Jay McDaniel is an ecotheologian who teaches religion at Hendrix College in Arkansas. While in Washington, D. C., he talks to an elderly Native American protesting in front of the White House. The placard he holds says "World War III has begun," and then he tells McDaniel, "The war is against the earth and we are fighting it. You and I and everybody. Almost everything we do is part of the war."
McDaniel calls for an ecological spirituality that is liberating, lives in the here-and-now, has a process understanding of God, holds an openness to all religions, and sees the universe as the body of God. The author challenges us to perceive animals as having intrinsic value, as kindred creatures loved by God, as extensions of God's body, as images of God, and as spiritual guides. McDaniel pushes hard for a spirituality of the earth that takes within its embrace the aliveness of matter, loyalty to the sky, an openness to multiple Divine images, and a loving care ethic that excludes nothing from our heart.
