This Earthly Life Matters: The Promise of Arnold A. van Ruler for Ecotheology
Ebook
Arnold A. van Ruler was one of the most original Dutch Reformed theologians of the twentieth century. Through the term "re-creation" (Dutch: herschepping) he offers a radical affirmation of God's sustained loyalty to that which is material, bodily, and earthly. God's work of salvation and of consummation is necessary but then for the sake of creation. The path that he followed was diametrically opposed to that of Karl Barth and is also distinct from that of Jurgen Moltmann (who was influenced by Van Ruler). As an early exponent of Christian ecotheology, Van Ruler's oeuvre provides exceptionally rich resources for contemporary debates.
This volume offers an English translation of selected essays by Van Ruler on the themes of God, creation, providence, humanity, sin, this earthly life, and animal protection. It includes some famous essays, for example, on God and chaos, the "sunny side of sin," joy as the fundamental Christian attitude to life, and this earthly life. The selection is based on volume 3 of the Dutch scholarly edition of Van Ruler's Collected Works (published in 11 volumes). Few of Van Ruler's texts are available in English, so this volume provides a welcome addition.
“First it was Kuyper, then Bavinck followed—and now it is time for a third Dutch theologian to be rediscovered and appropriated by the American audience: Arnold van Ruler. This selection of his theological essays, sketching the contours of an ecologically sensitive Christian doctrine of creation, could not be timelier. Indeed, as editor Ernst Conradie rightly points out, Van Ruler’s theology displays ‘the most radical and consistent affirmation of creatureliness imaginable.’”
—Gijsbert van den Brink, professor of theology and science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
“Welcome to a promising series! A wise choice as first volume. More of this intriguing thinker still so silent in English. This volume includes helpful introductions, well-chosen essays, instructive annotations, inspired translation (from wordplays to hymns), fascinating thoughts on joy and play and chaos and life (indeed, to proto-ecotheology), and talk about ‘the marvel of existence,’ ‘matter is holy,’ ‘sin’s sunny side,’ ‘this earthly life matters,’ and yes, ‘reality as God’s joke—and a good one.’ Creative, challenging, and more than welcome!”
—Dirk Smit, professor of reformed theology and public life, Princeton Theological Seminary
“With this excellent collection of essays, expertly translated by Douglas G. Lawrie, leading eco-theologian Ernst Conradie offers a much-needed and long-awaited retrieval of ecotheological themes in the work of the Dutch reformed theologian Arnold van Ruler (1908–70). What emerges is a theology that puts humanity’s need for divine grace at work towards the affirmation of the integrity of earthly life, precisely in its creatureliness. This book is an indispensable resource for Protestant ecotheology!”
—Hilda P. Koster, associate professor in ecological theology, Regis St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto
- Title: This Earthly Life Matters: The Promise of Arnold A. van Ruler for Ecotheology
- Authors: Ernst M. Conradie, Dirk van Keulen, Arnold A. van Ruler, Douglas G. Lawrie
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666764437, 9781666764413, 1666764418, 9781666764420, 1666764426, 1666764434
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666764437
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-06-20T23:08:55Z
Arnold van Ruler (1908–70) was a major Dutch Reformed systematic theologian based at the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands.
Ernst M. Conradie (1962–) is based at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. He is currently working on a series of twelve envisaged edited volumes in the field of Christian ecotheology, entitled An Earthed Faith: Telling the Story amid the “Anthropocene.”