Readers. Because this is a fairly lengthy review, I’m posting an fyi here at the top giving you a heads up thatI’m holding a drawing for one copy of this book. See details at the end of this review.

I have to admit I was a little bit skeptical reviewing an environmentalist type book here on the blog. As you can imagine, environmental issues can spark some pretty heated debates. I tend to disagree with a lot of environmentalist’s beliefs because most advocate more governmental control over our lives for which I’m adamantly opposed. For that reason, I wasn’t sure I’d be a very good person to review an environmentalist type book especially when the publisher is the one inviting me to give the review (LOL).

That being said, I’ve THOROUGHLY enjoyed Gardening Eden by Michael Abbate which “invites you to consider a new, spiritual perspective to practical environmentalism.” We’ve had some great discussions here in our home as I’ve been reading and processing the thoughts and ideas shared in this book. I was drawn in right from the start with the wonderful foreword by Randy Alcorn who tells the story of his experience speaking to several thousand college students at an evangelical youth conference followed by Mr. Abbate’s opening chapter detailing his interaction with a “recovering Southern Baptist” biology professor while speaking on the topic of sustainable campuses and communities at a univeristy in the Midwest.

Gardening Eden is broken into two parts:

Part I – THE GARDEN STATE includes chapters on The Signs of the Times, Creation Care as Worship, and Creation Care as Compassion which explore a variety of topics such as global warming, enjoying the beauty of God’s creation, the impact development has on nature, ozone depletion, air pollution, and acid rain.

In this section, Mr. Abbate challenges us to consider the question, “What is our responsibility to creation” and he goes on to uncover the five Biblical themes which have transformed his outlook and his life. They are:

1. What God Made is Good
2. God Loves the World He Created
3. What God Made Is God’s, Not Ours
4. Everything Was Created to Glorify God
5. God Appointed us Steward

In this section, he also addresses the five common objections to creation care which are:

1. God gave us the earth to use
2. It doesn’t really matter – the planet is going to be destroyed anyway
3. People are more important than nature
4. Environmental protection hurts the economy
5. Environmental protection is just another abuse of power by big government

Part II – BECOMING A GARDENER explores the topics of Food in the Garden, Energy in the Garden, Transportation in the Garden, At Home in the Garden, and Cultivating a Life as a Gardener. In these chapters, he takes an indepth look at the gardening principles which will guide the individual gardening tips he suggests. Just to clarify, the term “garden” in this book is not limited to the vegetable garden that would come to most of our minds. In this book, the term garden is referring to the entire planet. I appreciate that he includes tips which are fairly easy to implement as well as more challenging suggestions for further exploration. In the very near future, I will be exploring many of the tips listed in these chapters here on the blog as our family begins to take some baby steps toward being better stewards of our little spot in “the garden.”

In closing, I’m glad I accepted the challenge to review this book for Waterbrook Press because it’s not one I would have picked up otherwise. Gardening Eden has caused me to reconsider some of my thoughts on environmentalism. Previously, I considered most environmentalist issues and the people behind them to be part of the liberal agenda probably because most of the environmental activists I usually hear about scorn the Bible and Christian beliefs. Thanks to Gardening Eden, I’ve been challenged to reconsider my thoughts on environmentalism. I highly recommend this book. The author has done a great job, imo, of building a “bridge across the divide between faith and environmentalism” and I plan to keep this book near my desk as a reminder to investigate whether or not some of the author’s suggestions might be implemented in our home.

AUTHOR BIO: A nationally recognized expert in “green” development strategies, Mike Abbaté is a founder of GreenWorks, an award-winning landscape architecture design firm. He frequently speaks to students and leaders about practical ways to minimize the impact of building and landscape design on natural resources. Abbaté’s work has been featured in national magazines such as Metropolis and Landscape Architecture and in many local newspapers and trade publications. He and his wife, Vicki, have two adult daughters and live near Portland, Oregon.