Plowing in Hope seeks to affirm the power and glory of human culture within a clearly defined biblical theology. True culture, Hegeman writes, "is not an activity to keep mankind occupied until something else (presumably better) happens. It has a particular God-ordained end in view: the development of the earth into a global network of gardens and cities in harmony with nature--a glorious garden-city." Placing the development of human culture in a biblical context through a close examination of key words in Greek and Hebrew ("work," for example), the author explores the true importance of the labor we do upon the world, arguing that true work must involve the "threefold connotation of work, service, and worship. Not all will agree with Hegeman's conclusions; he rejects the monastic ideal of celibacy, for example, as a "denial of the normative goodness of marriage and the culturative commandment to fill the earth," and assumes that much of "non-Christian art" is useful in that it "may be given over to God's people for their use and enjoyment." Nonetheless, the book will be helpful to Bible-focused Christians who are looking for an affirmation of human culture in a Christ-centered context. --Doug Thorpe