Let Creation Rejoice - by Jonathan A Moo & Robert S White (Paperback)

About the Book

Experts warn us a perfect storm of factors threatens the future of life on earth. The authors assess the evidence for climate change and other threats that our planet faces while pointing to the hope God offers the world.

Book Synopsis

The Bible is full of images of God caring for his creation in all its complexity. Yet experts warn us that a so-called perfect storm of factors threatens the future of life on earth. The authors assess the evidence for climate change and other threats that our planet faces in the coming decades while pointing to the hope God offers the world and the people he made.

Review Quotes

"It is a book about faith and it is a book about the right ordering of creation in the twenty-first century. It is a book all Christians need to read."

"The authors give a careful and comprehensive scientific analysis of contemporary threats to the environment, such as those posed by climate change. To this they add an extensive discussion of biblical material relating to human hope and responsibility. Many Christians will find this book a helpful approach to serious problems of our age."

"The book offers a hopeful, Christ-centered approach to the crisis of climate change, a welcome contribution to the discussion of one of the most crucial issues of our time."

"This powerful book is full of godly wisdom. Jonathan Moo and Robert White have given us an authoritative account of the current scientific data together with an inspirational review of a wide range of profound biblical resources. It is truly important reading for anyone seeking for hope in our troubled environmental times."

"Let Creation Rejoice serves as a much-needed corrective to divisive discussions on climate change. Moo and White lay out a helpful survey of the current condition of the Earth and the causes of that condition, then go on to explain the biblical perspective and how our future hope speaks into our present situation."

"At a time when Earth's environmental problems can seem insurmountable, Jonathan Moo and Robert White present a case for Christians to look forward with both hope and diligence in their efforts to care for God's creation. Their vision of biblical hope does not gloss over the grim realities of the damage that has been done to our world by human destruction, pollution, and overexploitation of resources. Let Creation Rejoice is structured upon the idea that Christians are called to both joy and lament-to a hope based on the promises of God's kingdom and to groaning alongside all creation."

"At the center of [the author's] theology is hope for the future. This makes their approach distinct from someone who cares about our planet but does not have faith in God. It is also distinct from a believer who argues from something other than eschatology. They want readers to know and understand that the problem we face is colossal, but as long as we trust in God there is always hope."

"If your mailboxes, physical and digital, are like mine, they are filled with apocalyptic rantings. Religious groups point to the signs of the end times. Environmentalist groups warn us we must act now, before it's too late. Here's a different message. While not every reader will agree with every perspective in this book, all of us can be provoked by its winsome engagement with tough issues from a biblical perspective. Whatever your position on matters such as climate change, this book will prompt you to think through how your biblical hope intersects with the problems of the day."

"Let Creation Rejoice is a marvelously lucid study of Scripture and current ecological concerns. Those skeptical about the magnitude of the threats facing the earth will be challenged by the sober, balanced account of climate change and related issues; those skeptical of Christianity's relevance to such concerns will equally be challenged by the elegant exposition of the Bible's affirmation of the created order. I cannot imagine a more clearheaded and timely treatment of the topic."

"Let Creation Rejoice is an extremely valuable addition to the literature and theology of creation care. Where evangelical Christianity has tended to see in eschatology an excuse for avoiding environmental questions altogether, White and Moo take the opposite approach. It is in the hope that is in Jesus' promised return to restore all things that they see our biggest reason for acting now. Yes, we live in an age of potential despair--but what hope there is in these pages. The honest, careful and encouraging exegesis here should bless all who read it."

"Reviewing the environmental issues on today's agenda, including climate change, the authors conclude that there are sound reasons for thinking we face challenges of unprecedented magnitude. But they articulate a gospel hope that discourages fatalism and fanaticism alike."

"The mix of environmental awareness and activism with a Christian sense of mission is by no means new, but these authors bring Cambridge credentials, brevity, and an unusually buoyant feeling of faith to their task. . . . This work is written with deftness and care and should exert an appeal to many church groups and individual seekers."

"This book shows why The Cape Town Commitment, from the Third Lausanne Congress, Cape Town 2010, was absolutely right to say that 'we cannot separate our relationship to Christ from how we act in relation to the earth. For to proclaim the gospel that says "Jesus is Lord" is to proclaim the gospel that includes the earth, since Christ's Lordship is over all creation. Creation care is thus a gospel issue within the Lordship of Christ.' To be able to make such an affirmation requires that we have a fully biblical vision of what the gospel wholly and actually is, and this book richly provides such a vision with extensive biblical support. It takes us through the whole Bible story, from creation to new creation, and shows how our attitudes and actions in relation to the earth must be shaped by what God has done and will do for all creation through the Lord Jesus Christ. The book presents and explains the sober facts of our present ecological crisis. But, as the title makes clear, it does so not to induce despair, but rather to show how radical and transformative is the hope for all creation that is truly part of the 'good news' of the biblical gospel."

"This is a book that speaks to a great need of our time, the need for hope that does not depend on illusion. It takes very seriously both science and exegesis. It has the potential to mobilize authentic Christian hope in fearful and perplexing times."

About the Author

Robert S. White (PhD, Cambridge) is professor of geophysics in the University of Cambridge and a fellow of the Royal Society. He is the author of Creation in Crisis (SPCK) and numerous other books and articles.

Jonathan A. Moo (PhD, Cambridge) is assistant professor of biblical studies at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. He holds graduate degrees in wildlife ecology along with theology. He is the author of Creation, Nature and Hope in 4 Ezra and numerous articles.