will take place, in part at least "the first resurrection," when the dead in Christ will be raised. Then follow the woes which usher in "the day of the Lord," when Israel is restored, Old Testament prophecy fulfllled, Satan bound, and the dominion of Christ established. on the earth. At its close Satan is loosed, the nations rebel, the world is consumed, and the "rest of the dead" are raised and judged. I propose to inquire which of these interpretations is correct. The question is not one of mere curiosity, still less an intrusion into regions we are forbidden to tread. The distinction which our Lord draws between the servant and the friend is that "the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth," while He told His disciples, as friends, all things that He had heard of His Father (John 15: 15). In the same discourse He promises to send "the Spirit of truth," the Comforter; to show them "things to come" (John 16: 13). Indeed, the very thought that the constant references to the future scattered through the sacred writings are not meant to be understood, carries its own refutation. And, as if foreseeing the spirit of unbelief and indifference which characterises the present time, the Holy Ghost has, in the introduction to the Apocalypse, the most distinctively prophetic portion of the New Testament, pronounced a special blessing on those "that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein" (Rev. 1: 3). While, moreover, it is admitted that the interpretation of prophecy may be attempted in a frivolously inquisitive spirit, are not those who turn a deaf ear to its promises and warnings themselves guilty of the same irreverence which they censure in others? For the object of prophecy is to unfold God's purposes with respect to the glory of His Son, whom man has refused, but whom God has exalted, and to whom every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess. In the contemplation of this theme, He invites His chosen ones to share. And who are these chosen ones? Are they mere lookers on? No, thanks be to God, we who believe in Jesus are His fellow-heirs — all things are ours. God invites us to look at the inheritance He has Himself prepared for us in joint possession with the Son of His love. And surely, as in the enjoyment of that inheritance, the "first-born," in whom we have our acceptance, will be the one object of our worship and delight, so in its contemplation now, our brightest thought should be that we are gazing on the portion prepared for Him who alone is worthy "to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." To study prophecy with any more trivial object is to lose sight of this glorious end. It is like studying the movements of the solar system from the orbits of the more distant planets, without taking account of the central globe round which the whole revolves. But, on the other hand, to neglect it as unprofitable, because it does not contribute to our personal salvation, is a piece of selfishness derogatory to the claims of Christ, and unworthy of the condescending goodness of God in thus taking us into His own counsels. It is a deliberate preference of the position of a servant to that of a friend, a declaration that so long as our own interests are secured, we are indifferent as to what God has told us concerning the glories of Him who loved us and gave himself for us. Nor can we overlook the great practical importance of the inquiry. For surely there is a vast moral chasm between the two interpretations of coming events just indicated. If God's Word teaches that Christianity, instead of overspreading the world, will only prove, like Judaism, the incurable enmity of man to God, the jubilant and self-congratulatory tone prevalent in Christendom is nothing better than Laodicean self-complacency, saying, "I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, while really it should be mourning that it is "wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev. 3: 17). It is holding out a false and delusive hope, saying, "peace and safety," when "sudden destruction" is approaching. And if the world is hurrying on to judgment, Christians who see it will duly estimate the seductive cry of modern progress, and beware of entangling themselves in affairs over which such a doom is howling While, therefore, the deep solemnity of the subject forbids all idle curiosity, its importance equally condemns all selfish indifference. These things are written for our instruction, and it cannot be a matter of little moment whether the instruction which God has given is received or slighted, understood or misapprehended. Reverence for God's Holy Word, regard for the honour and glory of Christ, as well as the immense practical questions involved in the different schemes of interpretation, all unite in rebuking both the curious spirit in which the subject is too often approached, and the careless spirit in which it is too often avoided. For the sake of clearness the best mode of looking at the subject will be to inquire — First; What is the immediate prospect placed before the believer? in other words, What is the hope of the Church, according to the Word of God? This will naturally lead us to look, Secondly, At the promises of blessing and righteousness upon earth contained in the Old Testament Scriptures, and the mode in which these promises are to receive their fulfilment. Having thus distinguished between the hope of the Church and the prospect of blessing before the world, we shall be in a better position to ascertain and understand, Thirdly, The teaching of the Holy Ghost concerning the position held by the Church in God's dispensational dealings, and the moral relationship in which it stands towards the world, a matter involving the deepest and most practical lessons us to the walk suited to believers in the present age.
