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Introduction

Why?

Whatever their differences now and over the centuries, Christians, Jews and Muslims are the children of Abraham and still share many traditions in their teachings, worship and lifestyles. These shared traditions lie behind the decision to write this book about the three Abrahamic faiths’ relationship with the environment, rather than all faiths. That may come later.

Sharing Eden can only begin to describe what would take many volumes if we were to go into all the details and issues, but we hope it will supply some of the answers which many from the three faiths, other faiths and indeed those of no faith, seek.

The Abrahamic faiths are complex creations of sub-divisions and sub-species evolved as a result of beliefs, politics, intuition, creativity, coincidence, revelation, inspiration, miracles and no doubt many other factors.

Simple things, hardly noticed and taken for granted, will have their reasons and meanings. For example, architectural features in places of worship, or the worship itself, will have a tradition that can be explained.

So look on this book as a ‘start’. There is so much misinformation and misunderstanding in our world today that we can honestly say that we believe our task is simply to inform and begin to explain. We have absolutely no hidden agenda; there is no attempt to gain points or converts.

When it comes to the environment, we all have a role to play, whether or not we hold a faith. We hope this book shows that, as far as the followers of the Abrahamic faiths are concerned, they have no excuse not just to be aware, but also to be actively concerned, about the state of our world’s environment.

Natan Levy, David Shreeve, Harfiyah Haleem