Review

Reviewed Work(s): Environmental Stewardship: Critical Perspectives—Past and Present

by R. J. BERRY: Theology That Matters: Ecology, Economy, and God by DARBY
KATHLEEN RAY
Review by: Laura M. Hartman
Source: Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics , Spring / Summer 2009, Vol. 29, No.
1 (Spring / Summer 2009), pp. 263-266
Published by: Philosophy Documentation Center

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23563010

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 Nancy M. Rourke • 263

venerable theologians. This perspective does not mesh well with today's view
of authority, and some readers may bristle at the possible insinuation that "the
Fathers" understood God better than we can. However, even these readers will
appreciate the way Pinckaers distinguishes between what they understood well
then and what we understand well now. The community of Defending Probabil
ism is of a pair of like-minded theologians focused on a narrow problem. Each
has an eye devoted to history, but both are also accountable to their own con
temporary theological and ecclesiological context. Fleming and Caramuel seem
to meet in agreement on several points, not the least of which is remembering
what it means to be human together before God. Their ways of approaching
history and theology centralize that understanding, and their partnership re
inforces that understanding and mutual Christian gratitude.

Nancy M. Rourke
Canisius College

Review of

Environmental Stewardship: Critical

Perspectives—Past and Present
EDITED BY R. J. BERRY
London: T&T Clark, 2006. 348 pp. $60.00.

Theology That Matters: Ecology, Economy,

and God
EDITED BY DARBY KATHLEEN RAY
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006. 245 pp. $22.00.

Darby Kathleen Ray's collection, the somewhat ambitiously named Theology

That Matters, seeks to bring together Christian theological voices that address
pressing contemporary issues—specifically, ecological problems and economic
realities. It brings together theologians from a variety of locations and back
grounds, united under a common concern for ecology and economics, and

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264 • Book Review

with a common methodological interest in process theology. Al

troduction does not frame it in this light, this book essentially
Festschrift for Sallie McFague. Nearly every essay draws heavily
in questioning traditional models of God, in proposing the me
earth as God's body, and in envisioning a redeemed economy o
hold of "life abundant" that requires affluent North America
self-sacrificial "cruciform living." Only one essay (Gordon Kauf
cite McFague. Indeed, her name has more entries in the index
sus Christ," "Bible," and "biblical" combined. McFague herself
cluding essay of the book.
This book's thirteen contributors form, among themselves,
sive vision of an earth-affirming theology deeply engaged in
logical and economic problems present in the contemporary w
thread of process theology runs throughout. Different shades o
view of God also arise in this collection. Some, such as McFagu
fully the edge of pantheism, never straying from panentheis
Wallace, conversely, blithely declares "God as Earth Spirit lives
and circulates in water and wind" (132). A third theme is that of e
essays in this book situate humans in a cosmic, evolutionary con
Kaufman and Wallace).
This collection features thirteen excellent essays, of which a
as particularly intriguing. Ellen T. Armour, in "Toward an
ology," builds on McFague's work in models and metaphors of
posing the use of the "four elements"—earth, air, fire, and w
native ways of speaking of the divine in terms that are neithe
nor anthropocentric. Joerg Rieger, in "God and Power, Pr
tive Lands," presents an illuminating power-focused exegesis o
Naboth's vineyard (I Kings 21) in light of the treatment of N
cans. Eleazar S. Fernandez's "The Church as a Flousehold of Life Abundant"
offers a compelling vision of the church as a place where economic justice
and liberation from the chains of mammon can occur. Sharon D. Welch, in
"Artisans of Hope, Artisans of Wonder," meditates on the application of
these theological ideas in the classroom and at the ballot box. Catherine
Keller's "The Flesh of God" is a particularly illuminating contribution to this
collection. This delightfully written piece focuses on the "en" of McFague's
careful panentheism, describing it as both "the relational 'in ' of intimacy, of
the lover in the beloved, or the babe in arms; and the organic 'in ' of the sap
in the tree, the blood in the veins, the fetus in the womb" (100). Keller's piece
highlights two prominent characteristics of this collection: process theology
and a theology concerned for power relations and justice in the world.
McFague herself weighs in at the end of the collection with a confirmation

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 Laura M. Hartman • 265

of many of the themes discussed in the book, and an inspiring charge to

yearning for the reign of God, and to "hang in there because God hang
there. Hallelujah!" (212).
R. J. "Sam" Berry, a British scientist (who is not related to Wendell
Thomas Berry, two major figures in American Christian environm
thought) has assembled a very different collection of essays in Environm
Stewardship. Only four of the twenty-six essays mention Sallie McFague
then only in passing. These essays, by contrast, gather twice as many au
to offer perspectives on the topic of Christian stewardship as it applies t
environment—a topic often criticized by those who take the immanentist
present in Theology That Matters. Many of the essays in Berry's collection w
written in the mid-1990s, some originated in a conference on environme
stewardship held in September of 2000 in Windsor, and still others were
ten expressly for this volume.
Berry's collection presents an eclectic mix of voices, from theologians t
entists to politicians. For an audience interested in Christian ethics, som
the essays in this mix will seem somewhat simplistic or irrelevant, but ot
stand out as useful and provocative. The implicit conversations in the c
tion deal with the question of nature's status with regard to "fallenness"
whether nature needs human help to find fulfillment; the relative merit
thropocentric and non-anthropocentric approaches to environmental pr
lems; and the advantages and disadvantages of a nonreligious notion of "s
ardship" alongside a Christian conception of it.
Several selections in this collection are worthy of note. To begin, Peter
rison's and Richard Bauckham's essays each provide illuminating historica
terial on the origin of the idea of stewardship. Clare Palmer's "Stewardsh
Case Study in Environmental Ethics" is included as a classic critique of th
cept, and subsequent selections respond to her points. James Lovelock, th
entist famous for his articulation of the Gaia hypothesis that sees the ear
a self-regulating system or "superorganism," inveighs against stewardship
the all-knowing hubris it implies, preferring to image humans as "plane
physicians" who do not know everything about doctoring but who mak
ommendations for planetary health based on their best guesses (109).
A selection from Lisa Sideris's recent book, Environmental Ethics, Ecolo
Theology, and Natural Selection, proves a fascinating read but seems surpris
unrelated to the book's theme of stewardship. Essays by Susan Power Bra
and Michael Northcott offer brief and interesting insights into sea stewar
and soil stewardship, respectively. Berry has also included classic collec
from stewardship literature, including a chapter of Douglas John Hall's b
The Steward, a selection on Francis and Benedict from Rene Dubos, and a
tion of Larry Rassmussen's Earth Community, Earth Ethics.

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266 • Book Review

Of particular interest is Bruce R. Reichenbach and V Elving And

"Tensions in a Stewardship Paradigm." The authors carefully and th
work through several questions raised by the idea of stewardship: W
humans preserve? What should we change? For what purpose and
limits? Also, Christopher Southgate's clear and useful selection, "Ste
and its Competitors," offers a spectrum of models for human agen
human nature. This spectrum ranges between humans as, on the one
creators' or even 'co-redeemers' with God of the unfolding creatio
centric models, on the other hand, that insist humanity's place is
alongside other creatures, as one of them (186-88). "Stewardship,"
concludes, "sits between these two extremes" (189).
Paul Santmire's "Partnership with Nature according to the Scriptur
out in this collection. Santmire lauds the success of stewardship the
the inroads it has made in churches in recent decades but hopes that
and churches—will move beyond stewardship to a more nuanced, m
cally based theology of partnership with nature. This takes the for
ative intervention in nature, sensitive care for nature, and a
contemplation of nature" (254). Santmire grounds these three mode
nership with nature in the biblical witness of the Priestly and Yahw
stories in Genesis and in the book of Job.
Both of these edited volumes would be fine choices for a classroom
Berry's collection contains both classic and new pieces, comprising, as
"the most complete examination hitherto available of the nature,
and applications of environmental stewardship" (xi). Ray's collectio
trast, provides a sampling of cutting-edge contemporary ecotheolog
on the work of Sallie McFague.
The relatively new field of Christian environmental ethics is reac
point of a "second theological wave," in the words of Paul Santmire
254). Whether building new theologies based on McFague's once cut
ideas or drawing new definitions of stewardship from classic critiqu
lections bring to the fore important new ideas that comprise this se
of ecotheology.

Laura M. Hartman
Augustana College

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