What does it mean to flourish? What does it mean for you to flourish? Have you ever really thought about it?

Too often, we’re forced to focus on mere survival. We limit our gaze to that which will get us through this moment and into the next. Too often, we obsess on all the things we’ve done wrong; we’re haunted by mistakes, fearful we’ll repeat past errors. Too often, we embody a disposition of scarcity, assuming there’s not really enough to go around and anything we’ve got must be protected at all costs.

What does it mean to flourish? None of that, that’s for sure. But do we dare dream about abundance? Do we even remember that Jesus told us that he came so that we may have life and have it abundantly?

God desires that we flourish. That’s why God created a good world. And that’s why today’s guest, Dr. Paul Schutz, has written a new book from Orbis Press called “A Theology of Flourishing: The Fullness of Life for All Creation.”

Paul is an associate professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University. He received his B.A. in English from Boston College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Fordham University. His research focuses on the meaning and significance of creation in the Christian tradition, with an emphasis on how scientific research might inform religious accounts of humanity's relationship with other-than-human creatures.

As you’ll hear, his book is a great resource to anyone looking to reimagine and reorient our relationship to creation.

About Paul: https://www.scu.edu/cas/religious-studies/faculty--staff/paul-schutz/

Get his book: https://orbisbooks.com/collections/new-titles-spring-2026/products/creaturely-flourishing-a-new-theology-of-creation?variant=49699836920109