With Roots and Wings (PDF)

In With Roots & Wing, Jay McDaniel brings together insights from the natural sciences, Christian theology, and interreligious dialogue, breaking new ground in the search for a wholistic spirituality for our time. Taking this title from the Jewish proverb--that we must give our children both roots and wings--McDaniel shows how this applies to our spiritual lives as well. With Roots and Wings offers an alternative to the contemporary dilemmas of empty consumerism and rigid fundamentalism, consisting of three basic, interrelated approaches to being: to be rooted in the Earth and religious tradition; to be open to the insights of people of other faiths as well as to share our own; and to become centered on God.

McDaniel shows where the "new universe story" of Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme and the Christian story meet and differ, where they complement, and where they supplement one another. With Roots & Wings shows how to experience both
"green grace" that comes from opening one's self to the rhythms of the cosmos, and "red grace" symbolized in the crucifixion of Christ--both of which are vital to a Christian ecological spirituality and praxis.

Most impressive is McDaniel's ability to absorb and reflect important lessons Christians can learn from Native Americans, from Buddhists and Hindus, from Muslims and Jews. The complexity of the issues he addresses and his ability to explain them simply and clearly makes With Roots and Wings must-reading for the general reader as well as ecological activists, clergy, and laity alike. Nothing else comes near it in depth, power, and insight.