Just Living: Faith and Community in an Age of Consumerism

Description

Globalisation and consumerism affect every area of our lives. But it's not just about shopping; these powerful forces shape our personal lives, how we relate to one another, how we view the world - and they are having a seriously detrimental impact both on the lives of the global poor, and on the health of the planet itself. Every Christian in every generation down through the history of the church has had to work out what it means to be a follower of Jesus in their particular culture; for us in the twenty-first century, we must think about discipleship in a globalised, consumerist context. Environmentalist and theologian Ruth Valerio examines these issues in a book that is intellectually rigorous yet practical, and as inspiring as it is challenging.

Ruth Valerio is a community activist, Christian, academic, eco-warrior, mum, author, veg grower, wife and pig keeper rolled into one. She is Churches and Theology Director for A Rocha UK and a Director of Cred Jewellery, the world's first fairtrade jewellery company. She has written extensively on justice, environment and lifestyle issues for magazines such as Christianity and Third Way, and has published a bestselling book on sustainable living, L is for Lifestyle.

There is a lot of bad theology out there, and bad theology is toxic. In Just Living, Ruth Valerio answers bad theology with good theology. But this book isn't just about how we look at Scripture. It is just as much about how we look at the world. For too long Christians have used our faith as a ticket into heaven and a license to ignore the world around us. So Ruth's book helps us discover a Christianity that is fully engaged. Just Living is not just about how we think. It is just about how we live. So often our problem has not been right thinking but right living, and thanks to Ruth Valerio we have a new resource to help us live more better, more just, more beautiful lives. - Shane Claiborne, author and activist Just Living makes an important contribution to the debate on how Christians (and others) can live a wise ecology in the world today, neither losing sight of the need for radical change, nor being so radical in approach that they need to live in a world of their own. Its drawing on Christian tradition, particularly that of monasticism and of Aquinas, provides an important foundation for the practical decisions that we need to make in working for a just and sustainable society. - BR Samuel SFF Just Living is a lively, compelling guide to a generous and faithful way of being alive, a way that can be shared between human and non-human life amid the realities of the contemporary context. It seamlessly combines personal reflection, insightful cultural analysis, rich theological meditations and sage advice. - Luke Bretherton, Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke University