The New Testament and Creation Care
- LAST MODIFIED: 24 April 2023
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0317
- LAST MODIFIED: 24 April 2023
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0317
Introduction
Generations of readers have assumed that the New Testament materials are concerned primarily with human salvation, usually understood as escape from earth to heaven, accompanied in some scenarios by the destruction of the earth. This version of the “end” of the biblical story provides no foundation for a meaningful Christian response to the widespread environmental crises we face today. Awareness of the anthropocentric cast of Christian worldviews and growing recognition of the severity of the crises has demanded new approaches to the New Testament. The scholarly discussion of the New Testament and the care of creation is a relatively new area of research, still in its adolescence, but three decades of concerted research is now affirming that the New Testament is far more deeply grounded in the soil of the biblical story of creation than we once imagined. Discussion of the Bible and the environment has thus far been led by the work of two collaboratives, the Earth Bible Project under the leadership of Norman C. Habel in Australia, and the interdisciplinary research group funded by an Arts and Humanities Research Council of the UK grant at the University of Exeter (“the Exeter Group”), led by David G. Horrell. The Earth Bible project has been the more prolific and often the more daring in drawing upon approaches from feminist and postcolonial criticism. At the same time, a growing number of scholars are making attempts to reconstruct the outlines of a biblical narrative, running from Genesis to Revelation, that links the end or resolution of the story (eschatology) more clearly with its beginning (protology). A meaningful resolution of the biblical story must address such issues as the meaning and proper exercise of “dominion,” as well as divine and human roles in the reconciliation of earth and heaven. After surveying overviews and reviews of the literature on hermeneutical issues and eschatology, entries will follow the canonical order of the New Testament documents, then touch on recent studies of food and water and the relations between humans and animals.
Online Resources
The following resources, available both in print and online, provide helpful introductions to ecology in relation to the array of theological and ethical disciplines (Berry 2014) and theological assessments of key contemporary issues (Fergusson 2007). The essays in Marlow and Harris 2022 survey issues related primarily to ecological readings of the biblical texts themselves. Wenell 2014 focusses on the “land” both in biblical contexts and contemporary political and ecological contexts.
Berry, Shannon. “Ecology.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics. Vol. 1: ABO-LYI. Edited by Robert L. Brawley, 195–200. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
DOI: 10.1093/acref:obso/9780199829910.001.0001
Describes the growth of interest in ecology in both theology and biblical studies, including discussions of the Hebrew Scriptures, the New Testament, the Cosmic Christ, ecology and liberation, ecofeminism, and ecology and community.
Fergusson, David. “Creation.” In The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology. Edited by John Webster, Kathryn Tanner, and Iain Torrance, 72–90. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199245765.003.0005
Introduces the doctrine of creation in scripture and the Christian tradition, including creation out of nothing, animals, and the environment.
Marlow, Hillary, and Mark Harris, eds. The Oxford Handbook of the Bible and Ecology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190606732.001.0001
An outstanding collection of thirty essays that cover the historical, hermeneutical, and cultural roots of recent study of the Bible and ecology, biblical studies including essays on the Synoptic Gospels, John, Paul, and Revelation, and an array of diverse thematic and contemporary studies, including treatments of the Imago Dei and the nature of dominion, “stewardship,” the sea, cities and sustainability, wildlife conservation, Jewish perspectives on ecotheology, Evangelical approaches to creation care, and climate skepticism.
Wenell, Karen J. “Land.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Ethics. Vol. 1: ABO-LYI. Edited by Robert L. Brawley, 500–507. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
DOI: 10.1093/acref:obso/9780199829910.001.0001
A helpful survey of “the land” in both the Hebrew Bible and New Testament contexts, including discussion of land rights and land tenure, “the land” in Christian Zionism, and sabbath and Jubilee in relation to contemporary ecological concerns.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Nabataea and the Nabat...
- Aaron
- Acts of Peter
- Acts of the Apostles
- Adam and Eve
- Aelia Capitolina
- Afterlife and Immortality
- Agriculture
- Alexander the Great
- Alexandria
- Altered States of Consciousness in the Bible
- Ancient Christianity, Churches in
- Ancient Israel, Schools in
- Ancient Medicine
- Ancient Mesopotamia, Schools in
- Ancient Near Eastern Law
- Angels
- Anti-Semitism and the New Testament
- Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
- Apocryphal Acts
- Apostolic Fathers
- Aram
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Ammon and the Ammonite...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Aram and the Arameans
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Judah and the Judeans ...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Moab and the Moabites
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Phoenicia and the Phoe...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of the Kingdom of Israel ...
- Archaeology, Greco-Roman
- Art, Early Christian
- Asceticism
- Astrology and Astronomy
- Athaliah
- Atonement
- Augustus
- Babylon
- Baptism
- Barnabas, Epistle of
- Benefaction/Patronage
- Bible and Visual Art
- Biblical Criticism
- Biblical Studies, Cognitive Science Approaches in
- Caesarea Maritima
- Canaanites
- Canon, Biblical
- Ceramics
- Cherubim
- Child Metaphors in the New Testament
- Children in the Hebrew Bible
- Children in the New Testament World
- Christian Apocrypha
- Christology
- Chronicles, First and Second
- Cities of Refuge
- Clement, First
- Clement of Alexandria
- Clement, Second
- Clothing
- Colossians
- Conversation Analysis
- Conversion
- Corinthians, Second
- Cosmology, Near East
- Covenant
- Covenant, Ark of the
- Crucifixion
- Cyrus
- Daniel
- Daniel, Additions to
- David
- Death and Burial
- Deborah
- Demons
- Deuteronomistic History
- Deuteronomy
- Diaspora in the New Testament
- Didache
- Digital Humanities and the Bible
- Divination and Omens
- Domestic Architecture, Ancient Israel
- Early Christianity
- Ecclesiastes/Qohelet
- Economics and Biblical Studies
- Edom
- Education, Greco-Roman
- Education in the Hebrew Bible
- Egyptian Book of the Dead
- Election in the Bible
- Elijah
- Elisha
- Enoch
- Ephesians
- Epistles, Catholic
- Epistolography (Ancient Letters)
- Esther and Additions to Esther
- Ethics
- Evil Eye
- Exodus, Book of
- Exorcism
- Ezekiel
- Ezra-Nehemiah
- Faith in the New Testament
- Feminist Scholarship on the Old Testament
- Flora and Fauna of the Hebrew Bible
- Food and Food Production
- Friendship, Kinship and Enmity
- Funerary Rites and Practices, Greco-Roman
- Galatians
- Galilee
- Genesis, Book of
- Gentiles
- Gnosticism
- God, Ancient Israel
- God, Greco-Roman
- God, Son of
- Gospels
- Gospels, Apocryphal
- Great, Herod the
- Greco-Roman World, Associations in the
- Greek Language
- Hagar
- Heaven
- Hebrew Bible, Biblical Law in the
- Hebrew Language
- Hebrews
- Hell
- Hellenistic and Roman Egypt
- Hermas, Shepherd of
- Historiography, Greco-Roman
- History of Ancient Israelite Religion
- Hittites
- Holy Spirit
- Honor and Shame
- Hosea, Book of
- Idol/Idolatry (HB/OT)
- Idol/Idolatry (New Testament)
- Imperial Cult and Early Christianity
- Infancy Gospel of Thomas
- Interpretation and Hermeneutics
- Intertextuality in the New Testament
- Isaiah
- Israel, History of
- James
- Jeremiah
- Jeroboam
- Jerusalem
- Jesus of Nazareth
- Jewish Christianity
- Jewish Festivals
- Jezebel
- Job
- Joel, Book of
- John, Gospel of
- John the Baptist
- Joshua
- Jubilees, Book of
- Judaism, Hellenistic
- Judaism, Rabbinic
- Judaism, Second Temple
- Judas, Gospel of
- Jude, Epistle of
- Judges, Book of
- Judith, Book of
- Kings, First and Second
- Kingship
- Lamentations
- Letters, Johannine
- Letters, Pauline
- Levi/Levittes
- Levirate Obligation in the Hebrew Bible
- Levitical Cities
- Leviticus
- LGBTIQ Hermeneutics
- Literacy, New Testament
- Literature, Apocalyptic
- Lord’s Prayer
- Luke, Gospel of
- Maccabean Revolt
- Maccabees, First–Fourth
- Man, Son of
- Manasseh, King of Judah
- Manasseh, Tribe/Territory
- Mark, Gospel of
- Martyrdom
- Mary
- Matthew, Gospel of
- Medieval Biblical Interpretation (Jewish)
- Mesopotamian Mythology and Genesis 1-11
- Messianism
- Midian
- Midrash and Aggadah
- Minoritized Criticism of the New Testament
- Miracle Stories
- Modern Bible Translations
- Moses
- Music
- Mysticism in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
- Myth in the Hebrew Bible
- Nahum, Book of
- Names of God in the Hebrew Bible
- New Testament and Early Christianity, Women, Gender, and S...
- New Testament, Feminist Scholarship on the
- New Testament, Men and Masculinity in the
- New Testament, Rhetoric of the
- New Testament, Social Sciences and the
- New Testament Studies, Emerging Approaches in
- New Testament, Textual Criticism of the
- New Testament Views of Torah
- Numbers, Book of
- Nuzi (Nuzi Tablets)
- Old Testament, Biblical Theology in the
- Old Testament, Social Sciences and the
- Orality and Literacy
- Parables
- Paraenesis
- Passion Narratives
- Pastorals
- Paul
- Pauline Chronology
- Paul's Opponents
- Pentateuch
- Performance Criticism
- Period, The "Persian"
- Peter
- Philemon
- Philippians
- Philistines
- Philo of Alexandria
- Piety/Godliness in Early Christianity and the Roman World
- Poetry, Hebrew
- Pontius Pilate
- Priestly/Holiness Codes
- Priest/Priesthood
- Prophets
- Proverbs
- Psalms
- Pseudepigraphy, Early Christian
- Pseudo-Clementines
- Q
- Qumran/Dead Sea Scrolls
- Race, Ethnicity and the Gospels
- Revelation (Apocalypse)
- Romans
- Ruth
- Sacrifice
- Samaria/Samaritans
- Samuel, First and Second
- Satan
- Scriptures
- Second Baruch
- Sects, Jewish
- Septuagint
- Sermon on the Mount
- Sexual Violence and the Hebrew Bible
- Sin (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament)
- Sirach
- Slavery
- Sojourner
- Solomon
- Solomon, Wisdom of
- Song of Songs
- Succession Narrative
- Synagogue
- Synoptic Problem
- Tales, Court
- Talmud
- Targum
- Temples and Sanctuaries
- Temples, Near Eastern
- Ten Commandments
- The Bible and the American Civil War
- The Bible in China
- the Hebrew Bible, Ancient Egypt and
- The New Testament and Creation Care
- Thessalonians
- Thomas, Gospel of
- Tobit
- Trauma and the Bible, Hermeneutics of
- Twelve Prophets, Book of the
- Ugarit
- Virtues and Vices: New Testament Ethical Exhortation in I...
- War, New Testament
- Wisdom
- Wisdom—Greek and Latin
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testa...
- Worship in the New Testament and Earliest Christianity
- Worship, Old Testament
- Zadok
- Zechariah
- Zoology (Animals in the New Testament)