Living with the consequences of modern Western abuse of the environment has alerted many to the need to change not simply their habits but also their worldview. A true faith-centered eco-justice ethic, assert the contributors to this volume, will recognize the intrinsic links between social justice questions and environmental ones. It will also demand reassessment of fundamental assumptions - many of them from Christian theology - that stand behind Western social, economic, and technological patterns. Introduced by Hessel's illuminating assessment of specific environmental challenges, the theologians in this volume rethink aspects of Christian doctrines, lifestyle, and spirituality. They tackle key environmental issues. And together they pioneer a theological perspective that moves beyond anthropocentrism to a new center in creation itself.

Dieter T. Hessel is a social ethicist and educator who served for twenty-five years on the national staff of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), most recently as Director of Social Witness Policy. Currently Dr. Hessel is a resident member of the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, N.J. Among his earlier books are 'For Creation's Sake' (1985), 'Social Ministry' (1982), and 'Energy Ethics'(1979).