Should Christians care about the ecological crises that we face? Should climate change be a concern for believers?

Many Christians still view their faith as primarily a “spiritual” matter that has little to do with the “physical” world in which they live.

Our guest is Steven Bouma-Prediger, who contends that protecting and restoring our planet is an essential practice for Christians. Steve has studied the Bible and understands what it teaches about this earthly life. He has written extensively about how humans are called, in the words of Genesis 2:15, to “work and take care of” the world in which we live. He is troubled by how too few Christians see this as a crucial part of Christian discipleship.

Scroll down to learn more about Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger.

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Please share this podcast with your friends. Your hosts are Dr. Bob Robinson and David Loughney. Go to re-integrate.org for further resources on reintegrating all of life with God’s mission.

Steven Bouma-Prediger, Ph.D.

Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger is Professor of Religion at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where he has also served as the chairperson of the Department of Religion and as the associate dean for teaching and learning. He also oversees the Environmental Studies minor. In addition, Steve teaches in Belize and New Zealand for the Creation Care Study Program.

His latest book is Creation Care Discipleship: Why Earthkeeping Is an Essential Christian Practice (from Baker Academic).

Among his previous books are Earthkeeping and Character: Exploring a Christian Ecological Virtue Ethic and For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care, and (co-authored with Brian J. Walsh) Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement.

His books can be purchased from independent bookseller Byron Borger at Hearts & Minds Bookstore.

Both David and Bob are history buffs. But studying history is not as simple as watching a documentary, a biopic, or reading a bestselling narrative history.

We need to be aware of how historians actually do their craft, and use those same tools as we watch and read.

Some use history to advance their political agendas, while others just echo ideas that are not substantiated by historical scholarship. Armchair historians can often get it very wrong.

How should Christians study history? Christians are a people of the Truth, so how do we know what is legitimate history?

How do we reintegrate our faith with our understanding of the past?

Our guest is Dr. John Fea, Distinguished Professor of American History at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He has recently released the second edition of his book, Why Study History?: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past (Baker Academic, 2024). In this book, he talks about what historians do, what bad history looks like, and how studying history can be a form of spiritual formation.

Scroll down to learn more about Dr. John Fea.

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Thanks for listening!

Please share this podcast with your friends.

Your hosts are Dr. Bob Robinson and David Loughney.

Go to re-integrate.org for further resources on reintegrating all of life with God’s mission.

John Fea, Ph.D.

John Fea’s essays and reviews on the history of American culture have appeared in numerous journals and magazines. John speaks regularly at universities, academic conferences, churches, school and teacher groups, civic groups, and historical societies and has appeared on NBC News, CNN, C-SPAN, National Public Radio, and dozens of radio programs nationwide.

John writes about American history, religion, politics, and academic life at his blog housed in the online magazine Current.

John Fea has authored several other books, including Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? (Westminster/John Knox Press, 2011), and Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump (Eerdmans, June 2018).

John was on two previous episodes of the Reintegrate Podcast, discussing these two books: here and here.

We just came out of yet another contentious election year. People are as divided and polarized as ever, and the situation doesn’t seem to be improving.

John Inazu is the author of Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect (Zondervan, 2024).

It’s a unique book because John Inazu walks us through a school year as he teaches law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis. In this environment, students learn to embrace a better way to settle disputes. We get to learn alongside them, gleaning universal principles for conversing with people we disagree with.

Scroll down to learn about John Inazu.

Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite app!

Thanks for listening!

Please share this podcast with your friends.

Your hosts are Dr. Bob Robinson and David Loughney.

Go to re-integrate.org for further resources on reintegrating all of life with God’s mission.

John Inazu

John Inazu is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis. He is the founder of the Legal Vocation Fellowship, a 15-month program for early-career attorneys, which grew out of his work with The Carver Project at Washington University. He is also a Senior Fellow at Interfaith America and also the Trinity Forum. He holds the J.D. from Duke University and a PhD in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Check out John Inazu’s Substack, *Some Assembly Required.