Creation and the Cross: The Mercy of God for a Planet in Peril
by Elizabeth Johnson
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Book Description




In this fresh creative approach to theology, Elizabeth Johnson asks how we can understand cosmic redemption in a time of advancing ecological devastation. In effect, how can we extend the core Christian belief in salvation to include all created beings? Immediately this question runs into a formidable obstacle: the idea that Jesus’s death on the cross was required as atonement for human sin—a theology laid out by the eleventh-century theologian St. Anselm. Constructing her argument (like Anselm) in the form of a dialogue, Johnson lays out the foundations in scripture, the teachings of Jesus, and the early Church for an understanding that emphasizes the love and mercy of God, showing how this approach can help us respond to a planet in peril.

Published by Orbis Books

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About the author
New York City native Elizabeth A. Johnson, CSJ, is Distinguished Professor of Theology Emerita at Fordham University. She loves to think, write, and teach about religious matters. This has led her to give public lectures on every continent, while her books and articles have been translated into thirteen languages. A former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, she has received honorary doctorates from fifteen universities, including St. Paul University, Ottawa, and University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto.
Elizabeth Johnson is by far my favorite contemporary Catholic theologian. In her superb new book, which takes the form of a lively dialogue, she addresses the essential issues of sin, forgiveness and redemption. She does so in her trademark style: with vast learning, sparkling clarity, and breathtaking insights. A signal contribution to modern theology.


— James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage