Creation Is Groaning

Pain, suffering, and extinction are intrinsic to the evolutionary process. In this book Christopher Southgate shows how the world that is very good is also groaning in travail and subjected by God to that travail. Southgate then evaluates several attempts at evolutionary theodicy and argues for his own approachan approach that takes full account of Gods self-emptying and human beings special responsibilities as created cocreators. Christopher Southgate is Honorary University Fellow in Theology at the University of Exeter, England, and Visiting Scholar at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Originally trained as a biochemist at the University of Cambridge, he is the general editor and principal author of God, Humanity and the Cosmos (3rd ed.).

If, as some scholars attest, Christianity has been complicit in the destruction of the environment, then Christianity can and must also have a role in changing human behavior in a way that helps to solve this massive problem. In Creation is Groaning, a set of highly regarded theologians and Scripture scholars offer a theology and spirituality of creation based on principles of eco-justice and environmental responsibility. Contributors to this volume are Denis Edwards, Antoinette Collins, Dermot Nestor, Laurie Woods, Mary Coloe, and Anthony Kelly. Key elements of their project include: tracing the development of Israel's view of creation through different historical situations and key writings, with a particular focus on what ethical responsibilities toward creation emerge from its theology examining Israel's theology of Sabbath" and its developing understanding of the end time, thus encompassing creation in its origins and its final destiny considering the cosmic impact of the Jesus event as Paul and John understood it Together, the authors establish a firm foundation for a new ethic that promotes the flourishing of all planetary life and a just global community.

"Besides Jesus, no one has kept me from despair, or taken me deeper into the mysteries of the gospel, than the apostle Paul." —John Piper No one has had a greater impact on the world for eternal good than the apostle Paul—except Jesus himself. For John Piper, this impact is very personal. He does not just admire and trust Paul. He loves him. Piper gives us thirty glimpses into why his heart and mind respond this way. Can a Christian-killer really endure 195 lashes from a heart of love? Can a mystic who thinks he was caught up into heaven be a model of lucid rationality? Can an ethnocentric Jew write the most beautiful call to reconciliation? Can a person who lives with the unceasing anguish of empathy be always rejoicing? Can a man's description of the horrors of human sin be exceeded by his delight in human splendor? Can a man with a backbone of steel be as tender as a nursing mother? If we know this man—if we see what Piper sees—we too will love him. Paul's testimony is a matter of life and death. Piper invites you into his relationship with Paul in the hope that you will know life, forever.

If, as some scholars attest, Christianity has been complicit in the destruction of the environment, then Christianity can and must also have a role in changing human behavior in a way that helps to solve this massive problem. In Creation is Groaning, a set of highly regarded theologians and Scripture scholars offer a theology and spirituality of creation based on principles of eco-justice and environmental responsibility. Contributors to this volume are Denis Edwards, Antoinette Collins, Dermot Nestor, Laurie Woods, Mary Coloe, and Anthony Kelly. Key elements of their project include: tracing the development of Israel's view of creation through different historical situations and key writings, with a particular focus on what ethical responsibilities toward creation emerge from its theology examining Israel's theology of Sabbath" and its developing understanding of the end time, thus encompassing creation in its origins and its final destiny considering the cosmic impact of the Jesus event as Paul and John understood it Together, the authors establish a firm foundation for a new ethic that promotes the flourishing of all planetary life and a just global community.

In a suffering world reeling from global pandemics and health disparities, it is high time to think theologically about the devastating experience of disease, and to address our God-inspired responsibility to understand its origins and engage in its management. In a fragmented world, we need a unifying and integrated perspective on people in communities embedded in a fractured ecology. In an academic world blind to the spiritual world and imbalanced toward technical solutions, the global church must articulate a contemporary metanarrative that is moral, practical, and deeply transformational. All Creation Groans brings together multiple perspectives for a compelling global-health approach to the pathologies of the world as a part of the missio Dei. The authors paint a unifying perspective on God's healing intentions in creation, redemption, and consummation, and the opposing nature-corrupting effects of the rebellion of created moral agents. It is a fresh call for the global church to engage in aligning with God's healing action for eternally sustainable global health.

This multi-academic perspective on contemporary environmental issues reminds us of our oneness with the natural world and what that calls us to as moral creatures. Fashioned as a series of stories based on the model of biblical narrative, these seemingly multivalent voices and perspectives are joined together with biblical stories, references, and theological reflection to create in All Creation Is Groaning a seamless story that is both provocative and revelatory. All Creation Is Groaning provides a clear Vision of living life in a sacred universe. This Vision is linked to the biblical Vision of justice and righteousness for all of creation, and humankind's responsibility to hasten the Vision through a call to ethical practice. Critical and hermeneutical, this book reflects an interdisciplinary approach so as to build bridges of understanding between the Bible and contemporary disciplines." Chapters are *Stories from the Heart, - *New Ways of Knowing and Being Known, - *An Islamic Perspective on the Environment, - *Christian Values, Technology, and the Environment Crisis, - *Feeding the Hungry and Protecting the Environment, - *Mental Cartography in a Time of Environmental Crisis, - *Toward an Understanding of International Geopolitics and the Environment, - *Sustainability: An Eco- Theological Analysis, - *The Stewardship of Natural and Human Resources, - *Development of Environmental Responsibility in Children, - *An Ecological View of Elders and Their Families: Needs for the Twenty-First Century, - *Symphonies of Nature: Creation and Re-creation, - *A Sense of Place, - and *Hope Amidst Crisis: A Prophetic Vision of Cosmic Redemption.

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