Assessment

Moodle Discussion Postings 20% + Tutorials 20% + Essay 60%

Module Aims

In view of the current ecological crisis, this module introduces learners to some of the rich insights into creation and ecology in the Old Testament, in light of the Psalmist’s declaration: “O LORD, the earth is full of your creatures” (Psalm 104:24) and Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the environment (Laudato Si’- On Care for our Common Home) with his 2023 follow-up document (Laudate Deum). The module seeks to explore key Old Testament texts that are significant for ecological reflection. While the Genesis creation stories are well known, the divine discourse on creation in Job 38-41 is less familiar. Insights are also available from the prophets Elijah and Amos, who combined a quest for social justice with a sympathy for creation.

Indicative Syllabus:

The following is an indicative syllabus:

• The Ecological Movement from the 1960s to Pope Francis
• Recent approaches to ecological theology of the Bible
• Creation of the world, plants, and animals (Genesis 1)
• Creation of humanity in the divine image, given “dominion” over animals (Genesis 1)
• The gift of the Garden of Eden and the human task of keeping the garden (Genesis 2)
• Losing the Garden of Eden because of human sin (Genesis 3)
• Mysteries of the Cosmos in the Book of Job (chapters 28 and 38)
• Mysteries of Zoology in Job 39-41
• Elijah, justice, and the natural world
• Amos as eco-prophet of social justice
• Developing and Embracing an Integral Ecology

Learning Outcomes

• — Explain some diverse understandings of Israel’s faith in God as Creator, expressed in biblical narrative, prophecy, and wisdom literature, against the Israelite historical background and also with some awareness of modern scientific understandings of cosmology.
• — Articulate an interpretation of key ecological texts from the Bible and explain the significance of these texts for enhancing modern ecological consciousness.
• — Suggest some contributions of various Old Testament texts to urgent contemporary questions of environmental concern.
• — Trace some of the insights as well as limitations in biblical views of the environment and note diversity of treatments of ecological themes in several different texts.
• — Propose ways in which selected biblical texts offer insights into the ancient and modern appreciation of the environment with appropriate consideration of the ethical implications.
• — Demonstrate a prudent judgment regarding the diverse interpretations proposed for key disputed texts within the various biblical writings (e.g., the meaning of the so-called Genesis mandate involving human dominion over animals).

Bibliography

• — Bauckham, R., Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2010. [261.88 BAU]
• — Bauckham, R., Living with Other Creatures: Green Exegesis and Theology. Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2012. [261.88 BAU]
• — Brown, W. P., The Seven Pillars of Creation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. [Ebook]
• — Blenkinsopp, J., Creation, Un-creation, Re-creation: A Discursive Commentary on Genesis 1-11. London: T&T Clark, 2011. [222.1107 BLE]
• — Davis, Ellen F., Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. [261.88 DAV]
• — Francis, Pope [Jorge Bergoglio], Laudato Si’. Dublin: Veritas, 2015. [Online]
• — Francis, Pope [Jorge Bergoglio], Laudate Deum. Dublin: Veritas, 2023. [Online]
• — Habel, N., The Birth, the Curse and the Greening of Earth: An Ecological Reading of Genesis 1–11. Earth Bible Commentary, vol. 1. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2011. [222.1106 HAB]
• — Habel, N., Finding Wisdom in Nature: An Eco-Wisdom Reading of the Book of Job. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2014. [223.1077 HAB]
• — Habel, N., ed., Readings from the Perspective of Earth. The Earth Bible 1. Sheffield: Sheffield University Press, 2000. [Ebook]
• — Habel, N. and S. Wurst, eds., The Earth Story in Genesis. The Earth Bible 2. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000. [261.8577 HAB]
• — Habel, N. and S. Wurst, eds., The Earth Story in Wisdom Traditions. The Earth Bible 3. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001. [261.8362 HAB]
• — Horrell, David G., The Bible and the Environment: Towards a Critical Ecological Biblical Theology—Biblical Challenges in the Contemporary World. London: Equinox, 2010. [261.88 HOR]
• — Horrell, D. G., C. Hunt, C. Southgate, and F. Stavrakopoulou, eds., Ecological Hermeneutics: Biblical, Historical, and Theological Perspectives. London: T&T Clark, 2010. [261.88 HOR]
• — Johnson, E. A., Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. [261.88 JOH]
• — Lane, D. A. Theology and Ecology in Dialogue: The Wisdom of Laudato Si’. Dublin: Messenger, 2020. [261.8 LAN]
• — Linville, J. R., Amos and the Cosmic Imagination. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008. [224.806 LIN]
• — Marlow, H., Biblical Prophets and Contemporary Environmental Ethics: Re-Reading Amos, Hosea and First Isaiah. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. [261.88 MAR]
• — Schifferdecker, K., Out of the Whirlwind: Creation Theology in the Book of Job. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008. [223.106 SCH]
• — Smith, M. S., The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010. [222.11066 SMI]
• — Winright, T., ed., Green Discipleship. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, 2011. [241.691 WIN]