Coming Back to Earth
Discussion Questions

Chapter 8 — handout

1. Is it appropriate to describe biblical literalists as ill-informed and unthinking (p. 114)? Is it true? Does it matter? Why or why not?
2. What does Geering mean by shifting from the divine imperative to the ecological imperative?
3. What parallels does he draw between the two?
4. How does Geering justify Lovelock’s notion of the earth as an organism? [Note that this reference to Lovelock and Gaia provides yet another foretaste of the book’s closing exhortation.]
5. Compare and contrast the biblical prophets and today’s secular prophets (p. 120).
6. Why do we need new metrics to assess economic well-being?
7. Is it reasonable to call for a new definition of immortality? Defend your answer.