There was so much that I liked about this book, but it felt like the author tried to push so many extra things in that did not fit that it was really hard to read.

What I loved:
I love her take on eco-theology/eco-spirituality. Her pulling out agrarian and ecological themes throughout the Scriptures was beautiful and really thought provoking. The exercises she suggests at the end of the chapters were really great ways to engage with the ideas of eco spirituality and go deeper into our own ecological communities.

What I didn’t like:
It felt like she included diverse voices just to say she included diverse voices — even when they did not fit her own assertions. It felt very much like the Native American/Indigenous authors she referenced were in the original form of the book, but the added Liberation theology and Womanist writers felt like an editor said she needed to add more and they were shoved into where they sort of, but not really, fit.

What I really didn’t like:
For everything amazing about the eco spirituality aspect, there were so many instances where the basic facts of church history and theology were either misrepresented or just plain false that I really had a hard time reading this book. Maybe it’s because I studied church history, but I think not knowing the difference between Augustine and Pelagius is a big issue. I get what she was trying to say, but to make assertions that Augustine didn’t believe in grace and Pelagius did is just incorrect. Add to the factual inaccuracies of timeline and what liberation theology actually teaches, and I just had a hard time trusting her conclusions.

Overall, I think it’s an interesting read, albeit one where I had to take the good and leave the bad quite a lot. I feel like if all the unnecessary bits had been left out, she would have had an amazing book, but as is, 3 stars.

Werner calls readers to an embodied faith that is in tune with nature and our place within it. It’s a rallying cry to see God’s goodness in all of creation. I particularly enjoyed learning about faith traditions such as Celtic Christianity that have historically held the natural world in high regard.

I’m so grateful to Herald Press and NetGalley for allowing me an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It was a great blessing to me to reaffirm through this book that there are, indeed, other people who are motivated to care for the environment, and the creatures who live here with us, by their faith in God.

I grew up feeling ostracized from my church for being counter culture in the same ways. I never had the capitalist mindset and I always believed those who try to follow God’s will should be the most environmentally friendly people in the world. Sarah made me feel seen and encouraged. I underlined so many passages in this book! I loved how she explained the meaning of Sabbath and provided examples of how one might experience God through His creation.

I do have to mention that the e-book was a bit hard to adjust to because it wasn’t formatted properly. I will assume that this will be fixed in the finished version, but it did impact my reading experience just a tiny bit during my reading.

I will be rereading this book and recommending it.
I especially recommend this book to those who are new to the idea of experiencing God through His creation, as Sarah shares lots of great activities that aren’t taught in the traditional churches (but absolutely should be!).