The stimulus for the book came from a conference organized by the John Ray Initiative (JRI) to explore 'the Christian approach to the environment'. A clear conclusion was the need to explore and characterize 'stewardship'. This is a concept widely used by environmentalists and one which has clear biblical roots, but it is repeatedly criticized (even condemned) by those who regard any management of nature as either impious or impractical, and by others who believe it is inadequate or misleading. Five key contributions form the core of this book: a context-establishing introduction by R.J. Berry, and papers by Robin Attfield (philosopher), Murray Rae (theologian), Calvin DeWitt (biologist), and Jim Lovelock ('biogeochemist'). They are supported by other relevant material - either classic texts or contributions written or revised especially for this volume.