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The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological Age
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." (Gen. 1:26) It has become a commonplace that Biblical religion bears a heavy share of responsibility for our destruction of the environment, and this passage from the King James version of the Bible exemplifies what is generally believed to be the Biblical attitude toward the earth.
In this provocative book, however, Norman Wirzba argues that the doctrine of creation, when understood as a statement about the moral and spiritual meaning of the world, actually holds the key to a true understanding of our place in the environment and our responsibility toward it. Wirzba contends that an adequate response to environmental destruction depends on a new formulation of ourselves as part of a created whole, rather than as autonomous, unencumbered individuals. Drawing on the work of biblical scholars, ecologists, agrarians, philosophers, theologians, and cultural critics, Wirzba develops a comprehensive worldview that grows out of the idea that the world is God's creation. While the text of Genesis has historically encouraged a vision of persons as masters of creation, a more theologically and ecologically sensitive rendering, he says, would be to say that we are servants of creation. Our present culture, Wirzba believes, results from a denial of creation that has caused
modern problems as diverse as rootlessness, individualism, careerism, boredom, and consumerism. The recovery of the meaning of creation can lead to a renewed sense of human identity and vocation, and happier, more peaceful lives. He concludes by offering practical advice for individuals who wish to begin the work of transformation and renewal.
Moving beyond the usual political debates, The Paradise of God presents a compelling vision of a new religious environmentalism.
In this provocative book, however, Norman Wirzba argues that the doctrine of creation, when understood as a statement about the moral and spiritual meaning of the world, actually holds the key to a true understanding of our place in the environment and our responsibility toward it. Wirzba contends that an adequate response to environmental destruction depends on a new formulation of ourselves as part of a created whole, rather than as autonomous, unencumbered individuals. Drawing on the work of biblical scholars, ecologists, agrarians, philosophers, theologians, and cultural critics, Wirzba develops a comprehensive worldview that grows out of the idea that the world is God's creation. While the text of Genesis has historically encouraged a vision of persons as masters of creation, a more theologically and ecologically sensitive rendering, he says, would be to say that we are servants of creation. Our present culture, Wirzba believes, results from a denial of creation that has caused
modern problems as diverse as rootlessness, individualism, careerism, boredom, and consumerism. The recovery of the meaning of creation can lead to a renewed sense of human identity and vocation, and happier, more peaceful lives. He concludes by offering practical advice for individuals who wish to begin the work of transformation and renewal.
Moving beyond the usual political debates, The Paradise of God presents a compelling vision of a new religious environmentalism.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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123 people want to read
About the author
Norman Wirzba
32 books92 followersNorman Wirzba is Professor of Theology and Ecology at Duke University Divinity School and a pioneer of scholarly work on religion, philosophy, ecology, and agrarianism. He is also the author of Food and Faith, Living the Sabbath, The Paradise of God, and From Nature to Creation. He lives near Hillsborough, North Carolina.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 26, 2022
Due to a dualistic worldview, and in some cases the influence of academic specialization, Christians often times relegate the call to care for the earth to environmental activists or those who have some special academic interests in say, ecological studies.
This book is important because it addresses this big disconnect between creation and the human vocation. Wirzba argues that care of the earth is actually one of our most profound religious tasks because what we cultivate and steward is nothing other than life willed and ordered by God himself, which in turn makes possible other life forms, including human life.
This book could therefore be seen as a theological/moral exposition of the doctrines of creation and their implication for human identity and vocation: “The central argument of this book is that we will not enjoy each other and the earth until we come to a clear understanding of the meaning of creation and our place within it”.
Wirzba exposes the ways in which humans are currently not wise or faithful earth-dwellers because we ignore and deny our fundamental interdependence with others and the non-human creation. As a response, Wirzba commends agrarian ecological insight and Jewish/Christian doctrines of creation. (Wirzba talks about doctrines of creation in plural because his approach is rooted in but not confined to the creation narratives in Genesis 1-2).
This is how he connects the two strands: “While ecology can show us the indissoluble ties that unite us with the earth, the teaching of creation fleshes out for us the nature and character of responsible human life within the world.” He then adds (and I think this is especially relevant for certain evangelical communities): “That we have not always appreciated this about creation stems from our penchant to read this doctrine primarily in terms of origins.”
Some brief insights and quotes…
— In the West people have failed to recognize the land as a moral agent that is both active and can be acted upon. Once creation becomes simply nature, once it is desacralized, then human restraint is lost as well.
— Creation and culture go hand in hand: A culture that forgets its dependence on the created order – such as our consumer culture which envisions this connection in terms of superiority and competition rather than in terms of service and cooperation – causes harm (at its own peril!) Culture suffers when creation suffers.
— On rituals: “What we fail to realize is that we have traded the ritual of religious superstition (so-called) for the rituals of frantic consumerism”. p. 199
— The land is a source, not a resource. It’s concrete not abstract.
— “Though science may establish our biological interconnectedness, the question of what we will do with this knowledge is a moral and spiritual matter”. p. 13. This is where science and the Christian tradition can come together in really helpful ways.
— Domination–stewardship–servanthood: Wirzba doesn’t dismiss the stewardship paradigm, but he does point out that it keeps us from readily recognizing our creaturely status and tends to prioritize our own self-advantage. Wirzba prefers the (more biblical?) metaphor of servanthood, serving the whole range of creation, while at the same time responsibly benefiting from it.
— The cruciform character of nature, especially soil: things do not simply die, but become valuable nutrients without which new life is not possible. “Soil is not merely dirt. It is the site of the miracle of life”.
The book is painfully repetitive at times. But there is also a gentleness to it that makes it compelling and beautiful as well as enjoyable to read.
This book is important because it addresses this big disconnect between creation and the human vocation. Wirzba argues that care of the earth is actually one of our most profound religious tasks because what we cultivate and steward is nothing other than life willed and ordered by God himself, which in turn makes possible other life forms, including human life.
This book could therefore be seen as a theological/moral exposition of the doctrines of creation and their implication for human identity and vocation: “The central argument of this book is that we will not enjoy each other and the earth until we come to a clear understanding of the meaning of creation and our place within it”.
Wirzba exposes the ways in which humans are currently not wise or faithful earth-dwellers because we ignore and deny our fundamental interdependence with others and the non-human creation. As a response, Wirzba commends agrarian ecological insight and Jewish/Christian doctrines of creation. (Wirzba talks about doctrines of creation in plural because his approach is rooted in but not confined to the creation narratives in Genesis 1-2).
This is how he connects the two strands: “While ecology can show us the indissoluble ties that unite us with the earth, the teaching of creation fleshes out for us the nature and character of responsible human life within the world.” He then adds (and I think this is especially relevant for certain evangelical communities): “That we have not always appreciated this about creation stems from our penchant to read this doctrine primarily in terms of origins.”
Some brief insights and quotes…
— In the West people have failed to recognize the land as a moral agent that is both active and can be acted upon. Once creation becomes simply nature, once it is desacralized, then human restraint is lost as well.
— Creation and culture go hand in hand: A culture that forgets its dependence on the created order – such as our consumer culture which envisions this connection in terms of superiority and competition rather than in terms of service and cooperation – causes harm (at its own peril!) Culture suffers when creation suffers.
— On rituals: “What we fail to realize is that we have traded the ritual of religious superstition (so-called) for the rituals of frantic consumerism”. p. 199
— The land is a source, not a resource. It’s concrete not abstract.
— “Though science may establish our biological interconnectedness, the question of what we will do with this knowledge is a moral and spiritual matter”. p. 13. This is where science and the Christian tradition can come together in really helpful ways.
— Domination–stewardship–servanthood: Wirzba doesn’t dismiss the stewardship paradigm, but he does point out that it keeps us from readily recognizing our creaturely status and tends to prioritize our own self-advantage. Wirzba prefers the (more biblical?) metaphor of servanthood, serving the whole range of creation, while at the same time responsibly benefiting from it.
— The cruciform character of nature, especially soil: things do not simply die, but become valuable nutrients without which new life is not possible. “Soil is not merely dirt. It is the site of the miracle of life”.
The book is painfully repetitive at times. But there is also a gentleness to it that makes it compelling and beautiful as well as enjoyable to read.
January 10, 2025
A wonderful, both broad-based while also scripturally grounded, argument for understanding the Christian faith as one that does not need to be--indeed, must not be--anthropocentric and thus anti-environmentalist, but rather for understanding it in terms of God's holistic creation, a holism which Wirzba sees theologically deepened by Jesus's redemptive work, a work that involves humanity in God's cosmic work. I particularly enjoyed Wirzba's analysis of different articulations of that holism, ones that present humanity's place in creation as not one of dominion but rather stewardship (which Wirzba makes some thoughtful criticisms of), citizenship (which Wirzba thinks comes to close to the pantheistic, which I'm not sure I agree with), and finally servanthood (which he most firmly embraces, as the one easiest to make compatible with other agrarian insights). A great book for Christians and environmentalists alike.
May 4, 2018
I read this for the same class as Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, but this took me much longer to finish.
I agree with Wirzba's ideas generally, though I'm not religious, and see how they connect to practical environmental ideas. I also liked how he criticized capitalism and more social justice aspects and how they correspond with environmentalism - intersectionality is my big thing, and I agree that we won't get anywhere if we don't consider marginalized groups in our activism.
My main issue with the book is that the writing is pretty inaccessible. Had I not had to read it start to finish for school, I would have DNFed a long time ago. There are plenty of other works on environmentalism that are more engaging, more revolutionary, and less pretentious.
I agree with Wirzba's ideas generally, though I'm not religious, and see how they connect to practical environmental ideas. I also liked how he criticized capitalism and more social justice aspects and how they correspond with environmentalism - intersectionality is my big thing, and I agree that we won't get anywhere if we don't consider marginalized groups in our activism.
My main issue with the book is that the writing is pretty inaccessible. Had I not had to read it start to finish for school, I would have DNFed a long time ago. There are plenty of other works on environmentalism that are more engaging, more revolutionary, and less pretentious.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews