“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” —Gen. 1:31
New Bible Shows How God Was the Original Environmentalist —and How the World’s Most Influential Book Urges Us to Sustain Our Planet
The Cover For The Green Bible
In a publishing first this fall, HarperOne will release The Green Bible (NRSV), a Green-Letter Edition that is the definitive Bible for the growing creation care movement (HarperOne, $29.95, October 2008). It shows just how green God is, with green ink highlighting the more than 1,000 passages that speak to God’s love for creation and the scriptural mandate for humans to care for, protect, and heal the earth.
Produced in an eco-friendly printing process with soy-based inks, recycled paper, and a 100% cotton/linen cover, The Green Bible is packed with special features tracing environmental themes woven through Scripture. Essays by a range of voices offer an ecumenical perspective on eco-justice and the Bible’s message for the earth, including a foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu; author Brian McLaren on the theological shift toward creation care; preacher Barbara Brown Taylor on our responsibility to care for what God loves; the late pope John Paul II on the ecological crisis as a moral problem; Jewish environmentalist Ellen Bernstein on ten principles of creation theology; and Anglican Bishop of Durham, England N.T. Wright on how we must be God’s agents in bringing forth environ-mental renewal today.
“That the Bible has a profound message of sustainability—some might argue, the original message—is not all that surprising. What is surprising is that it is not one of the first things that comes to mind when most folks think about the Bible and its message,” says Mark Tauber, senior vice president and publisher of HarperOne. “This Bible seeks to change that fact. We believe that the unique and specially added features by some of today’s most important thinkers, writers and leaders,across the ecumenical spectrum make it a must-have for those who already find motivation, comfort and inspiration in it and for the many more who might see it freshly as a critical resource in their journey to sustain our planet.”
Get more info at the official website for the book [www.greenletterbible.com].
The Bible “is an ecological handbook on how to live rightly on earth,” says conservationist Cal DeWitt, one of the contributors.
A poem by renowned poet and conservationist Wendell Berry serves as the epigraph. Matthew Sleeth, M.D., Executive Director of Blessed Earth and author of Serve God, Save the Planet wrote the introduction. Sleeth notes that the Bible begins and ends with a tree: “The tree of life forms the bookends of the scriptures; together with branches, vines, leaves and bushes, they punctuate a thousand passages.”
The Green Bible illuminates God’s vision for creation through these unique features:
• an introduction to reading Scripture through a green lens, including what Jesus had to say about the environment;
• a historical overview of Christian teachings on creation, from St. Augustine to C.S. Lewis, showing how these themes have been present throughout church history;
• Green Bible Trail study guides, which lead through Bible passages that touch on six green themes found in Scriptures;
• a green subject index that includes listings of Bible passages that cover such topics as animals, caring for your neighbor, land and water;
• a resource guide with suggestions for how to get involved in the green movement, how to start a group in your church, and simple ways to practice creation care in daily life.
The Green Bible is an edition of The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), the most widely accepted and most accurate translation of the Bible. Used and approved by all three branches of the church, Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox, it is the official translation for most denominations. A direct descendant of the King James and RSV Bibles, the NRSV passes on the richest and most influential works in the English language while thoroughly updating words, phrases and grammar so contemporary readers will have no difficulty reading the text.
Check out the Green Bible Video on Youtube [www.youtube.com]
About HarperOne
HarperOne, a division of HarperCollinsPublishers, strives to be the preeminent publisher of the most important books and authors across the full spectrum of religion, spirituality, and personal growth literature, adding to the wealth of the world’s wisdom by stirring the waters of reflection on the primary questions of life, while respecting all traditions.
About HarperCollinsPublishers
HarperCollins, one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups around the world including the HarperCollins General Books Group, HarperCollins Children’s Books Group, Zondervan, HarperCollins UK, HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins Australia/New Zealand and HarperCollins India. HarperCollins is a broad-based publisher with strengths in literary and commercial fiction, business books, children’s books, cookbooks, mystery, romance, reference, religious and spiritual books. With nearly 200 years of history HarperCollins has published some of the world’s foremost authors and has won numerous awards including the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott. Consistently at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement, HarperCollins is the first publisher to digitize its content and create a global digital warehouse to protect the rights of its authors, meet consumer demand and generate additional business opportunities. You can visit HarperCollinsPublishers on the Internet at www.harpercollins.com.
