This Earthly Life Matters

Arnold A. van Ruler was one of the most original Dutch Reformed theologians of the twentieth century. Through the term “re-creation” (Dutch: herschepping) he offers a radical affirmation of God’s sustained loyalty to that which is material, bodily, and earthly. God’s work of salvation and of consummation is necessary but then for the sake of creation. The path that he followed was diametrically opposed to that of Karl Barth and is also distinct from that of Jürgen Moltmann (who was influenced by Van Ruler). As an early exponent of Christian ecotheology, Van Ruler’s oeuvre provides exceptionally rich resources for contemporary debates. This volume offers an English translation of selected essays by Van Ruler on the themes of God, creation, providence, humanity, sin, this earthly life, and animal protection. It includes some famous essays, for example, on God and chaos, the “sunny side of sin,” joy as the fundamental Christian attitude to life, and this earthly life. The selection is based on volume 3 of the Dutch scholarly edition of Van Ruler’s Collected Works (published in 11 volumes). Few of Van Ruler’s texts are available in English, so this volume provides a welcome addition.

Arnold A. van Ruler was one of the most original Dutch Reformed theologians of the twentieth century. Through the term "re-creation" (Dutch: herschepping) he offers a radical affirmation of God's sustained loyalty to that which is material, bodily, and earthly. God's work of salvation and of consummation is necessary but then for the sake of creation. The path that he followed was diametrically opposed to that of Karl Barth and is also distinct from that of Jurgen Moltmann (who was influenced by Van Ruler). As an early exponent of Christian ecotheology, Van Ruler's oeuvre provides exceptionally rich resources for contemporary debates. This volume offers an English translation of selected essays by Van Ruler on the themes of God, creation, providence, humanity, sin, this earthly life, and animal protection. It includes some famous essays, for example, on God and chaos, the "sunny side of sin," joy as the fundamental Christian attitude to life, and this earthly life. The selection is based on volume 3 of the Dutch scholarly edition of Van Ruler's Collected Works (published in 11 volumes). Few of Van Ruler's texts are available in English, so this volume provides a welcome addition.

Empowering and validating, Your Life Matters reassures Black children everywhere that no matter what they hear, no matter what they experience, no matter what they're told, their lives matter. Written by national speaker Chris Singleton, who lost his own mother in the 2015 Charleston church shooting, Your Life Matters teaches kids to stand tall in the face of racial adversity and fight for the life they dream of. Each page depicts a famous hero from Black history mentoring a child of today and encouraging them to use their mind, heart, voice, and hands in that fight. Hero-mentors in the book include: Maya Angelou, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Aretha Franklin, Katherine Johnson, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, Mary McLeod Bethune, George Washington Carver, and others.

The real earth is Gaia, the subjective matrix of the Universe. Our planet is Gaia’s emanation on the illusive plane of the most material world in the universe of being. The present creation, when the Earth was lifted out of the water by Brahma in the shape of a boar, is one of two great creations mentioned in the Puranas. For the waters had separated and the process of incrustation was started. What makes the world go around is the Divine Desire manifesting itself through the interrelationship of its parts. That Desire is not only beyond Spirit-Matter, it is the very cause of the two Opposing Forces. Earth is Solid Fire; water Liquid Fire; air Semi-spiritual Fire. The Spirit of the Earth is Hestia-Vesta, says Proclus. But Vesta is neither the spiritual, nor the physical Sun. She is animated by the Spirit of Life. Gaia’s symbol is Gamma, the third Greek letter and ideogram of both life eternal and of earthly life. The Jewish kabbalists, especially the practical Occultists who dealt with ceremonial magic, busied themselves solely with the spirits of the Planets and the “Elementals,” so-called. The Christian Theologians opposed the theory of the Earth’s rotation because, besides depriving our orb of its dignified central position in space, this theory produced an appalling confusion of ideas as to the Ascension, thus complicating the precise locality of heaven. The Spirit of Life issues from the Earth’s North Pole, flows around her, and becomes foul at the South Pole. In the first beginnings of human life on Earth, the only dry land was on the North Pole, where the gods rested and Fohat reigns ever since. Incrustation, however, is an incredibly slow process: the Earth did not reach her present grade of density until eighteen million years ago. The Earth needs solar heat and rain to make her throw out her germs. The procreative properties of Fire and Water, or Spirit and Matter, are symbols only of physical generation. In other words, Fire and Water are illusive emanations of their spiritual prototypes and, therefore, unclean and unholy. The Earth is now in her middle principle the astral body of self-importance, graspingness, and greed. Her present principle, the fourth in her septempartite constitution, is the astral body of desires (Kama-rupa) and of dark egotism (Ahamkara), the offspring of Mahat-Nous. The Earth will reach her true ultimate form, inversely in this to man, only toward the end of the Manvantara after the Seventh Round.

Dr. Michael Charles Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison are world-renowned ecological philosophers and activists, interdisciplinary social and environmental scientists and broad-ranging, deeply committed humanists. This collection of fifty essays and interviews comprises an invigorating, outspoken, provocative and eloquent overview of the ecological humanities in one highly accessible volume. The components of this collection were published in the authors’ "Green Conversations" blog series, and pieces in the Eco News Network from 2011 to 2013 and feature luminaries from Jane Goodall to Ted Turner to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution to the former head of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Stunning color photographs captured by the authors and contributors make Why Life Matters: Fifty Ecosystems of the Heart and Mind a feast for the eyes as well as the mind and soul. Ethics, science, technology, ecological literacy, grass-roots renaissance thinkers, conservation innovation from the U.S. to the U.K.; from India to Ecuador; from Bhutan to Haiti; from across Africa, the Neo-Tropics, Central Asia and Japan, to Rio, Shanghai and Manhattan – this humanistic ode to the future of life on earth is a relevant and resonating read. Michael Tobias and Jane Gray Morrison, partners who between them have authored some 50 books and written, directed and produced some 170 films, a prolific body of work that has been read, translated and/or broadcast around the world, have been married for more than a quarter-of-a-century. Their field research across the disciplines of comparative literature, anthropology, the history of science and philosophy, ecology and ethics, in over 80 countries, has served as a telling example of what two people – deeply in love with one another – can accomplish in spreading that same unconditional love to others – of all species.

What would it be like to teach as if life matters? To move beyond the typical regimen of classroom exercises, homework, and standardized tests and to guide students through life’s most important lessons? Dissatisfied with traditional educational models, Christopher Uhl and Dana L. Stuchul asked themselves these questions. What they discovered will open the eyes of today’s educators to a whole new way of teaching. The authors promote an approach that fosters self-knowledge, creativity, curiosity, and an appreciation for our planet. Central to their philosophy is the question of what we humans need in order to live meaningful lives. The answer: healthy relationships with ourselves, each other, and the world. Teaching as if Life Matters is an open letter to teachers offering guidance and encouragement for nurturing students in ways that make teaching and learning meaningful. In short, it is a passionate plea for transformative teaching. Informed by the alternative educational philosophies of John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, and Ivan Illich, this book invites teachers and students to participate in a new culture of education. This fascinating and urgently needed book will inspire today’s educators to inspire their students.

Festschrift in honour of Gabriele Dietrich of Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary, social activist and feminist; contributed articles on diverse aspects predominantly on social status of women and feminism in India.

This book offers insight and instruction on how to live an extraordinary life in key areas of health, mental wellness, decision making, societal and political constraints that need changing and many other areas essential for your good life. Our true purpose, each and every one of us, is to understand ourselves, unravel our own limitations and insecurities and be the opposite of timid. Be courageous, brave, intrepid and bold no matter what the world reflects back to your age and supposed fragility. Use your voice for good. This book will give you a blueprint for health, wisdom, performance and provide you with a nutritional and emotional pathway to take back your own life and make your life matter!