Economics, Ecology, and the Roots of Western Faith: Perspectives from the Garden

(Paperback)

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Environmentalists have turned to Eastern religion, Deep Ecology and Native American religion for alternatives to the Western view that humans should dominate nature. In Economics, Ecology, and the Roots of Western Faith, Robert R. Gottfried persuasively demonstrates that the ancient Hebrew worldview, found in the Torah and the New Testament, is remarkably 'green.' Drawing on these insights from ancient Western thought and economic understanding of ecosystems and natural processess, Gottfried analyzes the prerequisites for maintaining or improving human welfare and ecological vitality in terms of land economics and management.

Reviews

The series is truly a major aid to this field of study. * Sojourners *
I highly recommend this book for general reading by a wide audience (Christian or nonchristian). The prose is easy reading, well documented, well reasoned. ...would be very useful as a text or reader supplement in several courses at the college level. The book is refreshing in that it opens up new insights and ways of seeing modern life in light of scriptural revelation... -- Delmar Vander Zee, Pro Rege
Gottfried is remarkably up-to-date in ecology, economics, and theology. Taking instruction from fields ranging from landscape ecology to biblical theology, he envisions an economics that fully respects the ecological reality and integrity of the biosphere and gratefully employs the very substantial ethical contributions of Judeo-Christian thought. * Calvin B. Dewitt *
This is a powerful and important book! Gottfried breaks free from the constraints of classical economic theory to tap the rich resources of ecological and biblical theology. * Calvin B. Dewitt *
Gottfried is an economist who writes knowledgeably and wisely about both ecology and the Bible. He integrates these fields into an * Economics Of The Garden *
...valuable work... * Choice Reviews *
This is a book that provides a solid and sensible theological framework for Christians... is to be commended for pointing the way in a poignant and powerful manner. * Christian Scholar's Review *
Gottfried's book does indeed plow new ground. On fertile soil, perhaps this book might even plant seeds capable of sustaining (if not restoring) the Garden. * Encounter *
This well-done study is full of detail and can serve as a general introduction to environmental thought. It is readable by laypersons. * Theology Today *
A remarkable achievement because he is able to work between and across disciplines in an illuminating way. * Sewanee Theological Review *

Author Bio

Robert R. Gottfried is associate professor of economics at The University of the South.