Living With Other Creatures : Green Exegesis And Theology

— B A R B A R A R O S S I N G , Professor of New Testament, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and author of The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation “A significant biblical, theological, and historical resource for the desperately needed ‘greening’ of the Christian faith. Bauckham’s book deserves very wide attention.” Green Exegesis — D A V I D P. G U S H E E , Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director, Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University and L I V I N G W I T H O T H E R C R E AT U R E S “An important, exciting, and highly recommended reading. Bauckham weaves together Jesus’ teaching of the kingdom of God, the Jewish traditions of animal compassion, St. Francis, the Apocalypse, and Christian mystics to make the case that creation’s praise of God—independent of humans—is foundational to the Christian tradition.” “Filled with intelligence and serious scholarship, Living with Other Creatures carries a deeply important message. A very valuable contribution.” — R O G E R S . G O T T L I E B , author of Engaging Voices: Tales of Morality and Meaning in an Age of Global Warming and A Greener Faith Christianity/Biblical Studies christianity / biblical studies RICHARD BAUCKHAM R I C H A R D B A U C K H A M is a fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is the author of scores of books, including The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation and Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony, winner of the 2009 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. Theology T H E B I B L E A N D C H R I S T I A N T R A D I T I O N H AV E, at best, offered an ambiguous word in response to Earth’s environmental difficulties. At worst, a complex, often onesided history of interpretation has left the Bible’s voice silent. Aiming to bridge these gaps, Richard Bauckham mines scripture and theology, discovering a firm command for Christians to care for all of God’s creation, and then discusses the generations of theologians who have sought to live out this biblical mandate. Going beyond Old Testament human dominion, Living with Other Creatures consults scripture in its entirety and includes Jesus’ perspectives on creation, novel approaches to reading the gospels, and some of the most well-known “ecologists” throughout Christian history. The result is an innovative and enriching treatise that reminds readers of God’s whole creation—and humanity’s place within it. baylorpress.com OtherCreatures_cover_7.22.11.indd 1 7/22/11 1:09 PM LIVING WITH OTHER CREATURES LIVING WITH OTHER CREATURES Green Exegesis and Theology Richard Bauckham BAYLOR UNIVERSITY PRESS © 2011 by Baylor University Press Waco, Texas 76798-7363 All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be repro