Bound to the Earth
A Feature Review of
Earthbound: God at the Intersection of Climate and Justice
Grace Ji-Sun Kim
Paperback: Orbis Books, 2025
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Reviewed by Jennifer Burns Lewis
Grace Ji-Sun Kim’s latest book, the most recent of twenty-five she has authored or edited, shows her commitment to the stewardship of creation and the intersection of climate change with injustice. Earthbound is like a personal conversation with a theologian who has lived and studied our global environmental challenges and the related issues affecting humans and non-humans alike. The author anticipates and responds to questions that arise from the connections she makes in this remarkable book.
The Rev. Dr. Kim is a minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and holds a PhD. from the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto. She was born in Korea, educated in Canada, and currently serves as professor of theology at Earlham School of Religion. Dr. Kim is included in The Englewood Review of Books’s list of “Ten Important Women Theologians That You Should Be Reading” as well as Englewood’s recommendations of books to read under “Our God is Too White: Diversifying our Theology.” Sojourners named Kim as one of “8 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2023,” Eerdmans listed her in “Five Great Women Scholars (and Their Books),” and she appears in the “15 Majority World Books that Will Change the Way You See the World in 2017.” She is also one of the “Top 10 Writers Shaping Our Movement” put together by the Center for Progressive Renewal.
Earthbound begins with a beautiful theological treatise on the profound impact of water on people and the environment. Dr. Kim leads the reader through a journey examining the necessity of water for life, the waters of baptism as the mark of a believer as well as an example of God’s saving love, the place of water in many faiths, and our lack of stewardship of our ecology. Our commodification and wastefulness of water and food take center stage in the opening chapter, a sobering reminder of the state of our earth. Dr. Kim closes the chapter with a message rooted in faith and hope and a call to action:
“The good news is that there is another way, a holy way, a loving way. Water is essential to life, and we can live in its beauty and abundance. We can choose life, and we can be encouraged by the Spirit who hovered over the waters in Genesis. We can act for justice, protecting the water, people, and creatures who have suffered from our exploitation and violence. We can heed God’s call to abundant life, to abundant water, as a gift of love for each of us” (39).
Chapters Two and Three explore the intersection of climate and justice. “We cannot talk about one without talking about the others, and we cannot struggle for justice against one oppression without struggling against all oppression” (41). How gender, racial and economic injustices are intertwined and potentially addressed is one of the strengths of this book. The author cautions us not to separate the life and witness of the Church from all aspects of creation. This book is a fine example of a theology that speaks to the many dimensions of our lives with courage and candor.
Chapters Four and Five are particularly instructive for readers who are less familiar with eastern, and particularly Korean, culture and theology. “Traditional Korean relationships with the land are good lessons for many of us around the word as we learn how to take care of creation” (130). Dr. Kim brings to the theological discussion the Korean contribution of “han” or sin, as it relates to the harm we cause. We must do no harm; rather, we must do good, with a sense of urgency and steadfastness.
The final paragraph of Earthbound is a sermon, or even a manifesto.
“Remember to whom we belong and who loves us into abundant life. Together with all of creation we are empowered by God to hope, to advocate, and to struggle for climate justice. When we reframe hope as a verb, we can recognize the value of our little steps to mend our environments, heal our relationships, and live for new life. We can also value the need to be prophetic and proclaim to the people of the world how our behaviors must change. It is not just Christians, but followers of all religions and faith traditions, who need to commit to love one another and love the earth. We must accept each other in order to make this great hope. We must work together and work hard. We must live in harmony, holding one another in our saving work with God” (142).
May it be so.
Jennifer Burns Lewis
Jennifer Burns Lewis serves as the Visioning and Connecting Leader for the Presbytery of Wabash Valley in northern Indiana. A minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian church (USA), her work is with 70 congregations, some of whom are engaging wholeheartedly in remissioning.
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