Gospel According to the Earth, The: Why the Good Book Is a Green Book - Hardcover

Zondervan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006173053X ISBN 13: 9780061730535

Publisher: HarperOne, 2010

Synopsis

As an emergency room doctor, Matthew Sleeth saw a disturbing increase in asthma, autoimmune diseases, cancers, and other environmentally related disease. One slow night in the ER, Sleeth picked up a Gideon's Bible in the waiting room. Although raised in a Christian home, he had long ago abandoned his childhood beliefs. Reading the Gospels that night, he found both the spiritual and environmental answers he had been seeking. As a result, the Sleeth family took an accounting of their lifestyle, drastically reduced their reliance on electricity and fossil fuels, and began sharing their journey with others. In THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE EARTH Sleeth uses the Bible as a teaching mechanism, retelling the often radically counter-culture Bible stories that motivated his environmental journey and showing Christians how to get behind the issue. The Parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us about how our transportation choices affect our global neighbors. The prophet Daniel calls to question our dietary habits. And the story of Noah addresses key issues for life on Earth: how do we relate to the Creator, to others in the human community, and to the rest of the natural world? With passion and faith, Sleeth provides a new green lens through which we can read the Bible to discover answers to our biggest questions about the environment and how to care for it.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good."
—Genesis 1:31

As an emergency room doctor, Matthew Sleeth saw a disturbing increase in asthma, autoimmune diseases, cancers, and other environmentally related health issues. Although he considered himself an environmentalist, he lacked the commitment to do anything about it. One slow night in the ER, Sleeth picked up a Gideon's Bible in the waiting room. Although raised in a Christian home, he had long ago abandoned his childhood beliefs. Reading the gospels that night, Sleeth became a Christian, and to his shock, he began to uncover in the Scriptures an enormous wealth of environmental answers that he had been seeking. As a result, his family took an account of their lifestyle, drastically reduced their reliance on electricity and fossil fuels, and began sharing their inspirational journey with others. Here, Sleeth invites you on his family's journey as they realize that one cannot be a Christian without recognizing the Bible's call to care for God's creation.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is filled with instructions on how we can demonstrate our love for the Creator by caring for the earth. Sleeth leads us on a highly creative journey through Scripture, visiting some of the most important characters in the Bible and discovering what they can teach us about issues such as stewardship, caring for our neighbors, climate change, and pollution. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden teach us the importance of physical work in relation to discovering fulfillment and a sense of human purpose, the prophet Daniel calls us to question our dietary habits, and the story of Noah addresses key issues for life on earth: how do we relate to the Creator, to others in the human community, and to the rest of the natural world? With passion and faith, Sleeth provides a new green lens through which we can read the Bible to discover answers to our biggest questions about the environment and how to care for it.

About the Author:

J. Matthew Sleeth, MD, a former emergency room director, now writes, preaches, and teaches full time about faith and the environment. He is the author of Serve God, Save the Planet and the general editor of The Green Bible. With his wife, Nancy, and their two children, he helps lead the growing creation care movement. The Sleeths live in Wilmore, Kentucky.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperOne
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 006173053X
• ISBN 13: 9780061730535
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240