DESCRIPTION: Caring for Creation was primary to God's original mandate to humanity (Gen. 1-2), and alienation from Creation was fundamental to humanity's original "fall" (Gen. 3). This course (1) studies key biblical themes of God's covenantal care for all Creation, communal call to right relationship with the land (especially via the land-keeping practices of Sabbath and Jubilee), and Jesus as person from a particular place (Galilee); (2) engages some of the best contemporary ecological theology, ethics, and writings on sustainability; and (3) acquaint students with curricula for teaching "Sabbath economics" in Sunday schools, small groups, and seminars.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students should demonstrate that they can articulate ecological themes in biblical texts; understand contemporary challenges to sustainability; are prepared to teach churches ways to respond to at least one of these challenges; and can communicate the "household practices" of Sabbath economics.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE & MINISTRY: The Bible emerged from a culture deeply attuned to Creation's rhythms and limits and deeply respectful of the awesome prerogatives of the Creator. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, for example, invites his followers into a lifestyle of joyful sharing of the earth's resources (a pattern reiterated in the praxis of the early church). Yet Western Christianity is implicated in a massive environmental exploitation of the planet. We are living in the late stages of a potentially catastrophic crisis of sustainability. Just as many turned to the medieval church following the collapse of the Roman Empire, contemporary people will look to the church for concrete hope and help in the days ahead. An eco-minded "theology of place" will be indispensable to sustaining a faithful witness in our time, and a Creator-attuned reading of the Bible by church leaders (that funds Creation-friendly preaching, teaching, and living by the church body) will prove invaluable. For the sake of the world, the church must reclaim the God-given ecological wisdom of the Bible while simultaneously learning new insights from contemporary ecological praxis. This course is a primer in just that.

COURSE FORMAT: Class will meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions consisting of a mix of lecture, discussion, small groups, and student presentations.

REQUIRED READING:

Berry, Wendell. The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry. Counterpoint, 2002.

Brueggemann, Walter. The Land: Place as Gift, Promise, and Challenge in Biblical Faith. 2nd ed. Fortress Press, 2002.

Colwell, Matthew. Sabbath Economics: Household Practices. Church of the Savior, 2007.

Freyne, Sean. Jesus, a Jewish Galilean: A New Reading of the Jesus Story. T & T Clark, 2004.

Inge, John. A Christian Theology of Place. Ashgate Publishing, 2003.

Kingsolver, Barbara. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. Harper Collins, 2007.

Myers, Ched. The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics. Church of the Savior, 2001.

Rasmussen, Larry. Earth Community, Earth Ethics. Orbis, 1996.

Schrock Shenk, D. Basic Trek: Venture into a World of Enough. Mennonite Central Committee, 2000.