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All Posts By

Susan Bratton

Review Essays

Theological Foundations for Creation Care: Replacing Apathy and Despair with Hope and Christian Virtues — A Review Essay

Andrew J. Spencer’s and Steven Bouma-­Prediger’s recent releases applying Christian theology to contemporary environmental problems share similar goals and face common constraints. As trade paperbacks, both books are intended to motivate an indifferent or skeptical Christian readership and theologically equip students to address hot-­button political topics. The authors self-­identify as Evangelical, utilize the language of…
Susan Bratton
November 6, 2024
Blog

Marine Contaminants, Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology: The Virtues of Christian Vigilance and Accountability

Over the decades, Christian environmental exploration and activism have focused on some issues far more than others. Interest in international missions, the continuation of farming as an honored profession in many Christian communities, and the availability of clear Biblical guidance have driven a solid and thoughtful presence in the realms of food production and sustainable…
Susan Bratton
October 21, 2021
Blog

Expanding the Christian Boundaries of Environmental Studies: Chicana Novels as Environmental Literature and African American Spirituals as Nature Poetry

One of the problems Christians face in engaging today’s environmental challenges is appreciating the depth and breadth of our heritage. I’ll confess to a gap in my teaching. In the past, when I was assigning supplemental readings for environmental studies courses, I tended to stick to titles, like A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold, that are…
Susan Bratton
August 17, 2021
Blog

Insecurity, Skepticism toward Science, and Christian Environmental Leadership

Since the U.S. environmental movement gained momentum in the 1960s, religious scholars and cultural critics have periodically portrayed Christianity as the progenitor of the worst of the Anthropocene. Rather than grouch about culture wars or academic one-upmanship, however, it is ethically more constructive to grapple with Christian failures in providing leaders capable of unraveling “wicked…
Susan Bratton
March 17, 2021