The A Rocha Blog

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.

30th September 2012 | Dave Bookless | 15 comments

What’s the future for planet Earth?

I’ve grown up with the future according to Hollywood: visions of a scary, dystopian future with a world devastated and destroyed. It’s not surprising that popular Christian literature has followed suit. For years I assumed the central assumption was true: that this world would be destroyed completely when Christ returned in judgment. But as I started reading the Bible myself, my questions grew.

Categories: Questions
Tags: catastrophe future movies
18th September 2012 | Peter Harris | 11 comments

Smelling a Stradivarius (or how to value 100 endangered species)

“The ‘what can nature do for us’ approach has made it increasingly difficult for conservationists to protect the most threatened species on the planet. We have an important moral and ethical decision to make: Do these species have a right to survive or do we have a right to drive them to extinction?”

Categories: Reflections
Tags: conservation extinction IUCN priorities valuing nature
31st August 2012 | Dave Bookless | 20 comments

Songs and hymns I hate to sing

When I preach for A Rocha, the hymn ‘How great Thou art’ is often chosen. It’s often voted amongst all-time favourites, and verse two makes it an obvious choice for the Christian conservationist. Yet, whilst I love the tune and many of the lyrics, my heart sinks every time I hear the last verse…

Categories: Reflections
Tags: music theology
15th August 2012 | Leah Kostamo | 2 comments

Sabbath simplicity

My family keeps the Sabbath. Not religiously—as in, we don’t always do religious things. But we are pretty religious about “keeping” it. Our only hard and fast rule is no shopping. The point is, we say “no” to certain things. We step out of our normal rhythms of work and commerce and step into a new way of being.

Categories: Reflections
Tags: busyness rest Sabbath time
12th July 2012 | Miranda Harris | 10 comments

Family trees

We just got back from a family reunion, quite a big one – huge in fact. One branch of the family couldn’t make it, and one much-loved sister stayed behind to care for a very sick brother, but about 80 others travelled from all over the globe, eager to reconnect with each other. We rented a conference centre in the Netherlands, and slept in dormitories or small cabins in the woods.

Categories: Stories
Tags: community family
30th June 2012 | Dave Bookless | 5 comments

The poor or the planet: which comes first?

Forty years ago there was a huge debate amongst evangelical Christians. Is the gospel simply about ‘spiritual’ matters or does it include care for the poor and oppressed? That debate was won by the power of scripture. Today there’s renewed debate. Is the Gospel – God’s good news – only for people, or is it good news for all creation?

Categories: Questions
Tags: poverty priorities
31st May 2012 | Dave Bookless | 18 comments

Mission: Saving souls or saving seals?

A friend emailed me this week: “The Great Commission is clearly about making disciples, and not about ecology or creation care. It’s alright that churches get involved in taking care of the planet, but evangelism and discipleship come first. So, it’s not that we don’t save seals, but we do so after we’ve saved souls.” This email touched a nerve.

Categories: Questions
Tags: Gospel priorities