As a representative of Global Scholars Canada, I will be presenting a virtual talk for the Library Reading Group of the Society of Christian Scholars on Friday, 5 June at 1400 UTC (10:00 AM EDT).

The Reading Group meets once per month with the stated purpose to “discuss a resource from the Library concerning how to grow in our vocation as Christian academics for redemptive influence among our students, colleagues, academic disciplines, and universities.”

I’ve been asked to introduce the chapter “Islands in the Sun: Overtures to a Caribbean Creation Theology” that I contributed to the book I coedited with Garnett Roper, called A Kairos Moment for Caribbean Theology: Ecumenical Voices in Dialogue (Pickwick, 2013). My presentation will be followed by a time of discussion (Q&A).

If you would like to attend the June 5 presentation, you can register here (it is free); a Zoom link will be sent to you.

If you would like to read the chapter in advance, you can download it as a PDF here.

In my presentation, I will analyze some of the key themes of the article and give some background on why I wrote it (originally for a 2010 conference held at Jamaica Theological Seminary in Kingston, Jamaica) and what theological and cultural issues it was intended to address. I will also touch on how the article became the basis for my book A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Baker Academic, 2014).

In preparation for my June 5 presentation, a Christian scholar from Kenya (Sam Sani Nzevela) has written a brief review of the article.

Review of “Islands in the Sun: Overtures to a Caribbean Creation Theology”

By Sam Sani Nzevela, Software Web Solutions Architect, Machakos, Kenya

Having reviewed Richard Middleton’s chapter, I find it as one of the most compelling theological works of our time. It offers a robust and biblically grounded bridge connecting:

Creation → Stewardship → Governance → Justice → Human Flourishing → Ecological Sustainability

At a time when humanity faces growing social inequality, ecological degradation, governance failures, and moral uncertainty, Middleton returns us to a foundational truth: God’s redemptive purpose extends beyond individual salvation to the restoration and flourishing of all creation.

His work challenges the false separation between the spiritual and the material, between faith and public life, and between salvation and stewardship. Instead, it presents humanity as God’s image-bearers, entrusted with the responsibility of caring for creation, advancing justice, and promoting the common good.

I consider this chapter to be an inspired piece of modern theological scholarship. While Scripture alone remains the ultimate authority, Middleton’s contribution powerfully illuminates biblical truths that are urgently needed in our generation. His insights deserve serious consideration by churches, universities, policymakers, and educational institutions. Indeed, aspects of this creation-centered stewardship theology ought to be taught in schools as part of forming responsible citizens, ethical leaders, and faithful stewards of God’s creation.

For Africa and the wider world, this framework offers a practical pathway toward sustainable development, ethical governance, environmental responsibility, social justice, and human flourishing rooted in divine purpose.

May 2026