A New Climate for Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming

by Sallie McFague

Climate change promises monumental changes to human andother planetary life in the next generations. Yet government,business, and individuals have been largely in denial of thepossibility that global warming may put our species on the roadto extinction. Further, says Sallie McFague, we have failed to seethe real root of our behavioral troubles in an economic modelthat actually reflects distorted religious views of the person. At its heart, she maintains, global warming occurs because we lack anappropriate understanding of ourselves as inextricably bound tothe planet and its systems. A New Climate for Theology not only traces the distorted notionof unlimited desire that fuels our market system; it also paints analternative idea of what being human means and what a just andsustainable economy might mean. Convincing, specific, and wise,McFague argues for an alternative economic order and for ourrelational identity as part of an unfolding universe that expressesdivine love and human freedom. It is a view that can inspire realchange, an altered lifestyle, and a form of Christian discipleshipand desire appropriate to who we really are.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Religion, Nonfiction, Social Justice

204 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Sallie McFague (born 1933) was an American feminist Christian theologian.

Reviews

[Brian Cubbage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good exploration of how McFague's project of metaphorical theology and concept of the world as "God's body" applies to ecological problems. A bit thin on the critical political and social edge of her program, though. For someone who decries individualism, her picture of how to motivate change is still rather individualistic: change people's worldviews and you will change how they act. There is some truth to that, but people also have their worldviews and motivations forged in material relationships of production. The challenge is how to change those relationships in a "green" way.

[Nelson Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be on Every Christian’s reading list

An easy to read but informative and compelling book that every Christian should read. Christians need to put addressing climate change at the top of their list and this book explains why

[Thomas Frovin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, this is superchallenging and encouraging on a number of levels.

I enjoy McFague's joyful worship of kenosis as the way of Christ and his followers in this world, but at the end, while she tries, I do feel we are left with a very immanence driven christianity that offers little when it comes to salvation than the promise of a new spring. I would have loved to see her embrace eschatology more, and pointed us to a hope that lies outside of the kenotic life alone, but also has to do with a transcendent God that both is present in our world and yet remains outside of it.

That said, the book is highly recommended. It is thought provoking and McFague's is a good, wise writer to guest.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to skim the last half of this to get it back to the library before I left home, but this was worth it even for that much. In short, why is what we believe failing to impact how we act based on what we know? Considering it's already old, it's scary how relevant it still is.

[Matthew Bakker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The highlight for me was a helpful discussion about the limits of metaphor in illuminating reality.

[Miranda Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why God has to be involved, but whatever works as long as you're successful at convincing people that global warming is an issue that is our responsibility to address.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

McFague's thinking echos my own recent trends. Although I may have absorbed some of this from her earlier work. Wholly integrative approach to how God plays into the ecological movement.

[Megan Fitzgerald Carder]

Great book! Christian argument for a creation based, climate friendly theology. Introduces the question: how would you live if the world was the literal body of God?