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Norman Wirzba

Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology
Divinity School
Duke Box 90967, Durham, NC 27708
407 Chapel Drive, 211B Gray Building, Durham, NC 27708

Selected Publications


Major Reviews

Journal Article Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology · January 2024 Full text Cite

The Trouble with Sustainability

Journal Article Sustainability (Switzerland) · January 1, 2023 Full text Open Access Cite

The Witness of Praise-The Hope of Dwelling

Chapter · January 1, 2021 Praise has long been identified as a linguistic and musical form that is a response to the goodness and beauty of creaturely life. More generally, it reflects forms of life that seek to participate in God’s creative, nurturing, and reconciling ways with th ... Full text Cite

Christian Theoria Physike: On learning to see creation

Journal Article Modern Theology · April 1, 2016 Full text Cite

Way of Love Recovering the Heart of Christianity

Book · March 1, 2016 According to Duke University professor Norman Wirzba, this is the central problem that plagues the Christian faith today. In Way of Love he invites readers to rediscover the heart of Christianity as a training regimen for how to love. ... Cite

From Nature to Creation A Christian Vision for Understanding and Loving Our World

Book · October 1, 2015 This book will be valuable not only for individuals but also in a variety of ecclesial as well as educational settings. ... Cite

Being-in-Creation: Human Responsibility in an Endangered World

Book · July 1, 2015 © 2015 Fordham University Press. All rights reserved. What is the proper relationship between human beings and the more-than-human world? This philosophical question, which underlies vast environmental crises, forces us to investigate the tension between o ... Cite

Being-in-Creation: Human Responsibility in an Endangered World

Book · July 1, 2015 What is the proper relationship between human beings and the more-than-human world? This philosophical question, which underlies vast environmental crises, forces us to investigate the tension between our extraordinary powers, which seem to set us apart fr ... Cite

Food for theologians

Journal Article Interpretation (United Kingdom) · October 1, 2013 In this essay, I present eating as a vital theological concern and an integral part of the church's ministries and mission in the world. I argue that food is not reducible to the status of a commodity but is instead God's love made delectable. The producti ... Full text Cite

Agrarian ecotheology

Journal Article Theology · 2013 In this essay an agrarian approach to ecotheology is briefly described. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Thinking Theologically About Food

Journal Article The Bible in Transmission · 2013 Cite

Eating in ignorance: do we know where our food comes from?

Journal Article Christian Century · May 30, 2012 Link to item Cite

The Future of Food

Journal Article Renewing Minds: A Journal of Christian Thought · 2012 Cite

A Priestly Approach to Environmental Theology: Learning to Receive and Give Again the Gifts of Creation

Journal Article Dialog · December 1, 2011 A priestly sensibility is here presented as a way to characterize humanity's place in creation. Sacrifice, asceticism, and gratitude are described as three distinct and practical modalities of a priestly life that contribute to the care and celebration of ... Full text Cite

The grace of good food and the call to good farming

Journal Article Review & Expositor · December 1, 2011 Link to item Cite

Eucharistic table manners: learning how to eat

Journal Article Perspectives · February 1, 2011 Link to item Cite

Food and faith : a theology of eating: a theology of eating

Book · 2011 "This book provides a comprehensive theological framework for assessing eating's significance, demonstrating that eating is of profound economic, moral, and theological significance"-- ... Link to item Cite

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE DIRT

Journal Article Sojourners Magazine · 2011 The effects of our inconsiderate ways- catastrophic climate change, anthropogenic species extinction, the annihilation of mountains, soil and water degradation, the privatizing of the "natural commons," the abuse of agricultural workers - are now becoming ... Link to item Cite

Letter to a Young Farmer

Journal Article Comment · 2011 Cite

Gardening with God

Other · July 12, 2010 Cite

Agrarianism

Chapter · 2010 Cite

Emmanuel Levinas

Chapter · 2010 Cite

The dark night of the soil: An agrarian approach to mystical life

Chapter · December 1, 2009 In "The Long-Legged House" (1969), Wendell Berry wrote that as a writer his struggle has not been to find a subject but rather to know what to do with the subject he has been entrusted with from the beginning. The subject he was referring to was Henry Coun ... Cite

Saying grace: transforming people, transforming the world

Journal Article Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture · June 1, 2009 Link to item Cite

Sunshine-powered: the next agrarian revolution

Journal Article Christian Century · May 19, 2009 Link to item Cite

The Meaning of Creation

Journal Article The Gift of Creation · 2009 Cite

The Art of Being a Creature

Journal Article The Gift of Creation · 2009 Cite

Farms

Chapter · 2009 Cite

Agrarianism for Christians

Journal Article The Christian Citizen · 2009 Cite

The touch of humility: an invitation to creatureliness

Journal Article Modern Theology · April 1, 2008 Link to item Cite

Soil, Food, and Faith: A Primer in Environmental Theology

Journal Article The Presbyterian Record · 2008 When God made heaven and earth, the land was initially dry and barren. There was no one to "till the ground" (Gen. 2:5), no one who could work the land to make it productive of life. So God "formed [Adam] from the dust of the ground (adamah)" and breathed ... Link to item Cite

The dark night of the soil: an agrarian approach to mystical life

Journal Article Christianity and Literature · December 1, 2007 Link to item Cite

Barnyard dance: farming that honors animals

Journal Article Christian Century · January 23, 2007 Link to item Cite

Throwaway People, Throwaway Land

Journal Article Books & Culture · 2007 Cite

Humility

Journal Article The Cresset · 2007 Cite

Time out: a Sabbath sensibility

Journal Article Christian Century · July 12, 2005 Link to item Cite

Time out

Journal Article The Christian Century · 2005 Why, then, did my family and so many others refuse to bale the hay or bring in the grain on Sundays? I suppose one could attribute their (in)action to the stubbornness of habit, but this explanation would miss the point. Sabbath observance, even if not alw ... Link to item Cite

Sabbath Farming

Journal Article Farming Magazine · 2005 Cite

Sabbath Environmentalism

Journal Article Orion · 2005 Cite

Caring for Creation

Chapter · 2005 Cite

The Culture of Food

Journal Article Christian Reflection · 2004 Cite

Lawns in the Kingdom of Heaven

Journal Article The Christian Century · 2004 Cite

The essential agrarian reader: The future of culture, community, and the land

Book · January 1, 2003 " With A Foreword By Barbara Kingsolver A compelling worldview with advocates from around the globe, agrarianism challenges the shortcomings of our industrial and technological economy. Not simply focused on farming, the agrarian outlook encourages us to d ... Cite

The paradise of God renewing religion in an ecological age: renewing religion in an ecological age

Book · 2003 In this provocative book, Norman Wirzba argues that the doctrine of creation-as presented in the Bible and as developed through the centuries-actually holds the key to a true understanding of our place in the environment and our responsibility toward it. W ... Link to item Cite

The Feast of Creation

Journal Article The Cresset · 2003 Cite

Curing Our Affluenza: A Review Essay on Consumerism

Journal Article Christian Reflection · 2003 Cite

Job and the Divine Scale of Creation

Journal Article Christian Reflection · 2002 Cite

Everyday Delight

Journal Article Christian Reflection · 2002 Cite

Down to Earth: A Review of Eric Freyfogle’s The New Agrarianism

Other The Christian Century · 2001 What is a wonder, however, is that few see agrarianism as having much to do with understanding or solving our problem. The perception of many environmentalists is that we need to set aside more wilderness areas that will be off-limits to human activity. Hu ... Link to item Cite

A Plea for Wild Religion

Journal Article A Global Witness · 2001 Link to item Cite

Noah and the Ark : Becoming Creation.

Journal Article Living Pulpit · April 1, 2000 Link to item Cite

Caring and working : An agrarian perspective.

Journal Article Christian Century · September 22, 1999 Link to item Cite

Love's reason

Conference POSTMODERN PHILOSOPHY AND CHRISTIAN THOUGHT · January 1, 1999 Link to item Cite

Grace at Work: A Review of Wendell Berry’s A Timbered Choir

Journal Article The Christian Century · 1998 Wirzba reviews "A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1987" by Wendell Berry. ... Link to item Cite

The Needs of Thought and the Affirmation of Life

Journal Article International Philosophical Quarterly · 1997 Full text Cite

Teaching as propaedeutic to religion: The contribution of Levinas and Kierkegaard

Journal Article International Journal for Philosophy of Religion · January 1, 1996 Full text Cite

To feed the world : the contribution of Emmanuel Levinas.

Journal Article Christian Century · June 12, 1991 Link to item Cite

Food for Theologians

Journal Article Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology Cite

Preparing for Joy

Journal Article Christian Reflection: Lent Cite