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Rokhum, Book Review  103 

  

Book Review 

 

A Liberation for the Earth: Climate, Race and Cross 
By A.M. Ranawana 

 
Reviewed by Kuki Rokhum 

 
 

  
 

London. SCM Press. 2022. £22.50. 

 

This provocative book by A.M. Ranawana, 

although just 135 pages long, is packed, not only with a 

detailed history of the climate activists from spaces that 

are usually “silent,” but also with an explanation of the 

connections between climate, race, and the cross. 

Drawing on her own background/identity as a woman 

from the formerly colonised and environmentally 

ravaged small island nation of Sri Lanka, Ranawana 

approaches the issue of climate change from the 

perspective of rage—a theology of rage that she believes 

will lead to a “place of collective repentance, to engaging 

robustly with the concept of ecological sin and through 

this to being able to build what Keri Day calls ‘beloved 

communities’” (4). 

 
1

 Ranawana uses the terms “Global North” and “Global South,” but also the “Third World.” I find it notable that 

many, especially from what we call the Global North are hesitant to use this term and replace it with perhaps a more 

politically correct way of using the terms Global North and South. This echoes the thought of another Sri Lankan, 

theologian R.S. Sugirtharajah, who says that “for my part, I feel the term Third World is still serviceable because it 

encapsulates a particular way of existence and experience. It is a suitable semantic metaphor which conveys a 

relationship, especially the unequal relationship that exists between the strong and the weak. It refers to people who 

have been left out and do not have the power to shape their future. It defines a relationship marked by power and 

mediated through old colonial ties, and currently through the economic and cultural presence of neocolonialism” 

(Sugirtharajah 2001). 

The book is laid out in five chapters. The 

introduction presents a detailed narrative of the 

author’s personal experiences and the present practices 

that have caused her grief and anger. The book results 

from Ranawana’s attempt to bring back the justice 

narrative of how Christians approach our shared 

humanity. As the author says, “What is written in this 

book is not my own original scholarship, but an attempt 

to bring together the work of activists, academics and 

theologians who are all endeavouring to argue for a 

project of multiple and complex justices” (3-4). 

Ranawana does this by pointing to the voices of 

liberation and “Third World” theologians and faith-

based activists from the Global South and their insistent 

demands.
1

 

Her rage stems from the lived experience of 

people subjected to systemic injustice in both the past 

and present and who suffer today what we know of as 

“ecological violence.” She presents clear arguments that 

one cannot separate the history of injustice from the 

impact of the climate crisis and builds a case for the 

need to analyse broader social and political processes, 

including structural racism. She also critiques the short-

sightedness of movements that do not understand the 

challenges faced by people from the Global South, for 

example when during the “Extinction Rebellion” they 

encouraged protestors to get arrested, while ignoring 

the risk people from the Global South would run of 

being deported (9-10). 

In the first chapter, entitled “The Cry of the Earth: 

Understanding Ecological Sin and Ecological 

Conversion,” Ranawana states that “it is a critical time 

in our history on this earth, a time for radical 

reimagining, and is why this book attempts to sit within 



Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 5(1),  Summer 2023 

Rokhum, Book Review  104 

  

the spaces of political theology and liberation theology, 

rather than eco-theology” (17). Tracing the 

contributions of different voices, Ranawana notes the 

importance of the concerns that have long been voiced, 

especially by those from the Global South. One 

highlight of this chapter is her drawing out the 

connections between Christian faith and a concern for 

the earth, which she achieves through an exploration of 

Catholic Social Thought, including the most recent 

encyclical by Pope Francis, Laudato Si (2015). It is 

within this framework that she discusses ecological 

sinfulness and ecological conversion. She acknowledges 

that ecological conversion is not likely to be immediate, 

but rather a journey of transformation that must happen 

at all levels of society. 

Chapter two, “All These Bleeding Wounds—

Liberation Theologies and the Ecological Crisis,” 

brings together the work of many theologians, 

proponents of liberation theology, and of other “Third 

World” theologians. Ranawana narrates the history of 

how these theologies developed over time and tells of 

their crucial contributions. The title of the Chapter is 

drawn from Leonardo Boff’s call to pay attention to 

“two bleeding wounds;” first, poverty that breaks the 

social fabric of millions, and second, the systemic 

assault on the earth that breaks down the balance of the 

planet. Through the experiences and reflections of 

these theologians, Ranawana stresses the 

interconnectedness between the ecological crisis and 

other forms of injustice. She emphasises how faith 

requires us to look after both our neighbour and the 

earth.  

“‘The Plantation is Always With Us’: The 

Histories and Presents of Extraction and Domination” 

is the interesting title of the third chapter. Ranawana 

argues that “It is the retelling of histories and presents 

that must trouble and affect our theologising and our 

existence as persons of faith” (66). She traces the 

relationship between power and knowledge, stating that 

the injustice we see today is not just a current event, but 

is steeped in our theologies, systems, and structures, an 

argument she links both to social scientists and 

liberation, Black, feminist, and Indigenous theologians. 

She calls on us to recognise “… the enduring nature 

of colonial logics, and the fact that history of the 

disposable human and the disposable ecology are 

bound up in one another” (70). She points out too that 

it is not just about what the West did to the rest, but also 

how local upper class/elites have played a major role. 

With powerful stories and cases, she tells how the new 

goal of capital accumulation turned people and nature 

into little more than resources to be harnessed. She 

urges readers to engage in their own exploration of the 

links between ecological injustice, labour exploitation, 

and the crises we find ourselves in (83). 

Chapter four, “A Rainbow Coalition: Faith-based 

Mobilisations in Northern and Southern Spaces,” 

focuses on faith-based movements, not only Christian, 

but others that have contributed to the overall 

movement. Through her own experience of working in 

such organisations, Ranawana notes that responding to 

the gospel implies responding as well as to the urgent 

demands of the communities that agencies partner with 

for development projects (96). Faith is often a key 

motivator in encouraging people to donate to 

environmental causes or to demonstrate for the 

environment. 

Pointing to the need for environmental justice 

movements and policies to be mindful of the long arm 

of history and the need for reparative justice, she refers 

to “white myopia,” an indifference to historical 

extraction and exploitation as well as a reluctance to 

foreground the knowledge and struggles of “Southern” 

as well as Indigenous movements (100). Citing 

examples of movements in the Global North, she 

points out that these movement are concerned about 

the impact on “future generations,” which she believes 

dismisses the experiences of those who are already 

baking, drowning, and starving every day (101). 

Acknowledging the complexity of the climate crisis, 

Ranawana urges the formation of a revitalized “rainbow 

coalition.”  

The book concludes with a brief final chapter, “A 

Theology of Rage.”  Rage seems to have become a key 

element in justice movements. Ranawana makes a short 

and stark statement, “This dying world is angry” (118). 

While she sees grief as a valid response to the current 

crisis, she points also to the privilege of being able to 

grieve and how, for communities in the Global South 

and in Indigenous spaces, surviving is more urgent than 

grieving. Instead of grief that can easily turn inwards and 

into the self, the author suggests that we look at the 

history and present of the world and feel prophetic rage 

(122). Referring to “righteous anger” displayed by Jesus, 

she also uses the term “good anger.” “Such anger is 

important because it seeks to critique and reform, and 

also because it stands with those who are most 

oppressed” (123). For Ranawana, rage is key to think 

and act differently and to turn away from the colonial 

narrative.  

Ranawana has managed to pack three key elements 

into this very small book: 

 

1) To be Christ-like is to be in a right relationship 

with God, neighbour, and creation; climate activists 

most often start from a position of fear and try to 

elicit responses through that fear or focus on the 

need to do good. Ranawana argues that our 

response to the ecological crisis is not optional, but 

the very core of the Christian faith. She 

demonstrates this clearly with the powerful support 



Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy 5(1),  Summer 2023 

Rokhum, Book Review  105 

  

of the church leaders and theologians she cites. She 

is certainly right that to elicit a sustained response 

from people of faith we must return to this crucial 

aspect of the Christian faith. In my own 

experience, I have found that the most genuine 

responses come only when people are convinced 

that this is what God requires of them.  

 

2) The importance of history, both past and 

present: Ranawana compiles the uncomfortable 

history of colonialism (both historical and present), 

the struggles of communities and Indigenous 

nations, and the extraction and exploitation of the 

past that continues to impact us to the present day. 

The horrific interconnectedness of all forms of 

injustice is a good reminder of the fact that we 

cannot deny or ignore history and how it is naïve 

simply to try and address the ecological crisis apart 

from all other injustices. This is an important 

reminder for anyone involved in projects and/or 

activities that address the climate crisis. Are we fully 

mindful of these histories that have had not only 

ecological impact, but have changed societies in so 

many other ways too? Could we be complicit in 

this neo-colonialism without even bothering to 

question it? 

 

3) Who/what dictates climate activism: Ranawana 

refers to the “Whiteness” of many movements and 

the insensitivity of movements driven by Western 

narratives that completely ignore the challenges 

faced by those from the Global South who would 

participate in these movements. The basic reason 

for involvement can be starkly different for each 

group; in the North, a fear for the future, and, in 

the South, ongoing struggle steeped in several 

layers of injustice. This is one reason why she 

moves away from grief and guilt to rage. She talks 

of the “…needs of an anxious West that must yet 

be the problem solver, the saviour from the 

catastrophe” (104). I too have grappled with this 

issue, when major global movements seem driven 

by ideologies of the Global North and people from 

the Global South are “invited” to share their stories 

to boost the campaign. Perhaps it is time to re-look 

at what drives these movements and take on the 

challenge to make it a real “rainbow coalition” with 

multiple actors playing important roles.  

 

Ranawana’s book must be read, by those from the 

Global North so they can grow in their understanding 

and perhaps even change the way movements are built 

and propelled, and by those in the Global South so they 

can understand systems better and can avoid becoming 

part of them. There is no denying the horrendous 

impact of colonialism, much of which is still felt today, 

even if in different forms. Yet ecological movements are 

still based in the Global North, where the power still 

resides. But not everything from the Global North is 

evil, and it may help to mention some of their 

contributions. It might also be helpful to suggest what 

both halves of our world might do together to ensure 

the survival and flourishing of all.  

Ranawana has indeed shown the nexus between 

climate, race, and the liberative potential of the cross 

and as she suggests may the making of rage central 

make people think and act differently. 

 

References 

Pope Francis. 2015. Laudato Si’: On Care for Our 

Common Home [Encyclical]. 

R. S. Sugirtharajah. 2001. The Bible and the Third 

World: Postcolonial, Colonial and Precolonial 

Encounters. Cambridge: Cambridge University 

Press.  
 

 

 

Lalbiakhlui Rokhum, popularly known as Kuki, 

served for over twenty years in the Evangelical 

Fellowship of India Commission on Relief. Kuki is 

passionate about issues of justice and is involved in 

teaching Integral Mission and issues such as creation 

care and climate change, organisational development, 

and HIV&AIDS. She recently joined A Rocha 

International as the Director of Church Engagement. 

 

Author email: rokhum@gmail.com  
 

mailto:rokhum@gmail.com

