The Green Psalter

Resources for an Ecological Spirituality

Arthur Walker-Jones

Fortress Press

Minneapolis

The Green Psalter

Resources for an Ecological Spirituality

Copyright © 2009 Fortress Press, an imprint of Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical article or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Visit http://www.augsburgfortress.org/copyrights/contact.asp or write to Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440.

Unless noted otherwise, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover Image: “Tree in the Desert,” © Claudia Dewald/iStockphoto

Cover design: Laurie Ingram

Book design: PerfecType, Nashville, Tenn.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Walker-Jones, Arthur.

The Green Psalter: resources for an ecological spirituality / Arthur Walker-Jones.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8006-6302-5 (alk. paper)

1. Bible. O.T. Psalms—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Ecotheology. I. Title.

BS1430.52.W33 2009

261.8’8—dc22

Contents

Introduction

Christianity and Ecology

Dualisms and Ecojustice

Green Biblical Interpretation

Metaphors and Society

Northrop Frye

Reading the Psalms

Chapter 1: “Like a Tree Planted”: Wisdom Psalms

The Wicked and Righteous

Two Paths

A Tree

Destination

“You Save Humans and Animals Alike”

Chapter 2: “God, My Rock”: Individual Laments

Genre

An Implied Narrative

Enemies and Wild Animals

The Divine Warrior

A Narrative Pattern in Laments

The Battle against Death

Popular Culture

God as Rock

Chapter 3: Making Peace with Leviathan: Community Laments

Genre

Characters

Plot

Divine Warrior

Moby Dick and Free Willy

Chapter 4: “The Lord, Maker of Heaven and Earth”: Creation and Its Importance

Definition of Creation

The Shape of the Psalter

God as Ruler and Creator

Maker of Heaven and Earth

Creation Characteristic of Hymns

Chapter 5: “Food to the Hungry”: Hymns and Liberation

Psalm 33

Enthronement Psalms

Psalm 104

Justice in Psalms 145–150

Chapter 6: “Let Earth Rejoice”: Ecojustice in Hymns

Voice and Intrinsic Value of Earth

Psalm 93

Psalm 95

Psalm 96

Psalms 97 and 98

Psalm 104

Psalms 145–150

Ecojustice

Imagery and Implied Narrative

The Psalter’s Story

Social Order

Ecological Order

The Song of a River

Summary and Conclusions

Selected Bibliography

Index of Authors and Subjects

Index of Scripture Citations

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About The Green Psalter: Resources for an Ecological Spirituality

Concern for the earth and biblical faith have had an uneasy relationship. Ecological theologians have often cited biblical themes of dominion or “mastery” over the land as contributing to our present environmental crisis. Walker-Jones explores important genres and metaphors in the Psalms for earth, the environment, and living things, while tracing their influence in contemporary culture, for example, in recent films. He shows that the Psalms, like the earth that is our home—can be dangerous but also provide wonderful resources for life.

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