Dusty Earthlings: Living as Eco-Physical Beings in God's Eco-Physical World

"The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground . . ." (Gen 2:7). Made of dust, we humans are thoroughly physical beings. We are dusty earthlings. As such, we are also ecological beings, or rather eco-physical beings, firmly embedded in and dependent upon God's earthly ecosystems that support and provide for us and constitute our earthly home. Today we are living in ways that are damaging our home.
As Christian dusty earthlings, we are called to oversee God's earthly creation and to follow Jesus Christ—God incarnated as a dusty earthling. How do we do this in the face of the array of ecological problems we face today? How can we obey the ecological principles and limits that govern all of life on God's good earth? I suggest that the virtues of humility, voluntary self-limitation, and the principles of kenosis and justice will help as we seek to follow Jesus as dusty earthlings in today's world.

“Christianity implies two great truths about humans: we are unique within creation and embedded members of it. Human dignity has been grounded upon the first; human survival may now hinge on embracing the second. Dusty Earthlings is a prophetic call for precisely such a paradigm shift in our self-understanding—one that is faithful to the Scriptures, resonant with science, and crucial to a viable future.”
—Glen G. Scorgie, Professor of Theology, Bethel Seminary San Diego

“John Mustol has unfolded the richness—and crucial import for our time—of the Biblical teaching that we share our ‘dusty’ creaturely status with the whole earth. At the same time, he expounds brilliantly on what it means to be made in the image of God. I will not teach another class on earthkeeping without requiring or recommending this splendid book. It is thorough, careful, brilliantly researched, readable, and very wise.”
—Loren Wilkinson, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Regent College

“John Mustol . . . is truly incisive with his logic: we are dusty earthlings, a physical part of the earth, ecological entities in relationship, and our very selfhood, unique among other animal-earthlings, depends on how we relate to others and to earth in the presence of God.”
—Glen Stassen, Professor of Christian Ethics, Fuller Theological Seminary

“John Mustol’s reminder that this world is our home and we need to take care of it is both timely and much needed. Christians, particularly those of us in the U.S., simply must engage in environmental stewardship. Not because it is needed, trendy, or a way to win converts, but because God created us to do so.”
—Tom Rowley, U.S. director of A Rocha

“Although our world, God’s good earth, is in a profound ecological crisis, John Mustol does not invoke that crisis in order to badger Christians to the point of discouragement, as is sometimes done. . . . To this end, Mustol tells his own wide-ranging, theological story of God, humans, and the earth in an accessible manner that will help instruct and empower teachers, pastors, and laity in their earthly discipleship.”
—H. Paul Santmire, author of Ritualizing Nature