Meditations on Creation in an Era of Extinction

**2024 Australian Christian Book of the Year- Shortlist**

This book practices an ancient form of theological reflection―the hexameron―on creation and attends to current concerns for the wellbeing of creation amid changing climates, anthropogenic pollution, and, possibly, the next mass extinction event. Rigby takes each day of the Genesis 1 creation narrative as the launching point for critical theological engagement with early writers like Basil of Caesarea and Ambrose of Milan, with contemporary concerns about the state of our planet’s well-being, and with faith-based initiatives from around the world that are contributing to the healing and restoration of the world. By attending to planetary well-being, Rigby’s unique and striking approach to the hexameron captures both the devastation of current anthropogenic climate change and the precious hope for salvific healing in Shalom.

Kate Rigby is Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Environmental Humanities, University of Cologne, where she directs the research hub Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities (MESH). Her interdisciplinary research interests include environmental literary and cultural studies, environmental philosophy, and religion and ecology.