A Religion of Nature [Paperback]

Donald A. Crosby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

An eloquent case for regarding nature itself as religion-as the metaphysical ultimate deserving religious commitment.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Two dissimilar arguments on nature and religion are here offered by McGrath (theology, Oxford) and Crosby (philosophy, Colorado State Univ.). McGrath claims that humanity's vanishing sense of marvel or enchantment in nature results from scientific rationalism. He maintains that religion, specifically evangelical Christianity, urges humanity to cherish its divine origins and see in the beauty of nature not God but signposts that point to a transcendence wherein we find God. Alongside this, however, McGrath sustains a running quarrel with Lynn White's 1967 article "On the Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis" and Darwinian Richard Dawkins, taking a chapter to prove Dawkins's "strident antireligious advocacy." Not a primer on how to become reenchanted with nature, McGrath's book stands in danger of merely offering a cadre of evangelical proofs against a small, specific scientific community that fails to see nature as God's art. On the other hand, Crosby (Specter of the Absurd: Sources and Criticisms of Modern Nihilism) takes an admittedly atheistic yet blithely optimistic stance. Relying upon philosophers like Alfred North Whitehead and William James, he espouses a literal religion of nature: "we need not go any further than nature to probe the depths of our existence and powers that sustain our being." Seeing nature as metaphysically ultimate, he offers a systematic religious naturalism devoid of God, prayer, or spirituality beyond that found in the beauty and inherent goodness of the earth. Since nature is metaphysically ultimate, Crosby must admit that both good and evil consequently reside there. Thus, humanity's task becomes one of aligning with the good and struggling against evil and how that is discerned, defined, or done is never clearly delineated. Both books are academic in tone and plainly intended for a scholarly audience. Recommended only where religious interest warrants. Sandra Collins, Duquesne Univ. Lib., Pittsburgh
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

The beauty, sublimity, and wonder of nature have been justly celebrated in all of the religious traditions of the world, but usually these traditions have focused on beings or powers presumed to lie behind nature, providing nature's ultimate explanation and meaning. In a radical departure, Donald A. Crosby makes an eloquent case for regarding nature itself as religion, conceived without God, gods, or animating spirits of any kind, and argues that nature is metaphysically ultimate. He explores the concept of nature, the place of humans in nature, the responsibilities of humans to one another and to their natural environments, and offers a religious vision that grants to nature the kind of reverence, awe, love, and devotion formerly reserved for God. Crosby also shares his personal journey from theistic faith to a religion of nature. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: SUNY Press (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791454541
• ISBN-13: 978-0791454541
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,528,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful!, October 27, 2007

By 

A. Stevenson "Amicus Books" (Midland, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Religion of Nature (Paperback)

The above review does a more than adequate job of showing that the reviewer, Wyote, has virtually no understanding of the arguments presented in this great work, and that his review should not be given any serious consideration whatsoever. This book is in fact not at all difficult to read. Instead, it is exceptionally clear and very well-organized. I am not going to go into any depth concerning this book because I am not all about writing reviews on [...], but I did feel the need to defend this masterful work from such an ignorant review.

Also, there is a terrible mistake in the "Editorial Reviews: From Library Journal" section on this page. I don't know where all this talk of McGrath comes from. Not only did he not pen a single word in this book, but his name is never even mentioned anywhere in the text. In other words, the "Editorial Reviews: From Library Journal" section begins to relate to this book with the sentence that begins "On the other hand..."

5.0 out of 5 stars Accepting the ecosystem, January 23, 2012

By 

Bruce Hannon (Champaign, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Religion of Nature (Paperback)

This is a beautiful book. It is deeply thought through, deeply referenced and very properly prescriptive. It is the book I have sought through my many decades of environmentalism. What other process do we really have but to mirror our behavior with the ecosystem, if we intend to provide a future for our own kin and that of all the others?

Crosby writes very carefully and with great insight and thoroughness. I can find no niche of disagreement with his humbly suggested plan for this return.

Bruce Hannon

4 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars depends what you want, October 31, 2003

By 

Wyote (Seoul) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: A Religion of Nature (Paperback)

This is a thoroughly academic book; the writing is almost a parody of academic writing. There are so many 70 or 80 word long sentences: clauses within clauses, caveats within caveats. It can be simply painful to read. Not only that, but a lot of his concerns relate to the world of academic philosophy; and even when I was an undergraduate philosophy major I didn't relate to that world. All this is not what I expected; buyer beware.

However, we all have our own idiosyncratic concerns, and the author is dealing with his own here, and the concerns he perceives in his academic community.

As to the content of his thoughts, I generally had little to disagree or comment on; even little to agree with, actually. However, he strained to argue that we can find values within nature, admitting that there are "anti-values" as well. He seemed concerned to avoid admitting that values come from within us; but I'm not sure that his argument amounted to anything more than semantics, a terminological shuffle.

I hesitate to give such negative reviews, especially when I am sure that the author has such good intentions; but I believe that for most people, there are better books out there. Check out Ursula Goodenough.