No ivory tower has ever been able to contain Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr. Even at 92, the premier “eco-theologian” of our times is a man on a mission. He urgently wants to convert us. But not in the conventional sense. He wants us all – regardless of our religious orientation, our racial, national, and cultural origins – to “evangelize” for an “ecological civilization” whose guiding principle recognizes that we are all on one planet and that the care and preservation of our planet is a shared responsibility.

Born in 1925 to Methodist missionary parents in Japan, he self-identifies today as a liberal Protestant. John’s earliest memories were formed in an interfaith context. The primarily Buddhist culture he encountered, as well as a Canadian missionary school he attended in Kobe, had a profound impact on him. Japan’s culture and religion were substantially different from his own, but that never phased him. “Throughout my career, I have emphasized differences. I’m not one of those people who thinks that all religions are very similar. On the contrary, I think it’s wonderful that they are different. But difference doesn’t mean one is better than the other,” he underscores.

Thus, at age 15, Cobb was utterly perplexed by and unprepared for the racism he encountered when he returned with his parents to the U.S. in 1940. During World War II he watched incredulously as the American government created internment camps for Japanese-Americans and labeled them as “enemies of the country.” It flew in the face of his personal experience living in Japan. America’s actions were an affront to his moral conscience and subsequently informed not only his world view, but also his view of interfaith.

“My view is different from that of many people who have been involved in interfaith because I want to emphasize how different Christianity and Buddhism are and how wonderful it is that they are different,” he repeats. “It’s because they’re so different that we can both learn from each another.”

Throughout his life, Cobb’s criticism of the dominant view in churches, media, universities, and government has earned him the label of a counter-cultural rebel. His philosophical “run-ins” with church doctrine and practice have also characterized his work. Yet it would be hard to deduce that just by observing the unassuming, soft-spoken professor who still speaks with a slight Southern twang. In spite of his gentility, Cobb can readily assume a prophetic voice – deep, passionate and resonant – when holding forth on the urgency of his mission to change people’s ways in order to save our planet.

The Influence of Whitehead