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The Bible, science & the plane
Cherishing the Earth By Martin J Hodson and Margot R Hodson Published by Monarch Books £8.99
Planetwise (book plus DVD and CD-ROM) by Dave Brookless Published by Inter-Varsity Press £7.99 (book only) or £16 (full resource pack)
Both these books are written to encourage Christians to see that it is an essential part of God's will for us that we respect and care for creation. Cherishing the Earth addresses the ethical issues and scientific problems relating to climate change in as thorough and balanced way as is possible in the space allowed.
There are detailed references for every chapter to facilitate the reader who wants to know more. Martin the scientist and Margot the theologian write as if they have talked the issues over together. This intimate tone allows us to enjoy a book that might otherwise seem too packed with facts. There are many excellent chapters: on being partners with God for a fruitful planet, on the devastation we are currently causing, and on approaches to effecting change at individual, community and national levels, to name just a few.
Planetwise is much more Bible based, and is designed for study, perhaps in a house group. It would be most helpful to someone searching for Biblical texts to justify Christian concern and care for the environment. Both books agree on the lifestyle changes that are needed but Cherishing the Earth describes and justifies them more thoroughly, and in a style that non-Christians might value too.
Both books come from the evangelical wing of the Church, most of which seems only recently to have accepted that climate change is a matter of Christian concern. At first I was put off by the (to me) unfamiliar doctrine propounded in both books that there was a cosmic Fall, that the purpose of the death of Jesus was not just to redeem humanity but the whole cosmos, and that we can one day expect there to be a new heaven and a new earth.
Though not convinced about this I nevertheless highly recommend Cherishing the Earth. From Planetwise I gained an interesting insight into an unfamiliar part of the Church, and new hope that if we start working together for the good of the planet, mutual understanding and good will may grow.
Averil Stedeford, a member of St Columba’s United Reformed Church, Oxford, won an Observer Ethical Award for eco-renovating her home.
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