The Land Is Not Empty

Seizure of land. Trail of Tears. Forced removal of children to boarding schools. Pipelines through ancient burial grounds. The list of wrongs goes on and on.

In The Land Is Not Empty, Sarah Augustine and Dan Peplow call the church to reckon with the devastating legacy of a white settlers' faith to indigenous peoples around the globe. Together they uncover the harm of the Doctrine of Discovery, rooted in the fifteenth century, which gave Christian governments the moral and legal right to seize lands in which indigenous people were living. Legitimized by the church and justified by a misreading of Scripture, the doctrine says a land can be considered "empty" and therefore free for the taking if inhabited by "heathens, pagans, and infidels." Together, as a Pueblo woman and the descendant of settlers, Augustine and Peplow investigate the ways that the Doctrine of Discovery still devastates indigenous cultures, and even the planet itself, as it justifies exploitation of both natural resources and people.

What was done in the name of Christ must be undone in the name of Christ, the authors claim. The good news of Jesus means there is still hope for the righting of wrongs. Right relationship with God, others, and the earth requires no less.