Creation Care: Theology, Ethics, and Spirituality

ANABAPTIST MENNONITE BIBLICAL SEMINARY

Students will engage in understanding their connection to God and creation through four major themes: (1) the intersection of place and spirituality, (2) the theological context of creation care, (3) the ethical and economic frameworks of eco-justice, and (4) creation care practices in the church.

COURSE GOALS/EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

Students will:

  1. Reflect on the wonder of nature and the glory that God reveals through creation.
  2. Learn the value of place in natural history and biblical contexts.
  3. Gain appreciation for God’s relationship to and love for all of creation.
  4. Interact with the writings of theologians and ethicists who have grappled with the interconnectedness of God, humans and the rest of the created order.
  5. Grow in understanding of the human impact on earth systems and the environmental stewardship responses.
  6. Engage the correlation between human injustices and environmental degradation –– including ways to respond to local and global inequities.
  7. Design and experience worship practices that incorporate the spiritual and ecological fullness of God in personal and congregational settings.
  8. Explore ways the good news can be proclaimed through church-wide creation care activities and commitments.

TEXTBOOKS AND OTHER RESOURCES

Required Texts  (These and recommended texts will also be available on reserve)

  • Brown, Lester R. Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization. Substantially Revised. W. W. Norton & Company, 2009 (We recommend purchasing this book, Bookstore)
  • Gascho, Luke. Creation Care: Keepers of the Earth. Goshen, IN; MMA Stewardship Solutions, 2008 (We recommend purchasing this book. Copies are available on Amazon)
  • Bouma-Prediger, Steven. For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care. 2nd ed. Baker Academic, 2010 (We recommend purchasing this book, Bookstore)
  • Redekop, Calvin, ed. Creation and the Environment: An Anabaptist Perspective on a Sustainable World. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2000 (We will provide students with a copy of this book).Books on Reserve (These are the books from which readings have been selected)
  • Berry, Wendell. The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry. 1st ed. Counterpoint, 2003.
  • Berry, Wendell. Sex, Economy, Freedom & Community: Eight Essays. New York: Pantheon Books, 1993.
  • Berry, Wendell. The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1996.
  • Brueggemann, Walter, The Land (revised edition). Fortress Press, 2002.
  • Cohen-Kiener, Andrea. Claiming Earth As Common Ground: The Ecological Crisis Through the Lens of Faith. Skylight Paths Publishing, 2009.
  • Davis, Ellen F. Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible. 1st ed. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
  • Gorringe, T. J. A Theology of the Built Environment: Justice, Empowerment, Redemption. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  • Heinrichs, Steve. Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry: Conversations on Creation, Land Justice, and Life Together. Waterloo, Ontario: Herald Press, 2013.
  • McFague, Sallie. Blessed Are the Consumers: Climate Change and the Practice of Restraint. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013.
  • McFague, Sallie. A New Climate for Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming. Fortress Press, 2008.
  • Martin-Schramm, James B., and Robert L. Stivers. Christian Environmental Ethics: A Case Method Approach. Orbis Books, 2003.
  • Moules, Noel. Fingerprints of Fire, Footprints of Peace: a Spiritual Manifesto from a Jesus Perspective. Winchester, UK: Circle Books, 2012.
  • Spencer, Nick, Robert White, and Virginia Vroblesky. Christianity, Climate Change, and Sustainable Living. Hendrickson Publishers, 2009.
  • York, Tripp. A Faith Embracing All Creatures: Addressing Commonly Asked Questions About Christian Care for Animals, 2012.

Creation Care Course Schedule

Week 1

1. Course introduction.    2. Overview of core areas: Theology, Ethics and Spirituality.    3.Talk about the “why” of this course

Week 2

1. Paradigms: dominion, stewardship, companionship.    2. Jesus-centered creation care: theological perspectives

Week 3

1. Native Place: Disruption and Healing.    2. The world before 7 billion people

Week 4

1. Ethical Framework.    2. Hope perspectives and responsibilities

Week 5

1. Creation care in the church

Week 6

1. Climate Change

Week 7

1. Economics and well-being.    2. Ecojustice

Week 8

1. Water: local.    2. International conflicts around resource shortages issues

Week 9

1. Food: agricultural systems and options.    2. Food ethics: how we eat

Week 10

1. Population.    2. Ecojustice in the urban context

Week 11

1. Energy: Conservation, Production.    2. Buildings and housing

Week 12

1. Project presentations.    2. Wrap up.    3. Hope

This syllabus pertains to when the course was offered in 2013