A God Who Cares?
Reformed Perspectives on God’s Providence amid the Shift from the Holocene to the “Anthropocene”
- Theology
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2026
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Publisher's Description
This monograph may be read as a constructive supplement to Volume 4 of the series entitled An Earthed Faith: Telling the Story amid the “Anthropocene.” Volume 4 of this series is on the Christian doctrine of providence and is entitled Making Room for the Story to Continue? In addition to an extended introduction (on the state of the debate in the field), this monograph includes three constructive essays on the doctrine of providence, employing the traditional Reformed distinction between conservatio, gubernatio and concursus as aspects of God’s providence, as well as a concluding essay provocatively entitled “Who Cares a Damn?” The argument of this contribution may be captured in the following way: 1. That God’s providence is best understood in terms of the deeply held Christian conviction that God cares for every creature—and not in terms of Greek assumptions around a pervading rational world order 2. That conservatio and gubernatio have found rough secular equivalents in global debates on sustainability, mitigation, and adaptation in the context of climate change 3. That conservatio and gubernatio are typically in tension with each other when it comes to the question of whether God maintains order in nature and society or whether God transforms unjust orders (the call for ecojustice) 4. That concursus is not only an implication of conservatio and gubernatio but also captures the heart of the problem posed by the advent of the “Anthropocene,” namely that (some) humans have become a “geological force of nature.” At the same time, God’s agency has become sidelined or usurped by the Promethean quest to become divine. In each of these essays, a highly constructive contribution advances the debate in eco-theology by placing providence in the context of the shift from the Holocene to the “Anthropocene.” The method adopted is a constructive argument based on a critical review of the available literature. This monograph is scholarly and is addressed to other scholars in eco-theology, systematic theology, and Reformed theology.
Endorsements (3)
“This book offers a compelling read. Central to the book are the concepts of conservatio, gubernatio, and concursus—the ideas of preservation, guidance, and collaboration. Conradie uses these themes to explore how humanity navigates the balance between past, present, and future, preserving what is valuable (conservatio), seeking direction in a rapidly changing world (gubernatio), and the importance of causal relations between divine action and human actions (concursus). As humanity faces the transition into the “Anthropocene”, he likens this journey to rafting down unpredictable rapids, where spiritual and ecological insight are crucial. This book offers deep reflections on how we can navigate a future defined by societal transformation.”
“This unique publication addresses the unnerving question of what God is up to as we live through this magnitude of irreversible destruction to our Faletele, our Great House. It articulates the irreparable disruption to what indigenous dirt communities call “indeterminate harmony”, one that provides patterns and symbols of resilience as guides in the path of the possessive determinism of our time. Amid the “Anthropocene”, the volume calls for a theological restorying beyond the usual God-providence talk, recognizing new ethical shifts and an alternative array of responses from around the world to articulate God’s care. A must read!”
“Ernst Conradie continues to write frenetically on the current ecological predicament, as if his life is at stake—which it actually is, along with all life on Earth. Revisiting the classical doctrine of divine providence, in this new publication he probes how the story of God’s conservation and governance of the world might continue now that the planet transitions from a relatively stable Holocene into a much more precarious “Anthropocene”. Conradie raises many pertinent and disconcerting questions rather than offering easy (or not so easy) answers—but his writing is pervaded by a profoundly Christian sense of hope amid today’s planetary distress.”
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