Bill McKibben, Job and Jesus in Luke 12.

Note: These comments were made to the Ecological Hermeneutics Section at the Society of Biblical Literature, Sat, Nov 22, 2014, as part of a Panel commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Bill McKibben’s The Comforting Whirlwind: God, Job and the Scale of Creation (Eerdmans, 1994; reprint Cowley, 2005). Biblical scholars (Barbara Rossing, Lutheran School of Theology Chicago; Theodore Hiebert, McCormick Theological Seminary; Kathryn Schifferdecker, Luther Seminary; and I dialogued with McKibben about the book’s significance and explored possibilities for scholarship on Job and other texts for addressing the climate crisis.

I want to begin with a heartfelt praise of your work, Bill. Whether or not we are aware of it, every one of us owes you a huge debt of gratitude for a life’s work of truth telling, movement building and relentless advocacy. Like many of us in the room (I hope), I’ve been following and occasionally participating in 350.org since its inception, especially around the Keystone XL work. You and your colleagues have animated a truly grass roots initiative that uniquely translates the complexities of climate catastrophe into mobilizing soundbytes. So I just want to recognize Bill that you have worked doggedly and faithfully, from your start in the 1980s as a canary in the coalmine, to having become now—in the spirit of my reflection this afternoon and to paraphrase Proverbs 30:17–a wise raven poking out the eyes of a defiant fossil fuel industry.

Full Article HERE.