Like no other religious thinker, Thomas Berry has been a prophetic voice regarding Earth's destruction and the urgent need for human response from the Christian community. This book collects Berry's signature views on the interrelatedness of both Earth's future and the Christian future. He ponders why Christians have been late in coming to the issue of the environment. He reflects insightfully on how the environment must be seen as a religious issue, not simply a scientific or economic problem.

In powerful and poetic language Berry presents a compelling vision of the sacredness of the universe and the interrelatedness of the Earth community. Drawing on Thomas Aquinas and Teilhard de Chardin he brings the Christian tradition into a cosmology of care for the whole of creation.

The increasing awareness of environmental issues as ultimately moral issues has led to the intersection of religion and environment. Sacramental Commons presents a unique way of looking at this topic by relating the Christian word "sacrament" (signs of divine presence) to the term "commons" (shared place and shared goods, among people and between people and the natural world), suggesting that local natural settings and local communities can be a source for respect and compassion. Sacramental Commons uses Earth-oriented biblical teachings, and ideas from such thinkers as Hildegard, St. Francis, John Muir, and Black Elk, to provide insights about divine immanence in creation, human commitments to creation, and human accountability to the Spirit, Earth, and biotic community. It extends the concept of "natural rights" beyond humans to include all nature, and affirms intrinsic value in ecosystems in whole and in part. Sacramental Commons declares that the Earth commons and its goods should be shared equitably by human communities and individuals living in interdependent relationships with other members of the community of life. It suggests essential values that will stimulate care for the commons, and embodies them in principles of an innovative Christian Ecological Ethics.

The increasing awareness of environmental issues as ultimately moral issues has led to the intersection of religion and environment. Sacramental Commons presents a unique way of looking at this topic by relating the Christian word 'sacrament' (signs of divine presence) to the term 'commons' (shared place and shared goods, among people and between people and the natural world), suggesting that local natural settings and local communities can be a source for respect and compassion. Sacramental Commons uses Earth-oriented biblical teachings, and ideas from such thinkers as Hildegard, St. Francis, John Muir, and Black Elk, to provide insights about divine immanence in creation, human commitments to creation, and human accountability to the Spirit, Earth, and biotic community. It extends the concept of 'natural rights' beyond humans to include all nature, and affirms intrinsic value in ecosystems in whole and in part. Sacramental Commons declares that the Earth commons and its goods should be shared equitably by human communities and individuals living in interdependent relationships with other members of the community of life. It suggests essential values that will stimulate care for the commons, and embodies them in principles of an innovative Christian Ecological Ethics.

A leading scholar, cultural historian, and Catholic priest who spent more than fifty years writing about our engagement with the Earth, Thomas Berry possessed prophetic insight into the rampant destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of species. In this book he makes a persuasive case for an interreligious dialogue that can better confront the environmental problems of the twenty-first century. These erudite and keenly sympathetic essays represent Berry's best work, covering such issues as human beings' modern alienation from nature and the possibilities of future, regenerative forms of religious experience. Asking that we create a new story of the universe and the emergence of the Earth within it, Berry resituates the human spirit within a sacred totality.

This landmark work, first published by Sierra Club Books in 1988, has established itself as a foundational volume in the ecological canon. In it, noted cultural historian Thomas Berry provides nothing less than a new intellectual-ethical framework for the human community by positing planetary well-being as the measure of all human activity.Drawing on the wisdom of Western philosophy, Asian thought, and Native American traditions, as well as contemporary physics and evolutionary biology, Berry offers a new perspective that recasts our understanding of science, technology, politics, religion, ecology, and education. He shows us why it is important for us to respond to the Earth's need for planetary renewal, and what we must do to break free of the  technological trance" that drives a misguided dream of progress. Only then, he suggests, can we foster mutually enhancing human-Earth relationships that can heal our traumatized global biosystem.

The relevance of this book is enhanced rather than diminished by the years since its original publication. The human situation has become even more critical. We are moving from a period of industrial plundering of the planet into a more intimate way of relating to the planet. We can no longer violate the integrity of Earth without becoming a destructive force for both the surrounding world and for ourselves.

From the big bang to the present and into the next millenium, The Universe Story unites science and the humanities in a dramatic exploration of the unfolding of the universe, humanity's evolving place in the cosmos, and the boundless possibilities for our future.

Nature's Spirit Messages is full of rich and entertaining stories and lessons about vision, self-mastery and spirituality through the author's life experiences and those of others. Rose Anne uses the powerful symbolism of her encounters with twelve animals to help her fully experience, struggle with, and come through important challenges in her life. Many readers will resonate with the book's vivid stories, which are sometimes painful and sometimes wonder-filled. The book shows how animals we meet in Nature are a wonderful way to connect with messages from the invisible world and our inner true Self. After reading Nature's Spirit Messages readers will be able to interpret their own unexpected visits from animal friends bearing guidance from Spirit. Transformation exercises at the end of each chapter will stimulate the reader to reflect on their own experiences and deepen their understanding.

The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.The Age of Enlightenment profoundly enriched religious and philosophical understanding and continues to influence present-day thinking. Works collected here include masterpieces by David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as well as religious sermons and moral debates on the issues of the day, such as the slave trade. The Age of Reason saw conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism transformed into one between faith and logic -- a debate that continues in the twenty-first century.++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++<sourceLibrary>British Library<ESTCID>N066069<Notes><imprintFull>Paris: printed for, and sold by the author, 1765]. <collation>48p.; 12

To put animals and nature, the Earth's life community, first, and not just our own species, is a new way of thinking. It is a major evolutionary step for Homo sapiens. This book takes the reader beyond the polemics of animal rights and the imperatives of environmental protection into the deeper realms of animal consciousness, the 'empathosphere.' and the healing powers of nature where the call for humane planetary stewardship and enlightened self-interest converge. Written by a veterinarian with doctoral degrees in medicine and animal behavior, and with a lifetime of advocating animal and environmental protection, this book addresses the dictum of Socrates that "a life unexamined is a life unlived." Exploring values, perceptions and beliefs that are embedded historically in our culture from various religious, political, economic and social roots, Animals and Nature First shows why and how this new way of thinking and relating to other living beings is ultimately enlightened self-interest. It is an integral aspect of our recovery, economically, socially, politically and spiritually. Animal well-being and the health of the natural environment are inseparable from the health, well-being and the ultimate fate of humanity.

Thomas Berry is one of the most eminent cultural historians of our time. Here he presents the culmination of his ideas and urges us to move from being a disrupting force on the Earth to a benign presence. This transition is the Great Work -- the most necessary and most ennobling work we will ever undertake. Berry's message is not one of doom but of hope. He reminds society of its function, particularly the universities and other educational institutions whose role is to guide students into an appreciation rather than an exploitation of the world around them. Berry is the leading spokesperson for the Earth, and his profound ecological insight illuminates the path we need to take in the realms of ethics, politics, economics, and education if both we and the planet are to survive.

This illuminating survey explores the depth of spirit found in Buddhism by analyzing its history and philosophy. His eloquent and informative style brings the Western reader a complete understanding of the Buddhist interpretation of man's earthy life and spiritual destiny.