Moses Biney
July 16, 2021 – 11:08 pm | Comments Off on Greetings from the Editor

I want to begin my introductory editorial comments with the expression of much gratitude to all my predecessors, especially the most immediate, Rev. Dr. Jin Hee Han whose calm yet compelling call to me to …

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Greetings from the Editor
July 16, 2021 – 11:08 pm | Comments Off on Greetings from the Editor

I want to begin my introductory editorial comments with the expression of much gratitude to all my predecessors, especially the most immediate, Rev. Dr. Jin Hee Han whose calm yet compelling call to me to serve as General Editor I could not decline.  To the Board and staff of the Living Pulpit, I say, “thank you” for your devotion, diligence and support which have kept this publication alive in the face of all the strong headwinds hitting many such journals. Many thanks go to our contributors and readers whose continued interest and faith in this publication gives us the confidence to continue creating the space and opportunity for dialogue on important matters. My special thanks go to the Managing Editor, Alet Brown, who worked exceptionally hard to put together these insightful and inspiring essays for this Spring 2021 issue of The Living Pulpit.

This issue focuses on sustainability, a key scientific and socio-economic issue in need of much theological reflection. To initiate some theological discussions on sustainability, the essays and book review draw attention to the groanings of creation. Our “mother earth” cries out against the abusive treatment of its eco-systems – water bodies, vegetation, climate etc. Yet we humanity, the chief perpetrators of these abuses, continue in our wanton destruction and creation of disequilibrium through over consumption, over exploitation of resources and the general lack of care for the universe. 

Much of humanity’s uncaring attitudes towards their home planet earth and creation in general, as pointed out by some of the authors, are largely the result of anthropocentric notions of humanity drawn from biblical texts and reinforced by simplistic and often literal Judeo- Christian interpretations of them.  Biblical texts such as, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Gen. 1:28), “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly [Parent] feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matt. 6:26; Luke 2:24) are notoriously interpreted to suggest that humans are the most favored among God’s creation and thus have been given control over everything in the universe. These and other such dubious interpretations are interrogated in a couple of the essays.   

Sustainability (sustainable development), according to UN World Commission on Environment and Development is, “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This must be the goal of all humanity especially as we deal with food insecurity, drought, wildfires, and many elements of global climatic change. 

Hopefully, the essays in this issue will contribute to and further ongoing discussions on sustaining our universe. 

Moses O. Biney

Editor in Chief

Table of Contents: The Sustainability/Sustainable Earth Issue
July 16, 2021 – 11:07 pm | Comments Off on Table of Contents: The Sustainability/Sustainable Earth Issue

The Preacher’s Guide on Pesky Passages by Rev. Dr. Jin H. Han

Sustainability and Sacrifice: An Eco-Theology of the Cross by Lisa Jarnot

Book Review: For the Life of the World: Theology that Makes a Difference by Dr. John W. Herbst

Bible …

The Preacher’s Guide on Pesky Passages
July 16, 2021 – 11:07 pm | Comments Off on The Preacher’s Guide on Pesky Passages

“The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it.”–Psalm 24:1

When Professors Mary Tucker and John Green of the Forum on Religion and Ecology (currently at Yale University) were working on a project of …

Sustainability and Sacrifice: An Eco-Theology of the Cross
July 16, 2021 – 11:06 pm | Comments Off on Sustainability and Sacrifice: An Eco-Theology of the Cross

On any given evening in any urban neighborhood in the United States, it is possible to forage through grocery store dumpsters for an array of food worthy of the tables in Solomon’s Temple. Thousands of …

Book Review: For the Life of the World: Theology that Makes a Difference
July 16, 2021 – 11:06 pm | Comments Off on Book Review: For the Life of the World: Theology that Makes a Difference

Miroslav Volf and Matthew Croasmun. For the Life of the World: Theology that Makes a Difference. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2019. Pp 196. ISBN 978-1-58743-401-3. $21.99 hardback. 

For the Life aims to motivate us to focus our theology on …

Bible Quotes on Sustainable Earth
July 16, 2021 – 11:06 pm | Comments Off on Bible Quotes on Sustainable Earth

The earth is the Lord’s

God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 

Gen. 1:10

Then God said, “Let the earth put forth …

Quotes on Sustainable Earth
July 16, 2021 – 11:05 pm | Comments Off on Quotes on Sustainable Earth

The Earth is…

The whole earth is a living icon of the face of God.

— St. John Damascene (749 AD)

Everything that is in the heavens, on earth, and under the earth is penetrated with connectedness, penetrated …

The “Ruling Over” Experience
July 16, 2021 – 11:05 pm | Comments Off on The “Ruling Over” Experience

According to Psalm 24:1, “the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” Typically, this type of ownership implies that the owner is personally responsible …

A Mother’s Call: A Shaman’s Eco-Thought
July 16, 2021 – 11:05 pm | Comments Off on A Mother’s Call: A Shaman’s Eco-Thought

Shamans have been known to be one of the foundational healing components to any development of community. Don Jose Ruiz, a Toltec Shaman from Southern Central Mexico, defines a Shaman as a “nagual,” meaning the awakened …

A Mother’s Call: An Abrahamic Eco-Thought
July 16, 2021 – 11:04 pm | Comments Off on A Mother’s Call: An Abrahamic Eco-Thought

Through the writings of Holy Texts and the lens of Eco-theology, humanity is called to manage and protect Mother Earth’s natural resources, ecosystems, climate, and atmosphere so that current and future generations, and millions of other species …

Greetings from the Editor
December 17, 2020 – 10:33 pm | Comments Off on Greetings from the Editor

Dear Friends,

Many of our religious traditions have become silent or subdued regarding the once-robust theme of divine justice. Some of us might recall the days of the Great Awakening, which gave us the passionate preacher …

Table of Contents: Divine Justice Issue
December 17, 2020 – 10:31 pm | Comments Off on Table of Contents: Divine Justice Issue

The Arc and the Road: A Journey Towards a More Just Society by Rev. Dr. Neal Presa

Bible Quotes on Divine Justice compiled by Rev. Dr. Darla Dee Turlington

Quotes on Divine Justice compiled by Rev. Dr. …

The Arc and The Road: A Journey Towards a More Just Society
December 17, 2020 – 10:30 pm | Comments Off on The Arc and The Road: A Journey Towards a More Just Society

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously summarized the 19th century abolitionist Theodore Parker thus: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”  

The apostle Paul reminds us that God “reconciled …