Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading Of The Bible

by Ellen F. Davis

This book examines the theology and ethics of land use, especially the practices of modern industrialized agriculture, in light of critical biblical exegesis. Nine interrelated essays explore the biblical writers' pervasive concern for the care of arable land against the background of the geography, social structures, and religious thought of ancient Israel. This approach consistently brings out neglected aspects of texts, both poetry and prose, that are central to Jewish and Christian traditions. Rather than seeking solutions from the past, Davis creates a conversation between ancient texts and contemporary agrarian writers; thus she provides a fresh perspective from which to view the destructive practices and assumptions that now dominate the global food economy. The biblical exegesis is wide-ranging and sophisticated; the language is literate and accessible to a broad audience.

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction, Religion, Agriculture, Old Testament, Ecology, Sustainability

254 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Austin Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Queen Ellen engaging with Wendell Berry for a whole book, yeah its that good. Dense in the right places that I will have to circle around to. Paints the clear picture of ancient Israel's dependence and mutual dwelling in the land. (Caveat- should be subtitled "An Agrarian Reading of the Old Testament/ Hebrew Scriptures)

[Ian Caveny · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the outgrowth of my own personal investment in both the works of Wendell Berry and the deep study of the Old Testament, it seems only natural that I would eventually turn to this stirring combination of those two loves. Ellen F. Davis is perhaps the only theologian I could've imagined to approach the topics of agriculture and agrarianism from the biblical perspective and do so with such intensive mastery. The result of these two streams coming together is majestic, providing both a thorough on-ramp into a more grounded study of the Old Testament as it was written (i.e. from an agricultural perspective for both other agrarians and Babylon-like urbanizing forces) as well as for a direct critique of our culture's abstract, technological universalism. These critiques Davis articulates as the inheritance of both the late modern agrarians (Berry, et al.; including Wes Jackson and Norman Wirzba) and of the agrarians of the Old Testament (from diverse sources ranging from the Torah to the agrarian prophets Amos and Hosea to the author of the Song of Songs).

That there is a natural confluence between the work of, say, Wendell Berry and the agrarianism of the Old Testament should not be a surprise to the faithful readers of either. It does not take a studied intellectual to draw those two threads together. What Davis does masterfully in this volume, however, is draw out Berry's themes from the Old Testament milieu exegetically and inductively, rather than pressingly pursuing coalescence where there is none. For "post-agrarian" late moderns like us, the Old Testament can easily be reduced to "religious" or "cultural" "data," rather than as the theology of a lived people whose agricultural values are shaped by and shape their ethics.

This, at its core, is the chief contribution of Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: the consistent reminder that there is a direct line of reference between personal and social ethics and our cultural practices of eating (and sex too!; see Davis' final chapter on cities and her treatment of the Song of Songs). The Old Testament, more critically than we care to admit, sees the definitive crossroads of faith in the ancient Israelites' practices of eating and agriculture, something Davis reminds the reader time and again. Eating and agriculture are the distinctions between the Egypt slave-economy and the Israelite manna-economy; the distinctions between the land-economy of the Torah (and its just interpretations) and the royal centralized economy of Solomon and Ahab; the distinctions between the healthy city of Zion and the destructive city of Babylon. If it weren't for Davis' narrowed Old Testament focus, we could have gone onward to Eucharist in the New Testament as well (but that is a work for another text).

The most surprising section was the chapter on "good work" and its contrast, sloth. Davis articulates a Barthian vision of sloth as the sin of stupid work, as opposed to being the sin of no work; and this re-articulation enables a re-engagement with the goods of agrarian labor as "wisdom," in the terms of the Book of Proverbs (especially chapter 31).

Overall, Davis has provided both a captivating engagement between the late modern agrarians and their Old Testament predecessors as well as an invaluable resource for attentive reading of the Old Testament. Most useful for my purposes is the reminder of the agrarian agricultural valences of such prophets as Micah, Amos, and Hosea, and the assertion that faithful exegesis of these texts requires attention to their agrarian context.

[John Damon Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well done deep dive into the intrinsically agrarian nature of the Old testament. Davis (unfortunately no relation) does well to highlight the union between the physical soil and man's relationship to God. Her skill as a Hebrew scholar is well displayed if not at times a bit exhaustive. Although I did find there to be a disappointing lack of conclusion or directionality to some of what she explored in the book, Davis makes it very clear that she wrote it as an invitation for others to carry on the good work.

[Russell Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, deeply serious agrarian approach to Old Testament writings, one that I read in preparation for a class I will be teaching. Wendell Berry is her central guide to articulating the agrarian perspective, but her skill as an Old Testament scholar enables her to tease out that perspective whether through poetic contrast (as in Genesis) or in analogies between the Holiness Code of Leviticus and questions about genetically modified crops today. An excellent read.

[Andrew Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible. It's a hard read. I don't know if it's the way Davis writes, or if I just have trouble reading her style, but I found myself having to reread sections (and even single sentences) multiple times to fully comprehend what she was saying. If you're not familiar with biblical scholarship, this will be an extra challenging read—but it will be worth it. I learned so much about the Bible and the underlying attitudes and cultural assumptions of its authors. This will be invaluable for my teaching/preaching ministry, as well as my own day-to-day life, as I attempt to become a more responsible citizen of what Davis calls "the land community."

[Ethan Sink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is both thorough in its detail and sweeping in its scope. Davis compares how biblical writers view the earth and agriculture to the views of modern agrarian writers, and the similarities are fascinating. Essentially, Davis argues that our modern, industrialized system of agriculture is not only harmful to the environment, but also out of line with the biblical authors’ understanding of mankind’s place in creation. To demonstrate this, she evaluates a number of Old Testament texts over the course of nine essays. Her analysis of the texts is thorough but accessible, since she is writing not only to biblical scholars but also to those involved in agriculture. While she does not offer an agenda for how to recover the biblical vision of food production and economics, she focuses on providing a vision of how things could be, which is exactly what the biblical authors do.

Over the last several years, I’ve gone through a shift in my understanding of biblical (specifically NT) eschatology that has helped me see the lasting value of creation. I think this book drives home the continuity that eschatology has with the Old Testament. God has always cared about the earth and the environment; in fact, it was part of the covenant He made with Israel. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in reading and thinking about what the Bible has to say about the earth.

[Joe.bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellen Davis has made a careful and through presentation about the relationship between the writing in the Old Testament and an generally agrarian understanding of people's relationship with the land. It is striking how far away from this we have wandered. It is complicated for me because I also understand how much of the writing in the Old Testament is imaginary in the first place, so to find a strong theme of agrarian thought in a book of mostly made up stories is a little surprising. The author makes her case by careful selection of passages and explication of the uses of certain Hebrew words and ideas. Again, it could be just more made up meaning on top of made up stories, but it is moving. She points out a few things that I have never heard preached in 40 years of going to church. One is a reason why we never hear sermons from the Song of Songs or Proverbs. It turns out that most of the things in those two books are in the woman's voice, and pastors are loathe to give voice to it. I think anyone who has done any serious bible study outside of the fundamentalist cant would enjoy reading this thoughtful and careful book. She also points out lots of other sources for agrarian thought and writers of agrarian mindsets, which is a valuable resource for those of us who are looking for a way forward from the end game we find ourselves in now, at least in America.

[Joseph Monroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Ellen Davis studiously and eloquently works to bring the leaders of all modern fields of expertise: from artists, people of religion, science, politicians, and economists into the conversation about food security and the importance of healthy land. Her hope is that a gathering of minds will occur that recognize "how completely the health of human lives and cultures is bound up with care of the land and just distribution of it's bounty." She paints the bible as a book about people dependent not only on their god but also dependent on agriculture. She intersects this view with modern agrarian writers, mostly Wendell Berry. From her exposé on ancient and biblical economies and political contexts and their relevance to modern agriculture, she hopes that the bible will enrich the necessity of a modern conversation about food.

[Jeff Hoffmeyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been reading the Bible for for 34 years, and I cannot recall another book which has changed my reading of Scripture more than this one. The art of reading the Bible is about awareness of one’s own cultural situation, which is necessarily imported (eisogesis), as well as a careful attention to the sociological situation of the text itself. Davis expertly shows that the predominant contexts for the Old Testament is agriculture. Her thesis is wonderfully abetted by modern Agrarians, not least Wendell Berry. This book is not for everyone; I just wish it was.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture is a collection of essays by Ellen Davis. Each essay stands alone, but this book, more than most essay collections, forms a coherent whole. In this book, Davis wants to read the Bible, or more narrowly, the OT, as an exegetical conversation with agrarianism, especially with Wendell Berry, whose work is a constant dialog partner. She thinks this will be mutually illuminating. And she mostly succeeds.

The essential understanding that informs the agrarian mind-set, in multiple cultures from ancient times to the present, is that agriculture has an ineluctably ethical dimension.

There are two opposing agricultural ethics. The first is productionist ethics. This basically means to produce as much as possible regardless of the ecological costs, or even whether it is profitable to the producer. This is the mainstream American view of agriculture.

The second ethic is a land ethic. The land ethic “expresses itself in patterns of thought and life directed towards the long-term health (sustainability) of the ‘land community.’”

The bible has a land ethic as well. This involves several assumptions: the original goodness of the world, that humans and land exist as a unity before God and that this unity has moral dimensions, the moral restoration of God’s people results in agricultural productivity, and human righteousness is the only condition which invites and makes possible God’s continual presence in the land.

Davis highlights four areas of agrarian thinking that touch and illumine central aspects of biblical land care. First is the primacy of the land. Another way of phrasing this is to say that we should “meet the expectations of the land.”

In discussing this point, Davis discusses the translation of Gen 2:15. Instead of work the garden, Davis wants to translate it as working for the garden. She also affirms serve as a valid translation.
For the second word, she likes observe. So, the command given to the man is to serve and observe. As in “my Sabbaths you shall keep (observe).”

The second aspect of contemporary agrarianism Davis highlights is its forthright embrace of ignorance. As we learn more about science, we also learn more we are ignorant about. The problem then is not and cannot be simply that we are ignorant. It is sin, even if all agrarian writers don’t use this word. In particular, it is a kind of pride which is destructive in our relationship with the land.
Wisdom involves relying upon God and recognizing our own limitations.

The third point of connection is their concern with the materiality of human existence. This isn’t materialism as in scientific materialism, but a materialism which is connected with material reality. Over against Babel stands a people and vision rooted in place and humble learning and listening to the land.

The fourth and final point of connection is the way they assign value to the land. Both view land as above price. Davis references Israel’s permanent land tenant system, including the observation that we have no indication of an Israelite ever selling land.

Having made her argument for the connection between agrarianism and the Bible, Davis writes several fascinating essays covering topics such as local economies, Leviticus, the wilderness economies, and the agrarian prophets. Each essay was insightful and helpful in looking at scripture through a new lens. I left every essay with multiple insights into the text, and an appreciation for the skill the Bible was put together with and the care that God has for the entirety of creation.

Overall, I greatly appreciated this book, but it did have a weakness, one that Davis acknowledged. This is not really a book about an agrarian reading of the Bible, but about an agrarian reading of the OT (or Hebrew scriptures as she calls them). Davis is an OT scholar and shows humility in not wanting to venture beyond the bounds of what she is competent to write about. I respect that and would not say it is a weakness to limit the scope of the book. But refraining from discussing the NT should not prohibit Davis from discussing Christ, yet Christ is a glaring absence from the book. There are, by my count, only two references to Christ in the book. Yet without Christ, any theology or bible studies book is deficient. I respect her scholarship and learning, but I wish Christ had been more present throughout the book.

[Norman Falk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wendell Berry writes in the foreword: “We Americans readily saw the parallel between the Israelites’ entrance into the land of Canaan and our own westward expansion…But we conveniently ignored the elaborate agrarianism and ecological stewardship implicit in that story’s insistence upon the land’s sanctity”. This book laments precisely that fact, but also provides a hopeful way forward, not so much in terms of a precise action plan, but in casting a Biblical vision of Agrarianism, defined as “a way of thinking and ordering life in community that is based on the health of the land and of living creatures” (p. 1).

Davis puts together contemporary agrarian thinkers in conversation with biblical exegesis and modern industrialized agriculture. She shows that because these agrarian writers share in many respects a common worldview with the ancient authors (and editors) of the Hebrew Bible, they offer crucial perspectives for fruitful biblical interpretation. Their voices become even more significant when one considers how pervasive the theme of the land is is throughout the Hebrew Bible.

She highlights how these agrarian thinkers are in a sense modern prophets, addressing the “diseased imagination” of the agribusiness, which is run by a few multi-national corporations whose “productionist ethic” is fundamentally oriented towards short-term monetary outcomes regardless of the ecological or social costs…which are huge and in many cases irreversible at this point! In this critique, there is much overlap in both content and form between the Hebrew Bible and agrarian writings. For example, the Bible acknowledges that moral failure is not merely predicated on the lack of knowledge. The real issue (sin) is much deeper and complex, and the way it is often expressed in both Bible and agrarianism (poetry) reflects this.

Agrarian writers help us re-discover what the Biblical writers and other ancients knew all along: that we “belong to a place that is at once extremely fragile and infinitely precious” (p. 26), that “humans are bound to the earth in an integrity that is biological, moral, and ‘spiritual,’ as well as political and economic” (p. 25), that we are in some real sense “covenanted to the land” (p. 102), and that “the land [is] not an inert object, but [a] fellow creature that can justly expect something from us whose lives depend on it” (p. 29).

This book is really thorough. There is a lot of ground that she covers. But I think that the intro along with chapters 1-2 give away the gist of what the book is about. Still, especially readers with some Hebrew background will probably enjoy her exegetical work in the remaining chapters. She shows, for example, that the creation mandate in Gen 1 and 2:15 in Hebrew is far more ambiguous than what translations usually make it to be. But, of course, it’s not just all exegesis from chapter 3 onwards.

Because of Davis’s close reading of some of these passages, and because her many footnotes are inconveniently placed at the end of the book, it was a slow but insightful reading experience for me.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellen Davis knows that both we and the original hearers of the Hebrew Scriptures are afflicted with a diseased imagination. She uses this language of “disease” in her study of Exodus 16, writing that “The Israelites are infected with the sickness of Egypt” and their complaint to God “shows the perverseness of Israel’s imagination” (69). This ill-health is not limited to these founding narratives, as the prophetic complaints of Hosea and Amos make clear (Chapter Seven). Indeed, Davis positions the whole project of the Hebrew prophets as the awakening our imagination to its ill-health: “In a word, the prophets aim to restore the tragic imagination, which paradoxically, is essential to the health and ultimately the survival of any community, precisely because it is the faculty whereby we reckon with devastating loss” (16). Davis regularly describes the catastrophic consequences of our own society’s malformed imagination towards nature.

The biblical writers heal our diseased imagination by offering images and poetry which expand our understanding of the natural world. Davis demonstrates this within a in a wide range of biblical genres: poetry (Genesis 1), narrative (Exodus 16), and law (the book of Leviticus). These writings are urgent for us to contemplate today. Writing about the misuse of land in modern cities, Ellen comments that “we need fresh counter images on which to dwell,” before stating that “the biblical writers offer us such images from their own reflection on the city that occupied the central place in Israel’s religious imagination” (163). Yet Davis is aware that our immersion in these biblical texts is not enough (for indeed, denial of climate change is common among evangelicals who regularly read the Bible). Rather, “to sharpen our insight, we must depend in part on the work of contemporary writers” (16). Davis depends on the writings of Wendell Barry, yet she also draws from non-religious writers, including Barry Lopez and Aldo Leopold.

For Davis, this work of renewing the imagination through words is seldom isolated to the individual. Instead, it has a communal aim: “The tragic imagination reaches back into memory, in order to recall the beloved community to itself” (16). She speaks about how “poetry may be, along with music, the most direct means for touching the shared memory of a people” (17). Davis regularly returns to the role that liturgy, especially poetic liturgy, plays in forming a community’s imagination. She reads Genesis 1 “as a liturgical poem” which, “like all good liturgy… is sensitive both the reality of God and to the concrete experience of the people who may use it to enter more deeply into relationship with God” (43).

[Tim Murphy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dr. Ellen Davis, a theology professor at Duke Divinity School has, in "Scripture, Culture and Agriculture", taken an intriguing look as scripture from an agrarian point of view. This would be a natural angle from which to view Scripture, since it was given to an agrarian people. Her results, though, are very mixed.

On the positive side, she describes, correctly in my view, the very high view Scripture has for the land and the rest of God's creation. It is to be cherished, and cared for. Long after these current generations have passed from memory, the land, seas, and sky will remain and we ought to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us for the short years of our lives.

There are, however, significant negatives to her views. She takes a fairly typical view in the current academy of Scripture's origins and reliability. This is expected, but nevertheless distracts from her message for those who hold a high view of Scripture. Also, her awe of the land confuses her about the distinction between humans and the rest of God's creation. "Land," she says after quoting Leviticus 18:25, "is a semi-autonomous moral agent." No, it's not. God is the moral agent. The only other moral agent He created was mankind.

Finally, and the weakest part of the book in my view is it is unapologetically a work of eisegeis. She looks at Scripture with the intention of laying the philosophy and ethics of the current crop of agrarian writers--mostly American--over the Scripture in order to illuminate Scripture. This is the wrong direction and, as one would expect, leads to many errors in thinking. While I find much intriguing in Wendell Berry's writing, he, as all of us, are subject to Scripture, not the other way around.

Some good here, but lots of error to avoid.

[Christi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellen Davis's work is deep, thoughtful, theologically rich, and convictingly relevant!
This is by far not an easy read... It took me over a year to finally plough through to the final chapter. But it was worth it. It was beautiful to explore the rich agricultural heritage and context of the Biblical Old Testament. And to see glimpses of that wisdom and mindsets played out in the consequences of today's oversized agribusiness-based society.
I loved and appreciated all the Wendell Berry references, the thoughtful and intentional incorporation of Scripture, and the pulls from relevant other scholars, authors, and researchers.

Altogether a lovely work! ~

[Scott Groth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book forced me to think deeply about the morality and ethics of current agricultural practices in the US. I found Davis's analysis of scripture to be generally compelling though sometimes her inclusion of specific passages felt forced. I also found her analysis of current agricultural practices lacking in depth and nuance. I often agreed with her generalizations but her analysis opened many ethical dilemmas that she either glossed over or left unexplored. Occasionally, she made broad statements that I flat out disagreed with. For instance, in the first chapter, Davis argued that the predominant ethic among scientist was a "productionalist ethic" to produce as much (food) as possible regardless of ecological cost. Given that it has been scientists, time and again, that have raised the alarm for climate change and other impending ecological disasters, I found her statement, with no evidence or explanation, to be grossly reckless. I am not certain where her conception of the work of scientists comes from.

[Ben Haworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Davis’ book should be required reading for all Christians and students of Scripture. Her agrarian reading of the Old Testament is a thorough and fresh reading of the Scriptures. Admittedly, many Christians find parts of the Old Testament (especially parts of the Torah) to be a bit dry. Davis, however, takes those parts of Scripture and brings them to life through an agrarian cultural context. In the age of ecological crisis, Davis’ work is incredibly important fo shaping the relevancy and even the necessity of Christian involvement in curbing the crisis.

[Neil White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thought provoking read bringing modern agrarian thinking into conversation with scripture, particularly the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament. Ellen Davis is a phenomenal reader of the scriptures and there are several things I want to explore after reading her exposition of texts as diverse as the creation narrative, Leviticus, wisdom literature and the prophets.

[Robert McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A challenging read, and one that quickly revealed my lack of knowledge in the subject. But the author clearly treat this issue with care, and I'm excited to continue learning and reading the scriptures from a slightly new perspective. This may not be the best starter book for the uninitiated, however.

[Maya Joelle]

Some useful points, but this reads like a disjointed collection of vaguely related essays, and it seems Davis is trying to fit the Bible into her separate agrarian ideals. Her take on Christianity feels a bit skeptical, as if she doesn't even want to consider the possibility of a pentateuch written by Moses. Also, she really likes Wendell Berry.

[Alvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read very much. The author provided insightful analysis. Worth the read. I have walked away from this book with a deeper and more appreciative insight into the relationship that we can and should have with the earth as a divine creation.

[Bbqchips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend for someone looking for how Scripture speaks into the care of the earth and our local environments. Our (Western) church and society should not be blind to the widespread damage that is caused in the creation of our experienced prosperity.

[Ross Harmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good work in here. I would like some more biblical examples and deeper thought on some passages. There are many presuppositional slips by the auther, and I don't hold all foundational premises to some arguements.

[Justin Dewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will help you see ways the Old Testament reveals the ways our cities, farms, and communities can interact within God's plan for the world.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

One might argue this book is simply an example of a modern reader-response hermeneutic. Rather than read the Bible through a paradigm of power, liberation, patriarchy, feminism, etc., Davis reads the Bible (or to be more precise, the Old Testament) through an agrarian lens. Thus, ones appreciation for her book is really dependent on 1) appreciation of that method of interpretation and 2) her lens of choice.

But to leave it there would do Davis a great disservice. Unlike other similar methodologies, agrarianism is a topic native to the text. Davis takes great efforts in restraining from imposing a foreign element into the text. Instead Davis serves as an expert guide overturning rocks that have long laid dormant to the urban eyes.

For example, in an agrarian reading of the Exodus, Davis compares the Israelites experience of slaves in Egypt with theirs of pilgrims in the desert. In Egypt they served as food industrialists. They built storehouses to keep and store the excess of food they were forced to produce. In the desert they were fed daily manna from heaven. The Exodus text went to great lengths to remind that not only were they forbidden to save and store the manna, they could not do so even if they tried. For Davis, the Israelites were re-learning what it meant to be people of the earth. Food, a most basic element of human life, is not a commodity to master, trade, and sell. Instead it was a gift from God that illustrated both their dependence on God for life and provision but illustrated their existence as people of the earth.

Throughout it all Davis ties together historical exegesis with an eye toward modern ecological issues such as hunger, exploitation of the land, the death of the small farmer, pesticides, and the growing lack of variation amongst similar crops. Whether or not you agree with Davis' conclusions will depend upon the reader. Yet all should agree she offers much to the discussion.

[Patrick Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellen Davis was interviewed by Krista Tippett in November 2011. When that interview was rebroadcast approximately two years ago, I made a note to add Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible to my "to-read" list.

The marketing copy on the back cover presents the book as a tract against "modern industrialized agriculture." Except for Chapter 6, I did not read many arguments in this area in the book. That is not a criticism of the book by any means. Ellen Davis's thoughtful exegesis of the Old Testament scriptures she cites is engaging and enjoyable.

Published by a university press, the book is somewhat technical and not written on a popular level. So it is not necessarily a book that one should read in bed when energy levels are low, but that's when I read it. So at some point, and soon, I should go back and reread it.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly easy to read for series of agrarian exegetical essays.

None of the information was stunning or new, but it was a little interesting at points. Agrarian literature isn't really something I plan to study in depth any time in the future, but for those who do or currently are, this is a good book to have on hand.

I wish the last essay had more vibes throughout the entire book, as Davis focused on applying her findings to a modern world where cities are sprawling and farms are forced into high production instead of high quality. The majority of our discussion in class while reading Davis gravitated toward application, and it was enjoyable to hear about it from the person who had done all of the work.

3.5/5--not my cup of tea, but very informational and well-written and organized.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fairly fantastic. The author writes a series of essays delving into the Old Testament and its connections to the agrarian writers of today (mainly, Wendell Berry). Contrary to how some people choose to interpret the injunction in Genesis to rule and subdue Creation, this divine command is not license to misuse the Creation or even to use resources in order to hasten the Lord's return. Rather, the Bible is very much a great foundation for an agrarian mindset. Fascinating, challenging, and illuminating to read, albeit academic in nature and thus at times stylistically a little slow. Dense but worthwhile.

[David]

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24.1

As an aspiring agrarian and an armchair theologian, this was a great read for me!

pg. 3 - Augustine's interpretive principal - leads to love of God and love of neighbor.
pg. 27 - What impedes proper exegesis?
pg. 84 - Leviticus and the healing of the rupture...
pg. 92 - Sex crimes and a depraved economy.
pg. 105 - The food industry and chronic extreme hunger, the paradox of plenty.
pg. 142 - The concept of sloth.
pg. 143 - The demeaning work of Egypt and envisioning the world anew.
pg. 143 - Sabbath and economy and resources.

[Patrick Mulcahy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Davis has written with eloquence and passion about the intersection of faith and agriculture. Her insights into the agrarian reading of the Scriptures are quite profound. They provide a decisive critique of any Christian spirituality divorced from caring for and using wisely God's good creation. I read this at the same time I was reading Brueggemann's Prophetic Imagination; his words about the prophets critiquing empire and providing hope for an alternative society go hand in hand with Davis' work.

[Rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Davis presents some inspiring and well-argued ideas on how Judeo-Christian texts engage agriculture in this series of essays. Her overall message is that sustainability isn't a new fad -- it's as old as the Torah. Highlights: Lots of Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson references and quotes, texts that you might not be familiar with and could come in handy if you write about religion and sustainability (like I do!). Drawback: The essays are very academic and seem better suited for a Religious Studies program than a personal bookshelf.