Shown here is the top-level working Table of Contents. (We stress the word working — the contents will change as the book progresses.)

Chapter 1: An Age of Limits
The Parable of the Wine Yeast
Organization of This Book
Stories and Parables
Themes and Guidelines
Guideline #1: Understand Physical Realities
Guideline #2: Accept and Adapt
Guideline #3: Live Within Gaia
The 300-Year Party
Deforestation
Coal and Steam Power 
Overshoot
The St. Matthew Island Reindeer
Through a Glass Darkly
Time Frame
Need for Caution
Humility
No Happy Chapter
The Garden Gate
Awakening to Limits: A Reflection

Chapter 2: Exile and Prophecy
The Parable of the Inheritance
Exile to Babylon
Exile and Theology
Boomers
A Prophetic Accusation from the Young 
The Prophets
Modern Prophecy
Failure of Secular Leadership
The Church During COVID 
Church Leaders 
Laudato Sí
Prophetic Faithfulness
Wandering in Exile: A Reflection

Chapter 3: The City of Man
King Knut
1. How We Built the City
Fossil Fuels: The Hidden Foundation
Oil: The Magic Fuel
Oil Refining 
Petrochemicals 
Systems 
Complexity 
Feedback Loops 
2. A City in Decline 
Peak Oil
The Hubbert Curve
Simplification
Catabolic Collapse
Dark Ages
Limits to Growth
Global Outlook
Decarbonization
The Red Queen
Energy Returned on Energy Invested
Nine Pounds of Gold 
Defining ERoEI
The Energy Cliff
Climate Change
Global Temperature Change
The Permian Triassic Extinction
Sectors
Other Greenhouse Gases 
The Clathrate Gun
3. A Failed City of Man
The Missing Diesel Truck
Climate Change Consequences 
The Uninhabitable Earth
Six Degrees
Deep Adaptation
The Biosphere
Population
Economics
Growth
Usury 
The City of Man: A Reflection 

Chapter 4: A Personal Journey 
The Parable of the Lantern
Aha! Moment #1: The Machine Stops
Aha! Moment #2: Entropy, Into the Greenhouse World
Aha! Moment #3: The Biofuel Surprise 
Aha! Moment #4: Twilight in the Desert 
Aha! Moment #5: No Brighter Future
Aha! Moment #6: Light Bulbs 
Aha! Moment #7: The Ladder of Awareness
Step 1. Dead Asleep
Step 2. Awareness of One Fundamental Problem
Step 3. Awareness of Many Problems 
Step 4. Interconnections Between Many Problems 
Step 5. All Aspects of Life
Aha! Moment #8: Augustine’s City of God and Benedict’s Rule 
Augustine and Benedict
The Church’s Decline
Aha! Moment #9: COP 21 / COP 29 
Aha! Moment #10: Scalable Projects
Aha! Moment #11: No Going Back
Aha! Moment #12: INTJs
Aha! Moments: A Reflection

Chapter 5: Green Technology to the Rescue 
The Parable of the Green Factory
Thermodynamics 
First Law 
Second Law
Jevons’ Paradox 
Exponential Growth 
The Tragedy of the Commons / Externalities 
Scale-Up 
Net Zero by 2050 
Alternative Energy Sources
Clean Coal 
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power Plants 
Nuclear Waste Storage 
Thorium Reactors 
Hydroelectric 
Solar 
Wind 
Biofuels 
Hydrogen 
Ammonia 
Geothermal 
Geoengineering 
Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Point of Release Carbon Capture 
Direct Air Capture 
Solar Radiation Management 
Artificial Intelligence 
The Parable of the Church Kitchen
The Limits of Green Technology: A Reflection

Chapter 7: Artificial Intelligence
The Parable of the Listening Robot
Augustine’s Guidance 
Ethics
Agents and LLMs 
The Parable of the Car Wash 
Practical Uses 
Sermon Writing
Administrative Assistance 
Formation Support 
Benefits and Deception
Benefits
Challenges 
Counselor 
Weakened Truth 
The Tobacco Analogy
Gorillas and X-Risk 
Hallucination
The Ethical Core 
Impact of Limits 
AI in an Age of Limits
The God-Shaped Hole: A Reflection

Chapter 7: Theology
The Parable of the Compass and the Map 
An Example from Physics
Theological Frameworks
Genesis and Human Domination
Historical Parallels
Monasticism
Puritanism / Methodism
Celtic Christianity
Truth
The Parable of the Bandits
Today’s Plato’s Cave 
Faith and Belief
De Mendacio
An Empire of Lies
Honest Denial 
Ecological Amnesia 
Linearity Trap
Stoicism 
Fatalism
Christianity and Stoicism
Spiritual Foundation
Hope with Patience 
Reverence for Creation
Limits as Sacred Discipline
The Sacraments of Daily Life 
Social Justice
Theological Guidelines 
Guideline #1: Understand Physical Realities
Quantification
Understanding Risk
Guideline #2: Accept and Adapt
Accept
Adapt 
Paradise Lost 
The Slough of Despond 
Grief and Anger
Friendship
Story Telling
Guideline #3: Live Within Gaia
The Parable of the Thursday Meal
Theology in an Age of Limits: A Reflection

Chapter 8: The Path Forward
The Parable of the Two Builders
Top-Down Action vs. Individual Responses 
Turning Theology Into Practice
The Story of the Virginia Gardener
Understand Physical Realities
The Educated Citizen
A Clear Mind
Imagination
The End of Bargaining
Accept and Adapt 
Resistance 
Monasticism 
Simplification 
Living Within Gaia
Community 
Ritual 
Practice Collapse
Victory Gardens
Low-Tech Skills 
Leadership Responsibility 
Church Governance
Sabbath
From the Pulpit