Jeremy asked if I’d recommend any books on moving away from an anthropocentric theology. This is a question at the intersection of some perennial ATR themes, so I thought I’d post the answer here. The following list makes no pretense to be either authoritative or exhaustive, but these are some books (in no particular order) that I’ve found helpful:

Bill McKibben, The Comforting Whirlwind: God, Job, and the Scale of Creation

H. Paul Santmire, Nature Reborn

Andrew Linzey, Animal Theology

Denis Edwards, Ecology at the Heart of Faith

Jay McDaniel, Of God and Pelicans

James M. Gustafson, An Examined Faith

Ian Bradley, God Is Green

Christopher Southgate, The Groaning of Creation

Of course, a lot depends here on what we mean by “moving away from anthropocentrism.” But, at a minimum, I think it’s any theology which recognizes that the rest of creation does not exist solely for the sake of human beings and that God’s purposes encompass more than human salvation. The books above range from fairly orthodox to fairly heterodox, and I wouldn’t endorse everything in all of them, but all provide stimulating food for thought. The list doesn’t include any classic sources, which isn’t to deny that there are resources in the tradition for a less anthropocentric theology (Augustine, Anselm, Luther, Calvin, Wesley and others contain material that might be richly mined, it seems to me); neither does the list include much in the way of biblical studies, but that also seems like an important area for thought on this topic.

p.s. Other recommendations are welcome!