Genesis 1-11: a spiritual classic -- Enuma Elish: the ancient Near Eastern counterpoint -- Leviathan: the modern Western counterpoint -- The Genesis flood: shattering violence -- Aftermath: the birth of the God of grace -- The seven days of creation -- Dominion versus domination: living life and living death -- A knowing idealism: the decisive asymmetry -- The primeval history: spiritually accurate, realistic, and profound.
Summary:
This innovative, broad-ranging book by William Greenway unfolds a biblical spirituality centering on love for all creation and all creatures. Greenway rereads the creation and flood narratives in Genesis from an overtly creature-loving perspective that not only inspires care for creation and its creatures but also reveals sophisticated understandings of faith, grace, and evil vital for twenty-first-century spirituality. Comparing the ancient Israelite cosmology of Genesis with the ancient Babylonian cosmology of the Enuma Elish and with the modern Darwinian cosmology of Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, Greenway shows how Genesis extends far beyond those cosmologies in its discernment of the transcending, gracious love of God. Standing at the intersection of animal rights, "green" biblical studies, and philosophical theology, Greenway's For the Love of All Creatures is a groundbreaking work that will interest and inform a wide range of readers.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.