Cosmology, ecology, and the energy of God

213 Pages·2012·0.979 MB·English

by  Bowman, Donna, Crockett, Clayton

Cosmology, Ecology,
and the Energy of God
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Cosmology, Ecology,
and the Energy of God
Edited by
Donna Bowman a nd Clayton Crockett
fordham university press
New York 2012
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Copyright © 2012 Fordham University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
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Fordham University Press has no responsibility for the
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Fordham University Press also publishes its books in a
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Interdisciplinary Conference on Theology and Energy
(2009 : University of Central Arkansas and Hendrix
College) Cosmology, ecology, and the energy of God /
edited by Donna Bowman and Clayton Crockett. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8232-3895-8 (cloth : alk. paper) —
isbn 978-0-8232-3896-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Nature—Religious aspects—Congresses.
2. Ecotheology—Congresses. 3. Power resources—
Miscellanea—Congresses. 4. Cosmology—Congresses.
I. Bowman, Donna. II. Crockett, Clayton, 1969– III. Title.
bl65.n35i57 2009
201'.77—dc23
2011026673
Printed in the United States of America
14 13 12 5 4 3 2 1
First edition
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For Norb
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contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction
donna bowman and clayton crockett 1
Part I engaging physical sciences
1. The Energy We Are: A Meditation in Seven Pulsations
catherine keller 11
2. The Fire Each Time: Dark Energy and the Breath
of Creation
mary-jane rubenstein 26
3. Solar Energy: Theophany and the Theopoetics of Light
in Gregory of Nyssa
t. wilson dickinson 42
4. Beyond Heat: Energy for Life
clayton crockett 59
5. Emergence, Energy, and Openness:
A Viable Agnostic Theology
whitney bauman 70
Part II engaging ecology and culture
6. Ecological Civilizations: Obstacles to, and Prospects
for, Religiously Informed Sustainability Movements
in a Post-American World
jay mcdaniel 87
7. “One More Stitch”: Relational Productivity
and Creative Energy
donna bowman 106
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viii Contents
8. Energy, Ecology, and Intensive Alliance:
Bringing Earth Back to Heaven
luke b. higgins 121
9. “Go Big or Go Home”: A Critique of the Western
Concept of Energy/Power and a Theological Alternative
oz lorentzen 141
10. God Is Green; or, A New Theology of Indulgence
jeffrey w. robbins 151
Notes 163
List of Contributors 191
Index of Names and Titles 195
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acknowledgments
The editors thank Helen Tartar at Fordham University Press for her in-
terest in and support of this project, as well as two encouraging and help-
ful readers for the press. This volume emerged from the Interdisciplinary
Conference on Theology and Energy (ICTE) held in February 2009 at the
University of Central Arkansas (UCA) and Hendrix College. We thank
the sponsors of this conference, including UCA Honors College, UCA
Department of Philosophy and Religion, UCA College of Liberal Arts,
UCA Humanities and World Cultures Institute, Hendrix College Steel
Center for the Study of Religion, and the American Academy of Religion.
We would also like to thank the participants and attendees of this confer-
ence, including the contributors to this book, as well as Don Viney, Kevin
Mequet, and Andrew Saldino.
ix
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