Spirit And Nature [Hardcover]

Description: 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. Endorsements: This collection of essays contains something to please everybody interested in ecological spirituality, regardless of their background. For scientists, reflections on Loren Eisley and Aldo Leopold, for artists thoughts on Emily Carr, for readers with a theological background, sections on Alice Walker's fluid spirituality, the Hebrew Bible's view of creation, liturgy in the face of ecological tragedy, Athanasius' Life of Antony, and more. This all constitutes a colorful intellectual quilt well worth reading. --Steven A. Kolmes University of Portland What does the discipline of Christian spirituality contribute to twenty-first-century urgency toward sustaining the life of the earth? From a rereading of the BibllS%