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The Green Bible's destination, its rhetorical finale, is a section called "Where Do You Go from Here?" It includes action items for households and churches, tips for getting started in Christian environmentalism—which, it must be said, looks basically like secular environmentalism plus some prayer and Bible memorization—and a list of religious and secular organizations devoted to environmental advocacy and poverty relief. In the end, this project nurtures not disciples, souls, or even better readers, but devotees to a predictable set of causes, along with a hefty "green premium" for the publisher. For Scripture, this is too meager a harvest.

Nevertheless, The Green Bible is a Bible after all. Buried in its introductory material is this remark from Bruce M. Metzger's preface to the NRSV, which licensees are obligated to include:

The Bible carries its full message, not to those who regard it simply as a noble literary heritage of the past or who wish to use it to enhance political purposes and advance otherwise desirable goals, but to all persons and communities who read it so that they may discern and understand what God is saying to them.

In all of The Green Bible, these uncelebrated words encourage me most. Few will find them. Yet those who do might be moved, not away from environmentalism or any otherwise desirable goal, but toward the Bible's incomprehensible fullness. That fullness will finally put to shame all our commentaries, our forewords and afterwords, our footnotes and indexes, our trendsetting and target marketing, and yes, our colorizing.

Telford Work is associate professor of theology at Westmont College and author of The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible: Deuteronomy.

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February 2009, Vol. 53, No. 2