Wirzba, Norman
Associate Professor and Chair, Philosophy Department, Georgetown College
Print publication date: 2003
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2005
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-19-515716-1
doi:10.1093/0195157168.001.0001
Abstract:
Jewish and Christian doctrines of creation, when interpreted as accounts of the moral and spiritual character of the world rather than simply its origin, hold the key to addressing a variety of contemporary environmental concerns. They do so by showing how our identities as creatures lead to vocations that promote the care, peace, and celebration of creation. This account is developed through a sustained conversation with contemporary ecological science and agrarian thought. This book develops why the idea of creation has fallen upon hard times in modernity, and how something like a culture of creation might be envisioned that would pair ecologically informed theology with a variety of cultural concerns like education, economics, work, food, design, and built environments. This new interpretation of creation offers the possibility for a culture of justice and peace for humans and non-humans alike.