Books and Essays

The following is a list of suggested books, some of which address the challenge of climate change from a Judeo-Christian perspective. The list is by no means exhaustive.

Paula Clifford, Angels with Trumpets: The Church in a Time of Global Warming (Darton, Longman & Todd, 2009) — A prophetic calling drawing on the book of Revelation, urging the church to move beyond cosmetic changes (changing light bulbs, recycling) towards addressing the larger issues at play.

Katharine Hayhoe and Andrew Farley, A Climate for Change (Word Alive, 2011) — An evangelical scientist and a pastor writing together, introducing the issues around climate change and ways of responding to its challenges.

Sallie McFague, A New Climate for Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming (Fortress Fortress, 2008) — A book that traces the distorted notion of unlimited desire that fuels our market system while painting an alternative idea of what being human means and what a just and sustainable economy might look like.

Eduardo Sasso, A Climate of Desire (Wipf &Stock, 2018) — An unconventional blend of the provocative ecological wisdom of the biblical writers with contemporary insights from sustainability experts and practitioners.

Chris Wright, The Goodness, the Glory and the Goal of Creation (Langham Partnership) — A biblical reflection on three great truths about creation, as the foundation and motivation for our earthkeeping. This paper was kindly supplied by Dr. Wright after one of our members heard it delivered at a conference sponsored by Regent College and A Rocha Canada.  If you cite this paper, please note its author and the sponsors of the related conference.

Alastair MacIntosh, Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition (Birlin, 2008) — MacIntosh reveals the psychological history of modern consumerism, calling us to get more real in facing up to despair and death as pathways to discover the spiritual meaning of these our troubled times.

Edward Echlin, Christ and Climate: A Prophetic Alternative (Columba Press, 2010) — Helpful suggestions for ordinary people interested in mitigating climate change, drawing on the Jewish ethos of Jesus, and pn an agrarian economics calling for alternative lifestyles of quality, earth care, and sharing.

Franciscus, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home (Our Sunday Visitor, 2015) — An encyclical letter addressed to all human beings, placing a call to recover the ‘integral ecology’ of the biblical tradition in light of today’s ecological challenges.

David Orr, Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse (Oxford University Press, 2009) — A well-rounded and eloquent analysis of the challenge of climate change: its causes, consequences, and the narrow path we must follow to safeguard our future.

Michael Northcott, A Political Theology of Climate Change (Eerdmans, 2013) — A compelling insight into our current condition and the Christian vision of the restoration of all things as leading the way to a better theology of climate change.