The Riddle of Nature

Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have has exercised unprecedented dominance over nature, with consequences that are now catching up with us. Many have pointed to Christianity as a culprit. Yet Christianity actually teaches that our relationship to nature should not be one of contempt or disassociation. Rather, according to ancient church tradition, nature is a book to be read, revealing truths about its creator and ours. At a time when many moderns are unsure of what difference, if any, marks us out from other living beings on our planet, and of what our place in the natural world ought to be, what might nature itself tell us about how to live within it?

On this theme:
Peter Mommsen asks if humans should live by nature’s laws.
Colin Boller interviews farmers successfully shifting to regenerative agriculture.
Caroline Moore introduces some of Britain’s amazing moths.
Daniel Stulac wonders what the Promised Land means in Saskatchewan.
Clare Coffey defends dandelions in lawns.
Rhys Laverty reports on man’s battle with the sea at the Alderney breakwater.
William Thomas Okie explores the old idea that plants reveal their uses.
Greta Gaffin looks at our relationship to wolves, and Saint Francis’s.
Norann Voll remembers lambing with her father.
Tim Maendel finds peace by hunting.
Erik Varden asks if the Christian teaching on chastity is unnatural.
David McBride translates “The Leper of Abercuawg,” an old Welsh poem.
Maureen Swinger watches meteor showers.

Plough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to apply their faith to the challenges we face. Each issue includes in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art.