Jeffrey S. Lamp - Böcker

In this new ecological commentary on the letter to the Hebrews, Jeffrey S. Lamp makes use of approaches developed in the relatively new field of Ecological Hermeneutics to shed light upon the connection of Hebrews with Earth.Hebrews is frequently characterized as portraying a dualistic cosmology that diminishes the material world, muting the voice of Earth. Conversely, Lamp argues that though Hebrews cannot be construed as an ecological treatise, the contours of the letter’s presentation may be subverted by reading from an ecological perspective, such that cues provided by the author of Hebrews serve as opportunities to hear Earth’s voice in the letter. Three movements, corresponding to thematic interests of the author of Hebrews, form the framework of this ecological reading: the Son as the agent of creation, the Son depicted as the Second Adam, and the New Jerusalem as the eschatological dwelling place of God. This ecological reading of Hebrews aims to shape its readers into those who fulfill the soteriological aims of God in and for the world.

Reading Green: Tactical Considerations for Reading the Bible Ecologically operates on the premise that the Bible itself does not directly address the current ecological crisis and that expecting it to do so is anachronistic, for there was no ecological crisis on the agendas of biblical authors as they penned their works. The true challenge in the field is engaging biblical texts that do not present a positive ecological message (e.g., the stories of the flood and the plagues), or that seem to focus their messages so narrowly on human subjects and their interests that they marginalize or ignore the concerns of the other-than-human creation. To address this issue, this book provides a series of reading strategies which begin with the current ecological crisis. Present areas of interest, such as environmental racism and justice, film criticism, and reception history and exegesis, are employed to construct various approaches to mine the Bible for its contribution in addressing the current ecological crisis.

Geoliturgy and Ecological Crisis: The Spiritual Practice of Caring for Creation examines sources and select practices within Christian tradition—Scripture, the Nicene Creed, the Eucharist, and fasting—from an ecological perspective in order to develop a practical spirituality for living in an ecologically responsible way in the world. This spirituality, which Jeffrey S. Lamp labels Geoliturgy, describes a way to read the Bible ecologically and to understand the doctrinal content of the Nicene Creed in ecological terms. Lamp then examines the Eucharist and fasting as liturgical and devotional practices that form the structure of a spirituality that extends from church services into the daily lives of the faithful. The resulting vision of this study is the reclamation of the biblical mandate for human beings to function as benevolent priestly co-rulers with God in creation to prepare creation to become the dwelling place of God.