Sharing Eden: Green Teachings from Jews, Christians and Muslims

by Natan Levy, Harfiyah Haleem, David Shreeve

"Finding common ground between Christianity, Islam, and Judaism is a critical priority for the whole world—and nowhere is that common ground more evident or inspiring than on environmental issues."— Jonathon Porritt, co-founder, Forum for the Future "[A] very encouraging and helpful project, and I hope it inspires those in each of the three traditions to collaborate more in environmental thought."—Sustainability in Crisis, United Kingdom This introductory handbook combines beautiful and enlightening texts from each faith's religious teachings to address some of the most prominent environmental issues faced today, such as waste, climate change, and biodiversity. Each author brings a contemporary focus to the eternal challenge of caring for the environment and provides practical advice on how we can all do our share to protect it. Sharing Eden sets out to show how respect for the environment is at the heart of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Natan Levy is the environmental liaison for the Chief Rabbi's Office and the rabbinical expert for the London School of Jewish Studies' Responsibility Unit, both based in the Untied Kingdom. David Shreeve is the director of The Conservation Foundation, which he co-founded in 1982, and the environmental advisor to the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England. Harfiyah Haleem is a trustee of the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES). She is also the editor of a collection of essays on Islam and the environment and co-editor of the Muslim Green Guide to Reducing Climate Change .

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Emily]

A brief introduction to environmentalism from the perspective of Abrahamic religions, each chapter contains a short commentary from each author (one Jewish, one christian and one Muslim) with each chapter ending in a series of suggestions and resources concerning living a religiously, environmentalist life with regards to the topic of the chapter. I thought that the Jewish sections presented the strongest theological arguments, with the Muslim sections presenting the strongest scriptural evidence. In light of this, I thought the Christian sections revealed a disappointing lack of a strong environmentalist tradition within (mainstream, at least) Christianity.

[Jonathan Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This quick read gives Jewish, Christian, and Muslim views on the importance of environmental topics ranging from biodiversity to wasting food. If all our congregations spent a sermon series exploring this, we could likely prevent the impending catastrophe we are causing to Creation.

[Catherine McNiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short but compelling book. I literally read it during breakfast. The Jewish writer was especially good, I was disappointed with the quality of the Christian writer. Mostly, I was inspired to find ways for my faith to intersect with my environmentalism, and discouraged that people of faith are not for the most part leading the charge as we should.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little book, definitely a keeper. My only qualm with that is its form: the very high quality paper definitely contradicts a LOT of the book's content.

But a good, well-rounded treatise that had a lot of interesting nuggets about the faiths I'm not as familiar with.