Description:
Ancient Christian tradition maintained that God authored not one but two books through which God continues to speak to us: the book of Scripture and the book of Nature. The “book of Nature” has been the subject of intense recent interest due to our growing awareness of human dependence on fragile ecosystems and the environmental crises of the past century. This course will begin with an experiential exploration of the spiritual character of Sewanee’s natural setting, then move on to consider social, theological, and Biblical perspectives. We will address the role of human responsibility for/in creation and conclude with the socio-economic implications for the way we live and work in the 21st century.
Structure:
First Week: Opening the Book of Nature—experiential and contemplative
Second Week: God and Creation—theoretical
Third Week: Socio-Economic—theoretical and practical
Assigned Readings:
Richard Bauckham, The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of
Creation (Baylor University Press, 2010).
Michael Braungart and William McDonough, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things (New York: North Point Press, 2012).
Cynthia S.W. Crysdale and Neil Ormerod, Creator God, Evolving World (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013).
Robert R. Gottfried, Economics, Ecology and the Roots of Western Faith: Perspectives from the Garden (Rowman & Littlefield, 1995).
Robert R. Gottfried, “Beauty by Design” (2013).
http://cresewanee.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/beauty-by-design-final3.pdf
McDonald, Barry (ed.) Seeing God Everywhere: Essays on Nature and the Sacred (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom, 2003).
A copy of the Bible (New Revised Standard version is a good one)
Schedule
Before the Course
McDonald, Chapters 2-5, 7, 8, 17, 19
Gottfried, “Beauty by Design,”pp. 1-12 (up to The Social Dimensions of Beauty)
First Week
McDonald, Seeing God Everywhere, Chapters 2-5, 7, 8, 17, 19. These are background readings for the Opening the Book of Nature experiences. Your journaling for this week (see below) should draw on your experiences and on your reading of these chapters.
Second Week
Lesson 1: Crysdale and Ormerod, Chapters 1-2.
Lesson 2: Crysdale and Omerod, Chapters 3-4.
Lesson 3: Crysdale and Ormerod, Chapters 5-7.
Lesson 4: Bauckham, Chapters 1, 3
Lesson 5: Bauckman, Chapters 4-5.
Third Week
Lesson 6: Gottfried, Economics, Chapters 1-4.
Lesson 7: Gottfried, Economics, Chapters 5 and 6.
Lesson 8: Gottfried, Economics, Chapter 7, and Braungart and McDonough, Cradle to Cradle.
Lesson 9: Braungart and McDonough, Cradle to Cradle.
Lesson 10: Gottfried, “Beauty by Design.” Be sure to review pp. 1-12 before reading the rest of the paper.
Grading:
Grading is based upon active participation in course activities and upon the final paper. The course activities include the Opening the Book of Nature experiences of the first week, class discussions, and journaling. While these are not graded per se, appropriate participation is required and a lack of commitment to and involvement in these activities will influence the final grade.
Journaling: Find a quiet place outdoors where you can be alone and can reflect. Try to go to the same place each time. Take 20 minutes each day to practice the presence of God outdoors. Then reflect on your experience(s), course readings, and class discussions. This is your time for quiet and for reflection on the themes of the course. We will collect your journals once midway through the course and once toward its end. Mark those passages you want us to read. We will not read any unmarked passages. This will be worth 30% of your final grade.
Final Reflective Integration paper: Your paper will draw on the course readings, discussions, journaling, and contemplative experiences to address the following question: What are the major themes that run through the course, how do they relate to one another, and what are their implications for my understanding, and practice, of my ministry? The paper should integrate the topics addressed in class and should provide a rigorous, thoughtful development of your thesis. We also expect well-written prose – you are welcome to ask others to critique your writing as well as your content. Do give credit in an initial footnote to anyone who has helped you. To the extent possible credit authors, other students, etc. with their ideas. Given that we all are using the same texts and all know one another, a simple use of the person’s name will suffice; e.g., “As Northbourne pointed out, authenticity matters.” Papers should be typewritten, double-spaced, properly researched and referenced, and between 20-25 pages in length. This will be worth 70% or your final grade.
This syllabus pertains to when the course was offered in 2014