Christianity And Nature Based Spirituality

Encounter with Nature-based Spirituality, as interpreted through the Medicine Wheel and other indigenous practices, profoundly expanded the author's Christian spiritual base. Out of these experiences developed a distinctive approach to spirituality. This book explores four premises: First, the integration of Christianity and Nature-based Spirituality impacts one's life path and spiritual belief system, yet transcends and includes both traditions. Second, this integration is relevant to a ministry for the spiritual, psychological, emotional, physical growth and healing of individuals and groups by utilizing the author's form of integrated Nature-based Spirituality, leadership skills and mentoring tools for the purpose of eco-spiritual mentoring. Third, the expansion of ideas and beliefs address the practical and spiritual purposes of sustaining the earth in the current planetary crises. Fourth, Jesus can be identified in his social role as a shaman.

"A love of green may be a human universal. Deepening the palette of green scholarship, Bron Taylor proves remarkably to be both an encyclopedist and a visionary."--Jonathan Benthall, author of Returning to Religion: Why a Secular Age is Haunted by Faith "This important book provides insight into how a profound sense of relation to nature offers many in the modern world a vehicle for attaining a spiritual wholeness akin to what has been historically associated with established religion. In this sense, Dark Green Religion offers both understanding and hope for a world struggling for meaning and purpose beyond the isolation of the material here and now."--Stephen Kellert, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies "In this thought-provoking volume, Bron Taylor explores the seemingly boundless efforts by human beings to understand the nature of life and our place in the universe. Examining in depth the ways in which influential philosophers and naturalists have viewed this relationship, Taylor contributes to the further development of thought in this critically important area, where our depth of understanding will play a critical role in our survival."--Peter H. Raven, President, Missouri Botanical Garden "Carefully researched, strongly argued, originally conceived, and very well executed, this book is a vital contribution on a subject of immense religious, political, and environmental importance. It's also a great read."--Roger S. Gottlieb, author of A Greener Faith: Religious Environmentalism and our Planet's Future "A fascinating analysis of our emotional and spiritual relationship to nature. Whether you call it dark green religion or something else, Bron Taylor takes us through our spiritual relationship with our planet, its ecosystems and evolution, in an enlightened and completely undogmatic manner."--Dr. Claude Martin, Former Director General, World Wildlife Fund "An excellent collection of guideposts for perplexed students and scholars about the relationships of nature religions, spirituality, animism, pantheism, deep ecology, Gaia, and land ethics--and for the environmentalist seeking to make the world a better place through green religion as a social force."--Fikret Berkes, author of Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Resource Management "Dark Green Religion shows conclusively how nature has inspired a growing religious movement on the planet, contesting the long reign of many older faiths. Taylor expertly guides us through an astonishing array of thinkers, past and present, who have embraced, in part or whole, the new religion. I was thoroughly convinced that this movement has indeed become a major force on Earth, with great potential consequences for our environmental ethics."--Donald Worster, University of Kansas "In this exceptionally interesting and informative book, Bron Taylor has harvested the fruits of years of pioneering research in what amounts to a new field in religious studies: the study of how religious/spiritual themes show up in the work of people concerned about nature in many diverse ways. Taylor persuasively argues that appreciation of nature's sacred or spiritual dimension both informs and motivates the work of individuals ranging from radical environmentalists and surfers, to eco-tourism leaders and museum curators. I highly recommend this book for everyone interested learning more about the surprising extent to which religious/spiritual influences many of those who work to protect, to exhibit, or to represent the natural world."--Michael E. Zimmerman, Director, Center for Humanities and the Arts, University of Colorado at Boulder

A former dean at Vanderbilt University's Divinity School, Sallie McFague calls Christians down to earth. In a readable and available style, alive with concrete imagery and autobiographical material, McFague crafts a Christian spirituality centered on nature as the focus and locus of our encounter with the divine. She helps us see all life as created in the image of God.

Natural Spirituality moves Jungian dream work from the professional world of the analyst's office into the everyday world of the laity in the local church. The book offers serious Christians in every community an opportunity to embark upon the spiritual path of individuation. With clarity and simplicity Joyce Hudson puts into her reader's hands the tools for inner work that Carl Jung offered to Christianity. Joyce Hudson then goes beyond Jung to present original models of masculine and feminine wholeness. In illustrating the masculine model, she offers an analysis of the lives and music of the Beatles that is both insightful and entertaining. To illustrate the model of feminine wholeness, Hudson joins ranks with C.S. Lewis, Robert Johnson, Marie-Louise von Franz, and Erich Neumann in putting forth her own interpretation of the classical myth of Psyche and Eros. Finally, she offers detailed advice and helpful resources for instituting continuing programs for inner work in local churches. While maintaining deep respect for Church tradition, this highly readable work opens the door for an expanded and enlivened Christianity.

Spirit and Nature is a collection of essays exploring how the resources of Christian spirituality can inform the practice of a more ecologically sustainable faith. Our current ecological situation calls for people of religious faith to reexamine the way they envision the practice of spirituality. As environmental ethicists have called us to reconsider the human-Earth relationship so that the planet is not seen as simply an endless supply of resources to fill human wants and needs, so these essays call us to reconsider spiritual practice as it relates to Earth's ecology. Rather than viewing spirituality as an escape from the material world, the authors describe the embodiment of the God-quest within the human-nature relationship. Drawing on diverse disciplinary perspectives, these essays examine a variety of topics, including the relationship between Earth and humans in the Bible, the role of nature's beauty in Christian spirituality, the practice of Christian discernment and contemplation in light of the natural sciences, the role of nature in liturgical prayer, and others. These essays consider how scholarship in Christian spirituality can contribute to re-imaging faith in ways that better cherish the Earth's fragile beauty

Before Nature caps a set of themes first brought to the fore in Santmires previous work. Santmire continues the pursuit of a theology bound up with nature and its condition, especially the fragility and fervent expectation of natures redemption. Santmire invites readers on a theological and spiritual journey to a prayerful and contemplative knowledge of the Triune God, in which practitioners are inducted into a bountiful relationship with the cosmic and universal ministry of Christ and the Spirit.

Chase's innovative work uses a compelling blend of theological, scriptural, historical, and cultural discussions to reclaim the role of nature in the formation of Christian spiritual and moral identity.

Encounter with Nature-based Spirituality, as interpreted through the Medicine Wheel and other indigenous practices, profoundly expanded the author's Christian spiritual base. Out of these experiences developed a distinctive approach to spirituality. This book explores three premises: First, the integration of Christianity and Nature-based Spirituality impacts one's life path and spiritual belief system, yet transcends and includes both traditions. Second, this integration is relevant to a ministry for the spiritual, psychological, emotional, physical growth and healing of individuals and groups by utilizing the author's form of integrated Nature-based Spirituality, leadership skills and mentoring tools. Third, the expansion of ideas and beliefs address the practical and spiritual purposes of sustaining the earth in the current planetary crises.