Dave is Director of Theology for A Rocha International, where he works to embed creation care into international Christian organizations, theological institutions, and mission movements. His past roles with A Rocha include being an International Trustee and the co-founder of A Rocha UK (with his wife Anne). He has a PhD from Cambridge University on biblical theology and biodiversity conservation, and has contributed to many books and articles, including Planetwise, available in six languages. Born and raised in India, Dave has a love for Indian food, Indian culture and Indian Christianity. Dave is also a qualified bird-ringer and loves birding, islands, running and mountains.
Sometimes the Christian Gospel is described as a universal message that speaks to all cultures. I profoundly disagree! The Gospel is not a set of abstract philosophical concepts that are […]
History is written in the landscapes of the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. Baalbek with its magnificent Roman ruins, more ancient rounded hills known as tells, and long rusted barbed wire and tank emplacements. For good or ill we leave our mark on the land long after we have gone. Can people tell what we believe about God from what we write in the landscape?
Most places that we know around the world have witnessed what has been called a ‘thinning of life’. How anyone lives experiences like this will, of course, depend on what kind of person they are. Miranda and I have an arts training and background, and at times our response to these multiple losses has been emotional and quite personal.
The grand drama of Easter took place as a three-day-event around the special Shabbat during Passover. Holy Saturday is the least remembered day of the Easter Mystery: after Good Friday and before Easter Sunday. Yet all of Jesus’ claims and actions regarding Sabbath point to this climactic place in time.
As I spent time in homes and churches in Cape Town, talking to ordinary residents, faith leaders and a few politicians and experts, I found myself reflecting on the issues this water crisis reveals, so here are a few personal thoughts as a result of many conversations and wide-ranging reading.
Advent and Christmas remind us that the Christ-child came to bring peace. We remember that we need peace with God, and we remember that we need peace with our neighbor. But does Christ’s birth have anything to do with bringing peace between us and animals – does the advent mean goodwill to manatees?
Biology professor R. Alexander Pyron argues that ‘The only reason we should conserve biodiversity is for ourselves, to create a stable future for human beings.’ At the heart of this is a belief that humanity is the sole species that matters, and possesses not only the creative technological capacity but also the moral will to solve all of its own problems. This is the neo-religious myth of human progress, rooted in neither science nor logic.
With most of the population now living in cities, Harvest festivals can seem archaic and quaint. At its worst Harvest can simply be a longing for a mythical rural idyll that never really existed, yet I believe we need to celebrate Harvest today more than ever. Here’s why.
It is easy to get increasingly technical about the year in, year out, work of nature conservation. So, from time to time it is good to be reminded, in an entirely different register, of what we are dealing with, of what creation is.
I recently returned from a lecturing visit to Hong Kong, Beijing and Yanji. Speaking about environmental sustainability to students and professors in three such very different contexts got me thinking afresh about China’s place in the world and its significance. My thoughts here are inevitably personal and subjective.
