"Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes." Psalm 96:13 The Bible is bathed with images of God caring for his creation in all its complexity. Yet in the face of climate change and other environmental trends, philosophers, filmmakers, environmentalists, politicians and senior scientists increasingly resort to apocalyptic rhetoric to warn us that a so-called perfect storm of factors threatens the future of life on earth. Jonathan Moo and Robert White ask, "Do these dire predictions amount to nothing more than ideological scaremongering, perhaps hyped-up for political or personal ends? Or are there good reasons for thinking that we may indeed be facing a crisis unprecedented in its scale and in the severity of its effects?" The authors encourage us to assess the evidence for ourselves. Their own conclusion is that there is in fact plenty of cause for concern. Climate change, they suggest, is potentially the most far-reaching threat that our planet faces in the coming decades, and also the most publicized. But there is a wide range of much more obvious, interrelated and damaging effects that a growing number of people, consuming more and more, are having on the planet upon which we all depend. Yet if the Christian gospel fundamentally reorients us in our relationship to God and his world, then there ought to be something radically distinctive about our attitude and approach to such threats. In short, there ought to be a place for hope. And there ought to be a place for Christians to participate in that hope. Moo and White therefore reflect on the difference the Bible's vision of the future of all of creation makes. Why should creation rejoice? Because God loves and cares the world he made.
"The mix of environmental awareness and activism with a Christian sense of mission is by no means new, but these authors bring Cambridge credentials, brevity, and an unusually buoyant feeling of faith to their task. . . . This work is written with deftness and care and should exert an appeal to many church groups and individual seekers."
Library Journal, May 15, 2014
"Reviewing the environmental issues on today's agenda, including climate change, the authors conclude that there are sound reasons for thinking we face challenges of unprecedented magnitude. But they articulate a gospel hope that discourages fatalism and fanaticism alike."
Christianity Today, July/August 2014
"If your mailboxes, physical and digital, are like mine, they are filled with apocalyptic rantings. Religious groups point to the signs of the end times. Environmentalist groups warn us we must act now, before it's too late. Here's a different message. While not every reader will agree with every perspective in this book, all of us can be provoked by its winsome engagement with tough issues from a biblical perspective. Whatever your position on matters such as climate change, this book will prompt you to think through how your biblical hope intersects with the problems of the day."
Russell D. Moore, president, Ethics Religious Liberty Commission, Southern Baptist Convent
