Overview

Full Product Details

9781928480563

Table of Contents

Reviews

Although modern life and Christianity have not drastically affected the sacred places, their religious systems and related practices, there is a decline in their popularity, in favour of Christianity, which has diverted people from the traditional practices and beliefs. The community still insists that these sacred spots are to be protected. Rock art and paintings can be a major economic force. But more fundamentally, the art is part of who the people are. It makes them feel complete. It links them to their past and expresses their ideas, thoughts and values. Some of the drawings are about their healing practices, which release comfort and satisfaction as they watch them. Some are about dances, associated with healing, thus engaging the mind and body into a spirit of dance and celebration. It is a symbol of collective identity, activity and history. Fidelis Nkomazana Associate Professor of Church History and Head of Department of Theology and Religious Studies University of Botswana Maybe it is no accident that the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil is also the Tree of Life. From the beginnings of life on earth, poor people come to know the world amidst multiple oppressions that frame their struggle for survival. For the poor Jewish farmer, it was the climate, the arid land and the greed of rich landowners forcing them into bonded labour. This is the actual economic background of the book of Genesis. Nowadays, it is nuclear power, biotechnology, patenting of seeds, pollution on a gigantic scale, huge environmental disasters and global warming, all of which add obstacles to poor people's struggle for survival. Nature is neither the backcloth, nor the romantic escape from pollution, but the subject, object and fellow victim of human mismanagement. Hildah Mutwiri Lecturer, Environmental and Natural Resources Law, Kenyatta University Advocate of the High Court of Kenya It is indigenous peoples who show us how best we can be citizens in the land community and whose wisdom and knowledge, if taken seriously, can have an impact on the world we live in. They remain a storehouse of knowledge, which we ought to embrace and from which we should learn before what they know is no longer available to us. The Ogiek, like other indigenous communities, see the world in a different way and are a prophetic voice against the widespread consumerism that we see in our present society. They see the world and all that is within it as interconnected, with none being self-sufficient. Their values and spiritual attachment to the Mau Forest, if understood and taken seriously, have much to offer in the care of all creation. Loreen Maseno Senior Lecturer, Department of Religion, Theology and Philosophy Maseno University, Kenya Every living creature has the right to life. Everyone and the whole of the created world, as well as the right to life of future generations, are being eroded with climate change. Stewardship of the earth's resources is of the utmost importance. Advocacy on environmental issues is no longer an option. Rather everyone is compelled to act. We need to educate ourselves, each other and our children in new ecological values and responsibilities. Climate justice issues should be introduced in the catechism material of churches. Christians have a responsibility not to exercise dominion but to take care of all of creation in a responsible manner. Mary-Anne Plaatjies Van-Huffel Professor in Church History and Church Law Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Author Information

Senior Fellow, Center for Law and Religion Studies Emory University, U.S.A. Co-Editor and Special Content Editor Journal of Law and Religion Associate Editor Canopy Forum Publications Manager African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Botswana Associate Researcher at Stellenbosch University

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available