I want to begin my introductory editorial comments with the expression of much gratitude to all my predecessors, especially the most immediate, Rev. Dr. Jin Hee Han whose calm yet compelling call to me to serve as General Editor I could not decline.  To the Board and staff of the Living Pulpit, I say, “thank you” for your devotion, diligence and support which have kept this publication alive in the face of all the strong headwinds hitting many such journals. Many thanks go to our contributors and readers whose continued interest and faith in this publication gives us the confidence to continue creating the space and opportunity for dialogue on important matters. My special thanks go to the Managing Editor, Alet Brown, who worked exceptionally hard to put together these insightful and inspiring essays for this Spring 2021 issue of The Living Pulpit.

This issue focuses on sustainability, a key scientific and socio-economic issue in need of much theological reflection. To initiate some theological discussions on sustainability, the essays and book review draw attention to the groanings of creation. Our “mother earth” cries out against the abusive treatment of its eco-systems – water bodies, vegetation, climate etc. Yet we humanity, the chief perpetrators of these abuses, continue in our wanton destruction and creation of disequilibrium through over consumption, over exploitation of resources and the general lack of care for the universe. 

Much of humanity’s uncaring attitudes towards their home planet earth and creation in general, as pointed out by some of the authors, are largely the result of anthropocentric notions of humanity drawn from biblical texts and reinforced by simplistic and often literal Judeo- Christian interpretations of them.  Biblical texts such as, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Gen. 1:28), “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly [Parent] feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matt. 6:26; Luke 2:24) are notoriously interpreted to suggest that humans are the most favored among God’s creation and thus have been given control over everything in the universe. These and other such dubious interpretations are interrogated in a couple of the essays.   

Sustainability (sustainable development), according to UN World Commission on Environment and Development is, “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” This must be the goal of all humanity especially as we deal with food insecurity, drought, wildfires, and many elements of global climatic change. 

Hopefully, the essays in this issue will contribute to and further ongoing discussions on sustaining our universe. 

Moses O. Biney

Editor in Chief

About the author

Moses Biney wrote 5 articles for this publication.

The Rev. Dr. Moses O. Biney is Assistant Professor of Religion and Society, and Research Director for the Center for the Study and Practice of Urban Religion at New York Theological Seminary. He is also the Interim Pastor for Bethel Presbyterian Reformed Church in Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Biney is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary where he earned both the Th. M. and the Ph. D in Social Ethics. He has served on the faculty of the University of Ghana and as an adjunct professor at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Dr. Biney’s research and teaching interests include the religions of Africa and the African Diaspora, religion and transnationalism, religion and culture, and congregational studies. He is the author of From Africa to America: Religion and Adaptation among Ghanaian Immigrants in New York.

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