In this column, Walter Brueggemann writes on technological advancement and its ties to imperialism, and how Scripture can help us avoid the pitfalls of a rapidly advancing world.

Imagination is the capacity to host a world other than the one that is in front of us. Such an act of hosting an alternative world is inherently subversive, as it serves to question and override the world in front of us that we too easily take as given.

The children’s book by Franck Prevot is entitled Wangari Maathai: The Woman Who Planted Millions of Trees (2015) has led me to think about trees and the role they play in the Bible for a viable creation (and a viable economy). That crucial role played by trees has been played since the appearance of trees on the third day of creation (Genesis 1:11-13). This is some of what I learned about trees in the Bible.