Howard A. Snyder

I'm 100% behind the thrust of this book, but it is very poorly executed. The background historical material is sloppy to the point of caricature and the background theological work is often shallow (and just plain inaccurate at times, especially when setting out eschatological issues. I'm a-mill myself, but if anyone reading this is historical pre-mill, they will be extremely unhappy to find all pre-mill positions lumped in with dispensationalism). It turns out, though, that this earlier 'background' part of the book is where the focus is most fully on themes of the healing of creation and overcoming the disjunct between earth and heaven. When we reach the constructive ideas in the latter half, the material is repetitive and unfocussed, and what is supposed to be the main theme of the book often fades from view. It ends up being far more about the church and mission in general, often with only token connections to the themes of the title. It seems as though the author/s could not decide how to weave together the material on ecclesiology, creation, and soteriology, and could not keep the focus on what the title leads us to expect. This might have been a very good and helpful book. As it is, it's all over the place, with a few basic, too-often-repeated, but mostly undeveloped creation / creation care related themes. Very disappointing.… (plus d'informations)

This book is not terrible, and it's certainly better than its unfortunate title would suggest. The first half is actually a quite good summary of the Pocahontas story, if you don't mind that it's basically a 'Pocahontas aggregator' in that it takes the best bits from more in-depth books, like the ones by Price, Rountree and Townsend.

As the title informs us, the book has a Christian agenda, and it's really marketed to them, presumably at Christian bookstores and the like. I read the book because I'm trying to keep up with pretty much everything printed on Pocahontas and the Jamestown story. If you're Christian and you desperately want to know more about what catechism she may have used, this book is for you.… (plus d'informations)

Snyder has done something remarkable here. He has distilled the entire Bible into four words: Salvation Means Creation Healed. This book unpacks that idea.

For Snyder, our understanding of God's salvation is far too limited. We understand salvation primarily as the salvation of individual humans, not the complete restoration of creation indicated by Romans 8 and Revelation 21. There are many reasons for our limited view of salvation—Snyder challenges everything from Neo-Platonism to Premillennial Dispensationalism.

The problem of sin is greater than we realized. It doesn't just effect humanity's relationship with God—it includes the suffering of all creation. When we focus exclusively on the salvation of human souls while neglecting our ecological responsibility to God's creation, we're missing out on part of God's desire to see his will accomplished "on earth as it is in heaven."

Snyder's diagnosis is accurate and his vision of salvation breathtaking in breadth. Still, I couldn't help but feel that he had to twist scripture that didn't quite fit in order to cram it into his framework. As ecology begins to trump theology by the end of the book you see quotes like this from Amber Medin:

"After my eco-conversion, I found I had added an entirely new dimension to my sacramental living. . . . I am beginning to view myself as part of the created order rather than the pinnacle of it, as a member of a worshipful orchestra rather than the principal soloist. I am learning to worship the Creator, rather than myself, just one of His creations" (205).

On one hand, this quote reflects a biblical truth: humans were created on the sixth day of creation along with all the rest of the animals. On the other hand, we humans have been gifted with the breath of God and installed as his icon-bearers in this world. We are one of His many creations, but we're never just one them.

Read this book. While it may swing the pendulum a little too far, it's an important corrective to our creation-denying society.… (plus d'informations)