The Comforting Whirlwind
God, Job, and the Scale of Creation
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In The Comforting Whirlwind, acclaimed environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben turns to the biblical book of Job and its awesome depiction of creation to demonstrate our need to embrace a bold new paradigm for living if we hope to reverse the current trend of ecological destruction.
With reference to the consequences of our poorly considered and self-centered environmental practices—global warming, ozone degradation, deforestation—McKibben combines modern science and timeless biblical wisdom to make the case that growth and economic progress are not only undesirable but deadly. If we continue to accelerate the pace of development, we will inevitably complete the “decreation” of our planet and everything on it, including ourselves.
In his signature lyrical prose, and using Stephen Mitchell’s powerful translation of Job, McKibben calls readers to truly appreciate both the majesty of creation and humanity’s rightful—and responsible—place in it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist/environmentalist McKibben ( The End of Nature ) here performs, as a challenge to current thinking about the environmental crisis in the West, a provocative reading of the book of Job. Blaming a prevailing consumer capitalism which claims that ``more is better'' and ``economic growth is unquestionably good'' for humankind's neglect of the natural world, McKibben argues that such a worldview also produces a destructive kind of individualism in which humanity locates itself proudly at the center of the universe. Taking Job's encounter with God in the whirlwind as a model, McKibben urges instead an approach to nature that is grounded in joyous celebration of its wonder and beauty as well as in a humbler perception of our place in it. While this book is marred by repetitive writing and its readings of Job are often narrow, it nonetheless offers a powerful statement.
