Check out this blog entry by Blake Huggins who begins some interesting dialog about the Green Bible. His title is Why I Won’t Be Buying a ‘Green’ Bible, but both fans and detractors of the publication should read his writing before serving judgment.

He has some great thoughts on the pitfalls of simply dressing up the Bible as a product for consumption. I resonated with his point that merely having our awareness raised about creation care, eco-justice, and conservation is not enough. He states, “true eco-justice depends upon our willingness to make serious personal and collective sacrifices.”  In other words, our response to the Biblical mandate to steward creation justly requires our hearts and lives to be moved into action rather than getting on board with the most recent “hot topic”. One of things that first interested me about A Rocha was that it was an organization that is about doing something to address issues of injustice brought about by such problems as declining biodiversity, consumption, and the need to promote conservation of our natural resources.

So is the Green Bible a good thing or not?

Time for a disclaimer… I was able to serve on the Advisory Board for the publication, but have not (and will not) receive any money for my involvement.

I do think the publication has a role to play. The publication has some wonderful essays and I have found people who have been moved to introspection and then begin walk the journey with us. A couple of others have related how this has been or would be very helpful in communicating more effectively with relatives who ask how they can reconcile being an ‘environmentalist’ with their faith. I have heard from others that they wished for more commentary at the bottom of each page when a passage has been highlighted in green. Other have mentioned that too many passages were highlighted, while others have said not all of the right ones were highlighted. There have also been input on the choice of the translation.

I’m interested to get the input of others.

I received my own copy of the Green Bible in the mail today. It was wonderful to see it after being able work on the project. The Green Bible’s objective is to, “equip and encourage people to see God’s vision for creation and help them engage in the work of healing and sustaining it.” It’s published by HarperCollins - check out more info: http://greenletterbible.com/

In October/November HarperOne will release a long awaited study bible, “The Green Bible”. Santa Barbara A Rocha’s friend Matthew Sleeth, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and others have provided writings that highlight the Biblical mandate to steward the created order. We had the opportunity to serve as a contributor to this project and we look forward to having this resource available.

Green Bible Announcement/Review posted January 2007