"Love God, Heal Earth" book review from Amazon.com
GLT
With the publication of "Love God, Heal Earth", the Rev. Canon Sally
Bingham of San Francisco, a prime mover in the burgeoning religious
response to global warming and other environmental issues, has put
together a timely and thought-provoking collection of 21 well-written
essays by a diverse group of religious and spiritual leaders.
This rapidly growing grassroots movement is not just concerned with
talking about global warming; these people are on the front lines
every day making a huge difference in the battle against climate
change - a battle whose stakes are no less than the survival of
humankind and the health of our planet!
Never before has there been such a unity of purpose and concerted
effort by religious leaders of every faith and belief working
together; this unity is being put to work solving the very immediate
and very real problem of global warming, the most pressing issue
facing the world today and one which affects virtually every other
important social and political issue of our times.
The Rev. Canon Bingham is the founder of The Regeneration Project,
whose mission is to deepen the connection between ecology and faith.
The Regeneration Project has in turn spawned (as of this writing) 29
individual state Interfaith Power & Light (IPL) groups, all of which
are working to combat global warming through direct action, education
and advocacy. Collectively the various IPLs have prevented more than
30,000,000 pounds of carbon emissions by their constituent groups.
This movement is not like other environmental groups; it is not led by
traditional "tree-huggers" but instead by serious religious and
spiritual leaders of every faith and denomination. These religious
leaders have come to the realization that global warming and other
environmental issues affecting the Earth are so dangerous that it has
become a moral imperative for them to use their pulpits and every
other resource at their disposal to warn us about these impending
disasters and to offer us constructive ways to solve these problems.
As the Rev. Bingham says, "My purpose for this book is...to provide
the hope we need to persevere and keep on looking for solutions."
The book's overarching theme of hope is reinforced in the introduction
by the Rev. Bingham as she writes: "We hope that you will be struck by
the knowledge that there are religious leaders doing wonderful,
creative work to heal Earth from further destruction."
No matter what creed, religion or spiritual belief informs your
everyday life, it is evident that our Earth, this marvelous Creation,
is a gift to us from God - whatever you may call Him or Her - and we
all need to make changes in our individual lives in order to become
good stewards and take proper care of this incredible gift instead of
destroying it through thoughtless and careless actions.
Among the distinguished religious leaders who contributed to this book
are:
The Rev. Richard Cizik, one of the most prominent Evangelical
political consultants in the country and a former Vice President for
Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals. The
Rev. Cizik says that "...I now see that we need a cultural and
spiritual transformation (to solve our environmental problems)."
Rabbi Daniel Swartz, spiritual leader of Temple Hesed in Scranton, PA,
who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Children's
Environmental Health Network, a national organization devoted to
protecting children from environmental health hazards states "One of
our core `environmental' values as people of faith is that all of
us...are Children of the Creator and worth protecting from
environmental disasters...even those who disagree with us!"
Imam Achmat Salie of the Muslim Unity Center in Bloomfield Hills, MI
and founder of the Islamic Studies program at Oakland University says
"My faith in the Qu'ran and the example of the Prophet form the basis
of my identity as a Muslim environmentalist. I'm concerned about human
and civil rights, creation and earth rights as well as planetary
rights."
Whatever your religious or spiritual beliefs, this book will serve as
an enlightening and encouraging look at the rapidly growing interfaith
response to global warming and other ecological problems.
It also serves as a remarkable testament to what extraordinary results
can be achieved when faith and action are joined together and enliven
the efforts of millions of ordinary people who are each helping to
save the planet.