Meeting the Enemy
By Kevin J. O’Brien (Fortress Press, 2025)
Some faith groups have called for fossil fuel divestment as a way to stifle climate change. But many remain wary of calling out an industry with significant amounts of power.
For this reason, I was intrigued that Kevin O’Brien in his new book names the fossil fuel industry as the enemy right from the start. What follows is a concise yet thorough look at climate change today, engagement with different perspectives, and an exploration into ways we might effectively grow climate resistance both in ourselves and among communities.
Placing the climate crisis within a slew of interconnected issues, O’Brien makes clear that any efforts to repair damage should be directed at systems of domination, not individual choices.
While he recounts measurable advances made in pursuit of preserving a livable planet, the book’s most compelling contributions are theological. O’Brien says we need to replace traditional Christian myths for how humans should relate to God and the world with different ones.
One framework O’Brien suggests is contrasting “energy from hell”—oil, coal, and gas extracted from the Earth, which dirties other resources and damages public health—with “energy from heaven”—sun and wind received from the sky, clean energy that can never be depleted.
He also equates “energy from heaven” with God providing manna in the desert. In that story, enough sustenance falls from the sky to support life each day. If hoarded, it spoiled. Elevating these scriptures, he says, could reshape how humans relate to the world and to God.
Whether you are just stepping into faith-based climate advocacy or have long been involved in these efforts, Meeting the Enemy offers thoughtful ideas to continue your resistance.
This article also appears in the April 2026 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. 91, No. 4, page 37). Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
Image: Unsplash/Jared Evans
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