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Our Angry Eden: Faith and Hope on a Hotter, Harsher Planet
Rising winds, ravenous wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, floods: the world we will pass on is different than the one we inherited. With an unflinching gaze and a blunt pen, David Williams spells out how we will be morally tested on this harsher, hotter planet we have made for ourselves. Yet we are not without hope. In Our Angry Eden, Williams beckons readers toward a belief and a promise resilient enough to face the effects of the climate crisis. From altering our diets to welcoming refugees to reclaiming humble lifestyles, he offers eight actions we can take to fulfill the fierce demands of our faith and embody hope in the middle of catastrophic truth. For followers of Jesus, the practices of wisdom and thrift, patience and generosity, welcome and mercy, grace and justice have always been essential and will be key to human thriving in the years and decades to come. As temperatures move inexorably upward, living with our angry Eden will mean sustained difficulty and disruption. Find the hope that transcends time and the faith that rises to meet our harsh and unforgiving reality.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published July 20, 2021
44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 3, 2021
As someone who fast-forwards through any news coverage of forest fires and doomsday climate change rhetoric, I was firmly planted in the "there's little we can do, my grandchildren won't reach old age" brand of despair-slash-head burying in sand (as I await the rising ocean levels to swallow me).
Alas, "Our Angry Eden" doesn't let me get away with that.
Yes, one must endure several chapters of CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL. In fact, it's probably worse than you think! A necessary aspect to the book, but also preaching to the choir if you've picked up the text to begin with. But then Williams tackles every potential excuse we humans can concoct to avoid the harder work of doing the best possible thing in each (hotter, stormier) moment. From rapture-talk ("I'm of the ELECT! I won't have to watch the world BURN!"), to there's-nothing-I-can-do despair, to an "eh" stance on the value of faith sans good works--it gets uncomfortable. In a good and necessary way.
Turns out there's much to be done after all.
Within the text are the worthwhile actions we can take--welcoming and caring for refugees ripped from homelands because of climate-induce diaspora, adjusting our consumption, slowing the heck down, knowing (and contributing to!) where our food comes from. Even showing grace to those who purchase an F-150 (cough, cough).
It's a lot to cover, which Williams pulls off with remarkably few words, perhaps because of his approach to writing this slim book. As he explores the magnitude of this global crisis--and the history of creation itself--he uses personal stories that ought to resonate with any human, driving home the point that how each of us acts, in this moment, matters.
Alas, "Our Angry Eden" doesn't let me get away with that.
Yes, one must endure several chapters of CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL. In fact, it's probably worse than you think! A necessary aspect to the book, but also preaching to the choir if you've picked up the text to begin with. But then Williams tackles every potential excuse we humans can concoct to avoid the harder work of doing the best possible thing in each (hotter, stormier) moment. From rapture-talk ("I'm of the ELECT! I won't have to watch the world BURN!"), to there's-nothing-I-can-do despair, to an "eh" stance on the value of faith sans good works--it gets uncomfortable. In a good and necessary way.
Turns out there's much to be done after all.
Within the text are the worthwhile actions we can take--welcoming and caring for refugees ripped from homelands because of climate-induce diaspora, adjusting our consumption, slowing the heck down, knowing (and contributing to!) where our food comes from. Even showing grace to those who purchase an F-150 (cough, cough).
It's a lot to cover, which Williams pulls off with remarkably few words, perhaps because of his approach to writing this slim book. As he explores the magnitude of this global crisis--and the history of creation itself--he uses personal stories that ought to resonate with any human, driving home the point that how each of us acts, in this moment, matters.
September 15, 2021
I read this on the heels of watching Bo Burnham's Inside. After Inside, I was feeling very hopeless about our climate apocalypse. And frankly, I was a little wary about reading David Williams' latest book as I wasn't sure I could take another depressing anecdote about how we're doomed. But Our Angry Eden was the antithesis of Bo Burnham's take. While Burnham says it's already too late and we're screwed, David Williams injects hope and energy into the discussion.
Williams begins by laying the groundwork of the reality that we find ourselves in today. It's a mess for sure but we're at a place where the science is unmistakable. The question we have to answer is what are we going to do now? Williams lays out a hopeful and practical path that is rooted in the Christian faith and a devotion to Jesus. That's not to say you need to be a Christian to buy what Williams' is saying. No, it's just the lens in which Williams pulls inspiration, hope, and a vision of what can be. It's something that everyone of any faith, or lack thereof, can get onboard with and find a path through cynicism and despair in this current cluster of human history.
I'm a fan of David Williams other books and this book added to his wide array of writings and thoughts. This book is for anyone who wants to think through how we address today's crisis in practical and hopeful ways without giving into the despair that is so easy to get caught up in. I recommend it.
Williams begins by laying the groundwork of the reality that we find ourselves in today. It's a mess for sure but we're at a place where the science is unmistakable. The question we have to answer is what are we going to do now? Williams lays out a hopeful and practical path that is rooted in the Christian faith and a devotion to Jesus. That's not to say you need to be a Christian to buy what Williams' is saying. No, it's just the lens in which Williams pulls inspiration, hope, and a vision of what can be. It's something that everyone of any faith, or lack thereof, can get onboard with and find a path through cynicism and despair in this current cluster of human history.
I'm a fan of David Williams other books and this book added to his wide array of writings and thoughts. This book is for anyone who wants to think through how we address today's crisis in practical and hopeful ways without giving into the despair that is so easy to get caught up in. I recommend it.
May 10, 2023
Although I disagree with a lot of theology stances with the author, it is exactly the reason I picked up the book. The closed hand of theology is not once compromised - Christ, the Son, died for our sins and it is by faith alone in Him that we have relation with the Father.
The first eight chapters of the book can be skipped in my opinion. They serve mostly to introduce the author and (in my opinion) seem a little too “stream of thought” for my taste. From chapter 9 on I found myself enjoying the read although disagreeing with some of the approaches.
>>> The following paragraph includes takeaways from the book <<<
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David Williams has some noteworthy takeaways: namely that Faith and Action are not opposed to each other (I have faith that Jesus has conquered, and yet I will act on the potential climate crisis (p. 72)) Williams also contrasts cynicism and hope and rightly drives home the power of hope. Throughout the book, he also makes reference to various life experience where he finds himself surrounded by people of different ethnicities and socio-economic classes - something I hope to implement as well.
The first eight chapters of the book can be skipped in my opinion. They serve mostly to introduce the author and (in my opinion) seem a little too “stream of thought” for my taste. From chapter 9 on I found myself enjoying the read although disagreeing with some of the approaches.
>>> The following paragraph includes takeaways from the book <<<
-
-
-
-
David Williams has some noteworthy takeaways: namely that Faith and Action are not opposed to each other (I have faith that Jesus has conquered, and yet I will act on the potential climate crisis (p. 72)) Williams also contrasts cynicism and hope and rightly drives home the power of hope. Throughout the book, he also makes reference to various life experience where he finds himself surrounded by people of different ethnicities and socio-economic classes - something I hope to implement as well.
September 7, 2025
I came to this by watching the author for a new book with the grace of his apocalyptic novel When The English Fall. And indeed I found it.
I already do the things he suggests, not by way of Christianity, but through simple humanity. Well, except vegetarianism, which started from being unable to afford meat in some lean years 40 years ago. And, well, except for the hope part, which comes and goes but mostly goes especially given where we are in 2025. I would love to hear what the author has to say about that now, given that his frustrations with things the last time around in 2020 show through the kumbaya parts.
But then, I’m glad I read this book now when the need for it has only skyrocketed.
If only the Christians in the US could all read this book with open minds and hearts, we wouldn’t be in this disintegrating predicament.
I already do the things he suggests, not by way of Christianity, but through simple humanity. Well, except vegetarianism, which started from being unable to afford meat in some lean years 40 years ago. And, well, except for the hope part, which comes and goes but mostly goes especially given where we are in 2025. I would love to hear what the author has to say about that now, given that his frustrations with things the last time around in 2020 show through the kumbaya parts.
But then, I’m glad I read this book now when the need for it has only skyrocketed.
If only the Christians in the US could all read this book with open minds and hearts, we wouldn’t be in this disintegrating predicament.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews