Word for a Warming World:
Bible, Creation, and the Science of Wonder
B646B
D. Min. Course
January 12-23, 2008
A Preliminary Syllabus (subject to revision)
Instructor: William P. Brown
Office: RC 309
404-687-4584
Course Description:
Participants will study the various creation traditions of the Old Testament with a view toward their theological, spiritual, and ecological implications, particularly as the church addresses the crisis of global warming with a message that is both prophetic and pastoral. The class will draw on a range of resources, from biblical scholarship to scientific research, in order to develop new ways of reading Scripture in the light of science for the church.
Required Texts:
Lester Brown, Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization. W. W. Norton, 2008.
Carol J. Dempsey and Mary Margaret Pazdan (eds.), Earth, Wind, and Fire: Biblical and Theological Perspectives on Creation. Liturgical Press, 2004.
Terence E. Fretheim, God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation. Abingdon, 2005.
Sallie McFague, A New Climate for Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming. Fortress, 2008.
Michael S. Northcott, A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warming. Orbis, 2007.
Barbara Brown Taylor, The Luminous Web: Essays on Science and Religion. Cowley, 2001.
E. O. Wilson, The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth. W. W. Norton, 2006.
Class Requirements:
- Preparation and participation in discussion (50%).
- A final project building on the work done in class (50%). Details forthcoming.
Schedule:
Jan 12: Science, Faith, and Wonder
Taylor, The Luminous Web
Wilson, The Creation
Jan 13: Faith, Creation, and Crisis
McFague, A New Climate for Theology
Northcott, A Moral Climate
Jan 14: In the Beginning: The Cosmic Temple
Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Fretheim, God and World, 1-67.
Laffey, “The Priestly Creation Narrative,” in Earth, Wind, and Fire, 24-34.
Reid, “Sabbath, the Crown of Creation,” in Earth, Wind, and Fire, 67-76.
Jan 15: In the Garden: Focus on the Family
Genesis 2:4b-3:21
Dempsey, “Creation, Evolution, Revelation, and Redemption,” in Earth, Wind, and Fire, 1-23.
TBA from W. P. Brown
Jan 16: Into the Wild: Creation à la Job
Job 38-41
O’Connor, “Wild, Raging Creativity,” in Earth, Wind, and Fire, 48-56.
Fretheim, God and World, 219-47.
TBA from W. P. Brown
Jan 20: The Passion of the Creator / The Playfulness of Creation
Psalm 104 and Proverbs 8:22-31
Fretheim, God and World, 199-217, 249-68.
TBA from W. P. Brown
Jan 21: The Dying Creation
Ecclesiastes 1, 3, 12
TBA from W. P. Brown
Jan 22: The Emergent Creation
Isaiah 40-55
Cook, “Everyone Called by My Name,” in Earth, Wind, and Fire, 35-47.
TBA from W. P. Brown
Jan 23: Creation Good and Groaning: Where Do We Go from Here?
McGinn, “All Creation Groans in Labor,” in Earth, Wind, and Fire, 114-23.
Fretheim, God and World, 269-84.
Lester Brown, Plan B 3.0