Rooted and Grounded: Essays on Land and Christian Discipleship (Studies in Peace and Scripture: Institute of Mennonite Studi)

For many of us the connection between the ecological crisis and humanitys detachment from the land is becoming increasingly clear. In biblical terms adam (humanity) has severed itself from the adamah (soil) and we (creation) are reaping the consequences. This collection of essays and the conference from which it took shape calls the church to root itself more deeply in the agrarian biblical text and ecclesial tradition in order to remember and freshly imagine ways of living on and with the land that are restorative reconciling and faithful to the triune Gods invitation to new life in Christ. When we listen attentively to and patiently learn from the biblical text church history and theology the land itself can become a conversation partner and we are summoned to recognize that the gospel is reserved not simply for humanity but for the whole of creation. If Christian faith is about being grounded in the life of God this book helps us see that Gods own life has from the beginning been grounded in the land as the place where divine love is made manifest and goes to work. Rooted and Grounded opens multiple vistas for a fresh revisioning of biblical exegesis and theological reflection. In doing so it helps us make the essential connections that are foundational for the healing of human and land communities. It deserves a wide readership. --Norman Wirzba Professor of Theology Ecology and Agrarian Studies Duke Divinity School Nowhere have I read a more substantive and informative collection of essays all written for this volume that drives home the importance of the land in theological reflection and ethical practice. Rooted and Grounded inspires us to reconnect with the land from which we came and to which we shall return. --William P. Brown William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Columbia Theological Seminary Christians in industrialized societies are a long way from accounting for our estrangement from the land on which human community depends not least the effect of such estrangement on Christian discipleship. This diverse collection from the cutting-edge international Rooted and Grounded conference at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary represents creative and refreshing steps forward in biblical systematic and historical theology. Im delighted to recommend it. --Tommy Givens Fuller Theological Seminary Author of We the People: Israel and the Catholicity of Jesus Ryan D. Harker is from the northern edge of the Ozark Mountains in rural Southern Missouri. He is an adjunct instructor at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) and AMBSs co-liaison to Blessed Earths Seminary Stewardship Alliance. Janeen Bertsche Johnson grew up among the corn and soybean fields of central Illinois. A 1989 graduate of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) she serves at AMBS as Campus Pastor Director of Alumni Relations an instructor and co-liaison to Blessed Earths Seminary Stewardship Alliance.