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G E O R G E W. T R U E T T

T H E O L O G I C A L S E M I N A R Y

B A Y L O R U N I V E R S I T Y

PRACTICAL THEOLOGY 7390

STUDIES IN CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY

CREATION CARE AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

DR. R. ROBERT CREECH

FALL 2015

George W. Truett Theological Seminary

CREATION CARE AND SPIRITUAL LIFE

PRACTICAL THEOLOGY 7390FALL 2015Truett 218

9:30-10:50 AMTuesdays & Thursdays

R. Robert Creech, [email protected]

Course Description

In this course a special topic related to Christian spirituality will be explored in a focused and intensive way. The topics vary from semester to semester and students may take this course more than once as topics change. This semester’s seminar will involve an extensive reading of classic and contemporary works related to ecology, agrarianism, and eco-theology seeking to understand the implications of creation care for community, spiritual life, and ministry.

. Student Learning Objectives:

As a result of this study, the student will:

1. Articulate a robust biblical, theological, and practical vision of creation care.

2. Reflect on key themes such as Sabbath, community, land, health, agriculture, politics, and economics, considering their implications for church, Christian life, and congregational ministry.

3. Produce a practical curriculum tool to lead a congregation to reflect on aspect of creation care from a biblical and theological perspective

Course Grading

1. Cohort Discussion Leadership. (24 points) Each cohort will lead the class discussion eight times during the semester, each discussion being worth 3 points. This is not to be a presentation by the cohort, but they are to lead the rest of the class to engage the content of the reading on the day assigned. They should bring their own

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comments and observations and Invite others into the discussion with questions or their own puzzling over the reading. See Appendix A – Effective Discussion Leadership

2. Devotional Essays (49 points). Each student will submit a devotional essay every two weeks as described in Appendix B (seven total). These essays will be peer-reviewed by the student’s cohort on Canvas. The best fifty essays will be edited by the professor and will be used to produce a book entitled, Reading the Bible Outdoors. A sample essay can be found in Appendix C.

3. Final Belief Paper and Rule of Life (15 points) Each student will submit a final two-part paper, as described in Appendix D.

4. Class Discussion & Participation (12 points). Participation in class discussion and activity will be evaluated every four weeks and a grade recorded of up to 3 points.

Course Textbooks

Bahnson, Fred, and Norman Wirzba. Making Peace with the Land: God’s Call to Reconcile with Creation. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2012. ISBN-13: 978-0830834570

Berry, Wendell. The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry. Counterpoint. 2003. ISBN-13: 978-1593760076

______. This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems. Counterpoint, 2014. ISBN-13: 978-1619024366

Bredin, Mark. The Ecology of the New Testament: Creation, Re-Creation, and the Environment. IVP Books, 2010. ISBN-13: 978-0830856381

Carson, Rachel, Linda Lear, and Edward O. Wilson. Silent Spring. Anniversary edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. ISBN-13: 978-0618249060

Davis, Ellen F. Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible. Cambridge ; Cambridge University Press, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0521732239

Dillard, Annie. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. New York, NY: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2013. ISBN-13: 9780061233326

Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac. Reprint edition. New York: Ballantine Books, 1986. ISBN-13: 978-0345345059

Course Calendar

Abbreviations: AL (A San County Almanac), AD (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek), RC (Silent Spring), WB (Art of the Commonplace), TD (This Day), ED (Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture), MB (Ecology of the NT), B&W (Making Peace with the Land)

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Ecology ClassicsAldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac

Tuesday, August 25 – Aldo Leopold

Reading: AL 0-43 (Foreword – June)Poetry: TD xix-19

Thursday, August 27 – Aldo Leopold

Reading: AL 44-100 (July-December)Poetry: TD 20-35

Tuesday, September 1 – Aldo Leopold

Reading: AL: 101-63 (Wisconsin-Chihuahua & Sonora)Poetry: TD 36-51

Thursday, September 3 – Aldo LeopoldCohort 1

Reading: AL 238-320 (The Upshot)Poetry: TD 52-66Devotional Essay #1 Due (God as Creator, The Act of Creation)

Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Tuesday, September 8 – Annie DillardCohort 2

Reading: AD 1-71 (Chapters 1-4)Poetry: TD 67-81

Thursday, September 10 – Annie DillardCohort 3


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Thursday, September 17 – No class meeting todayDevotional Essay #2 Due (The Sky – Sun, Moon, Stars, Universe)



Thursday, September 24 – No class meeting today

Pope Francis, On Care for Our Common Home

Tuesday, September 29 – Pope Francis, On Care for Our Common HomeCohort 3

Reading: LAUDATO SI’, Chapter 1 (sections 1-61)Poetry: TD 133-48

Thursday, October 1 – Pope Francis, On Care for Our Common HomeCohort 1

Reading: LAUDATO SI’, Chapters 2-3 (sections 62-136)Poetry: TD 149-61Devotional Essay #3 Due (The Wilderness, the Desert)

Tuesday, October 6 – Pope Francis, On Care for Our Common HomeCohort 2

Reading: LAUDATO SI’, Chapter s4-5 (sections 137-201)Poetry: TD 162-73

Thursday, October 8 – Pope Francis, On Care for Our Common HomeCohort 3

Reading: LAUDATO SI’, Chapter 6 (sections 202-246)Poetry: TD 174-87

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Tuesday, October 13 – Guest, Scott Truex, Co-Director Sustainable Communities Institute and Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Ball State University will make a presentation

Reading: TD: 188-200

Wendell Berry’s The Art of the Commonplace

Thursday, October 15 – Wendell BerryCohort 1

Reading: WB vii-64 (Introduction and essays 1-3)Poetry: TD 201-12Devotional Essay #4 Due (The Waters: Seas, Rivers, Lakes)

Tuesday, October 20 – Wendell BerryCohort 2

Reading: WB 65-134 (Essays 4-6)Poetry: TD 213-26


Reading: WB 135-206 (Essays 7-11)Poetry: TD 227-41Guest: Smith Getterman, Assistant Director of Sustainability & Special ProjectsBaylor University

Tuesday, October 27 – Wendell BerryCohort 1

Reading: WB 207-78 (Essays 12-17)Poetry: TD 242-53


Reading: WB 279-327 (Essays 18-21)Poetry: TD 254-65Devotional Essay #5 Due (The Land: Mountains, Fields, Forests)

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The Perspective of Biblical Studies & Theology

Ellen Davis’ Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture

Tuesday, November 3 – Ellen DavisCohort 3

Reading: ED ix-41 (Foreword-Chapter 3)Poetry: TD 266-79

Thursday, November 5 – Ellen DavisCohort 1

Reading: ED 42-100 (Chapters 4-5)Poetry: TD 280-95

Tuesday, November 10 – Ellen DavisCohort 2

Reading: ED 101-38 (Chapters 6-7)Poetry: TD 296-310

Thursday, November 12 – Ellen DavisCohort 3

Reading: ED 139-80 (Chapter 8-Postscript)Poetry: TD 311-22Devotional Essay #6 (The Garden, Agriculture, and Food)

Mark Bredin’s The Ecology of the New Testament

Tuesday, November 17 – Mark BredinCohort 1

Reading: MB xi-60 (Foreword-Chapter 5)Poetry: TD 323-34

Thursday, November 19 – Mark BredinCohort 2

Reading: MB 61-126 (Chapters 6-10)Poetry: TD 335-48

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Tuesday, November 24 – Mark BredinCohort 3

Reading: MB 127-89Poetry: TD 349-62Devotional Essay #7 (Natural Phenomena: Storm, Earthquake, Rain, Lightening, Hail,

Snow, Wind)

Thursday, November 26 – Thanksgiving Day

Fred Bahnson & Norman Wirzba’s Making Peace with the Land

Tuesday, December 1 – Bahnson & WirzbaCohort 1

Reading: B&W 11-82 (Foreword-Chapter 3)Poetry: TD 363-81

Thursday, December 3 – Bahnson & WirzbaCohort 2

Reading: B&W 83-160Poetry: TD 382-97

Final Exam TBD -- Final Paper Due

Course Policies & Procedures

Attendance Policy

Students are required to attend all classes in the student’s schedule. Under no circumstances will credit be given for the course if the student is absent more than 25% of the sessions (7 of the sessions). A student having more than the maximum number of allowable absences will receive an “F” (or a “DF” if the student drops the course prior to the last date to drop a course).

Late Work

Assignments turned in after 8:00 AM on the day they are due will be considered late and will not be accepted.

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Grading Policy

The professor will use the following grade scale from the George W. Truett Theological Seminary Catalog:

A (95-100)A - (90-94)B+ (87-89)B (84-86)B- (80-83)C+ (77-79)C (70-76)D (60-69)F (Below 60)

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty1

According to the Seminary catalog, all Seminary students, as students enrolled in Baylor University, are subject also to general University regulations, including the Honor Code. Baylor University has defined plagiarism as:

incorporating into one's work offered for course credit passages taken either word for word or in substance from a work of another, unless the student credits the original author and identifies the original author's work with quotation marks, footnotes, or another appropriate written explanation.

Students may claim that they did not mean to plagiarize or that it was unintentional. Intent, however, cannot be judged in such matters. If you submit a document that plagiarizes another source, then you have committed plagiarism. It is the responsibility of the student to check and recheck sources to insure that proper citations have been included. If in doubt, consult with your professor about proper procedure.

All students must submit papers, exams, and other written materials to “Turnitin.com.” This computer source will scan your document and determine if there is evidence of plagiarism. This search engine will also provide a citation of the source from which you have taken the text in question. Please be advised of the following statement:

1 Ibid. pp. 42-43. Further information on Baylor University’s Honor Code can be found at http://www.baylor.edu/honorcode/index.php?id=44060.

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Students agree that by taking this course, all required papers, exams, class projects or other assignments submitted for credit may be submitted to turnitin.com or similar third parties to review and evaluate for originality and intellectual integrity. A description of the services, terms and conditions of use, and privacy policy of turnitin.com is available on its web site: http://www.turnitin.com. Students understand all work submitted to turnitin.com will be added to its database of papers. Students further understand that if the results of such a review sUUPort an allegation of academic dishonesty, the course work in question as well as any sUUPorting materials will be submitted to the Honor Council for investigation and further action.

Consequences of Plagiarism and Other Acts of Academic Dishonesty:

Students who commit acts of academic dishonesty will face the following consequences:

1. The student will be penalized in accordance with the Baylor University’s Honor Code. Possible sanctions include, but are not limited to, failure/grade penalty on the assignment, rewriting the assignment, failure/grade penalty on the test, and failure/grade penalty in the course.

If the student commits academic dishonesty a second time, then according to the Baylor University Honor Code, the Office of Academic Integrity will refer the student’s file to the Honor Council. The Honor Council will consider additional sanctions for repeat violations. Possible sanctions include, but are not limited to probation, suspension, and expulsion.

2. The professor is required to report all forms of academic misconduct to the Office of Academic Integrity. All matters of academic dishonesty, including student appeal, will be handled according to the University’s Honor Code.

Policy on Access and Learning Accommodation2

Any student who needs learning accommodation should inform the professor immediately at the beginning of the semester. The student is responsible for obtaining appropriate documentation and information regarding needed accommodations from the Baylor University Office of Access and Learning Accommodation (OALA) and providing it to the professor early in the semester. The OALA phone number is (254) 710-3605 and the office is in Speight Plaza Parking Garage.

2 Ibid., p. 43

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http://www.turnitin.com/

Appendix ALeading Effective Discussions

Your cohort will lead the class discussion eight times during the semester, each discussion being worth 3 points. This is not to be a presentation by your cohort, but you are to lead the rest of the class to engage the content of the reading on the day assigned. Come with your own comments and observations. Invite others into the discussion with questions or your own puzzling over the reading.

Here are some suggestions about how to lead these discussions most effectively.

1. Read the material carefully. Since you are responsible for leading discussion on this material, it would be helpful to read it through more than one time.

2. Mark those passages in the reading that you strongly agree with (!), strongly disagree with (X), or have questions about (?).

3. Select the ones you feel most strongly about or most confused by. Think through these carefully. Why do you agree with the writer? Or why do you disagree? Have they left some important aspect of the issue out? Have they misstated the facts? Is there something wrong with their reasoning? Are they unclear?

4. In class, read your chosen passage. State your agreement, disagreement, or questions about it and your reasons. Ask how others responded to the writer.

5. Additionally, you can think about passages in the writing and their implications for your own life, for the church, for the community, or for the nation. Read the passage and talk about your sense of the implications. Ask if others see other implications.

6. As the semester progresses, begin to think “syntopically,” that is, bring previous writers we have read into the conversation with the current one. What did we read in Leopold, for example, that is similar to what Wendell Berry writes?

7. It is permissible for you to take “the devil’s advocate” position; that is, you may choose to challenge the author and take a position that might not really be your own, for the sake of stirring the argument. Be prepared to defend the position as if it were your own. You need not say that is what you are doing.

8. The best class discussions will likely be those led by groups who themselves take the time face to face or via email, chat, or the Canvas discussion board, discuss the reading beforehand.

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Appendix B

Writing Devotional Essays

In his essay, “Christianity and the Survival of Creation,” which was first delivered as a lecture at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, Wendell Berry said:

I don't think it is enough appreciated how much an outdoor book the Bible is. It is a "hypaethral book," such as Thoreau talked about -- a book open to the sky. It is best read and understood outdoors, and the farther outdoors the better. Or that has been my experience of it. Passages that within walls seem improbable or incredible, outdoors seem merely natural. This is because outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders; we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary but the common mode of existence. It is our daily bread. Whoever has really considered the lilies of the field or the birds of the air and pondered the improbability of their existence in this warm world within the cold and empty stellar distances will hardly balk at the turning of water into wine -- which was, after all, a very small miracle. We forget the greater and still continuing miracle by which water (with soil and sunlight) is turned into grapes. (Art of the Commonplace, p. 311)

On several occasions as part of a congregation’s staff, my colleagues and I have participated in writing projects to support the church’s life with educational or devotional materials. Usually this has also involved the writing and editorial work of several congregational members as well. We will be involved in such a project this semester as a class.

Each student will submit a devotional essay about every two weeks, for a total of seven. These essays will be peer-reviewed by the student’s cohort on Canvas. The best fifty essays will be edited by the professor and will be used to produce a book entitled, Reading the Bible Outdoors. Essays will be due by 11:59 PM on September 3, September 17, October 1, October 15, October 29, November 12, and November 24. I will write an introduction to the book and will arrange to have it formatted and published. Students will receive both a copy of the book and credit for their contribution.

As you write your essays you may use biblical texts of your choice, but each essay will have a general topic related to the theme of reading the Bible outdoors.

September 3 – God as Creator, act of creationSeptember 17 – The Sky (sun, moon, stars, universe)October 1 – WildernessOctober 15 – Sea, River, LakesOctober 29 – Mountains, Fields, ForestsNovember 12 – Garden, Agriculture, FoodNovember 24 – Natural Phenomena: Storm, Earthquake, Rain, Lightening, Hail, Snow,

Wind

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The format of the devotional essay should strictly follow the template below. See sample in Appendix C. Use TimesNewRoman 12 font with 1” margins.

TITLE(Text 1:1-15)

Short, original devotional reading based on the text. 250-300 words. Focus on a single idea in the text that is important to you. Use first and second person pronouns (“I,” “we,” “you”). Make it personal where you can. A personal anecdote of your encounter with God in worship, prayer, or creation is appropriate, as are your personal struggles with issues addressed by the text. Treat this like a very brief one-point sermon. Touch on the text, on illustrating the idea from the text, and on connecting the text to the reader’s life. The application portion can be taken up in the “Questions for Further Thinking” portion.

Questions for Further Thinking: One or two questions that would lead the reader to engage the idea in the devotional essay in their own life or in that of their congregation.

Prayer: This should follow the traditional form of the “collect.”

The form is:1. Address to God: 2. Ascribe an action or attribute to God or express thanks for God’s actions:3. Petition:4. Closing:

Examples from the Book of Common Prayer (1977)

Example One:

1. Almighty God, 2. we thank you for making the earth fruitful, so that it might produce what is

needed for life: 3. Bless those who work in the fields; give us seasonable weather; and grant

that we may all share the fruits of the earth, rejoicing in your goodness; 4. through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Example Two:

1. Almighty God, 2. who hast created us in your own image: 3. Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with

oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations,

4. to the glory of thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Appendix CSample Devotional Essay

God of Stars and Broken Hearts(Psalm 147:3-5)

Sometimes God seems too big. Scrolling through photos taken by the Hubble Space Telescope leave us with our mouths agape. The sheer grandeur of whirlpool galaxies, nebulae, starburst galaxies and dozens of other dazzling sights overwhelms the imagination. Staring into the night sky has always had this effect on us humans. And then we read the words of the psalmist, “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our LORD and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit” (Psalm 147:4-5). That’s a big God! Sometimes a bit too big.

My speck of a life on a speck of a planet in a speck of a solar system in a speck of a galaxy leaves me feeling insignificant to the tenth power! What difference does my loneliness or grief or disappointment make to such an immense God?

Jesus said that very God, whom he called “Abba, Father,” knows when a sparrow falls. He knows the number of hairs on our heads (Matt 10:29-30). And even the psalmist who speaks of God’s naming and numbering the stars says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). The God of stars is also the God of broken hearts.

In one sense God became human in Jesus Christ to scale himself down for us. The Logos, who created all that is (John 1:1-3), became flesh in Jesus so that we could know him (John 1:14, 18).

To stand in awe at the Creator of the night sky or of the Artist behind a gallery of Hubble images is at the same time to stand in awe of one whose love for us is “higher than the heavens” (Psalm 103:11). He is the God of stars, of course. But He is also the Father, the God of broken hearts.

[Note: this is a 305 word example]

Questions for Further Thinking [These are intended to help the reader think through applying the idea in the devotional to their own life]

1. Do you ever hesitate to pray about the details of your life because you feel they are too trivial to matter to God?

2. What do you think Jesus might have to say to someone who thought they were too insignificant for God to care about them? How about writing down that response in your journal today?

A Prayer:

Eternal God and Everlasting Father,You fling the stars across sky and give life to the smallest creatures on earth.Teach us, when we see the majesty and glory of the night sky, to know of the tenderness and compassion that You have for us who are your children.In the Name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

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Appendix DFinal Paper: Belief Paper and a Rule of Life

The final paper in the course will consist of two parts: a belief paper and an ecological rule of life. This paper will be turned in on Canvas.

A Belief Paper is a brief (2-3 page) declaration about what you personally believe about a subject. Its purpose is to clarify your own thinking and to expose as best you can the source of your beliefs on a topic. You might find it helpful now and then throughout your life and ministry to attempt a belief paper on a variety of topics – marriage, pastoral care, preaching, pastoral ethics, parenting, friendship, etc.

In this assignment you will write a belief paper on the topic of creation care. You will state as clearly as you can what it is you have come to believe about creation, about the responsibilities you have toward creation, about the role of Christians or the Church in Creation Care, and any other issues related to the topic that form the core of your beliefs in the matter. Additionally, be as clear as you can about the sources of the beliefs you hold. How have you come to hold these particular beliefs?

A Rule of Life is a brief (1 page, bullet points) declaration about the explicit practices you intend to follow in your life around an issue. How do you intend to put creation care into practice in your own life, your family, and your congregation? What specific actions do you intend to practice?

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Recommended Reading

Allen, Will, and Charles Wilson. The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities. New York, N.Y.: Gotham Books, 2012.

Attfield, Robin. “Christian Attitudes to Nature.” Journal of the History of Ideas 44, no. 3 (1983): 369–86.

Ayre, Clive. Earth, Faith, and Mission: The Theology and Practice of Earth Care. Ontario: Mosaic Press, 2013.

Bahnson, Fred. Soil and Sacrament: A Spiritual Memoir of Food and Faith. Simon & Schuster, 2013.Bahnson, Fred, and Norman Wirzba. Making Peace with the Land God’s Call to Reconcile with

Creation. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2012. Bailey, Kenneth E. Jacob and the Prodigal: How Jesus Retold Israel’s Story. Downers Grove, Ill:

InterVarsity Press, 2003.———. Poet and Peasant: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke. Grand Rapids, Mich:

Eerdmans, 1976.———. Poet & Peasant ; And, Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in

Luke. Combined ed. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1983.———. The Cross & the Prodigal: Luke 15 Through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants. 2nd ed.

Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 2005.———. Through Peasant Eyes: More Lucan Parables, Their Cultureand Style. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.

B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1980.Bailey, L. H. The Holy Earth. His the Background books. New York: The Christian Rural Fellowship,

1943.Ball, Ian, ed. The Earth beneath: A Critical Guide to Green Theology. London: SPCK, 1992.Bauckham, Richard. “First Steps to a Theology of Nature.” Evangelical Quarterly 58, no. 3 (1986):

229–44.———. Living with Other Creatures: Green Exegesis and Theology. Waco, Tex: Baylor University

Press, 2011.———. The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation. Waco, Tex: Baylor

University Press, 2010.Berry, Wendell. “A Native Hill.” Pages 3–31 in The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of

Wendell Berry. Edited by Wirzba, Norman. Emeryville, CA: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2002.Berry, Wendell. “A Practical Harmony.” Pages 103–8 in What Are People For?: Essays. Second

Edition. Berkley, CA: Counterpoint, 2010.———. Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food. Later printing. Counterpoint, 2009.———. “Damage.” Pages 5–8 in What Are People For?: Essays. Second Edition. Berkley, CA:

Counterpoint, 2010.———. “God and Country.” Pages 95–102 in What Are People For?: Essays. Second Edition. Berkley,

CA: Counterpoint, 2010.———. “Healing.” Pages 9–13 in What Are People For?: Essays. Second Edition. Berkley, CA:

Counterpoint, 2010.———. “Health as Membership.” Pages 144–58 in The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays

of Wendell Berry. Edited by Norman Wirzba. 1st ed. Emeryville, CA: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2003.———. New Collected Poems. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2013.

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———. “The Agrarian Standard.” Pages 23–33 in The Essential Agrarian Reader: The Future of Culture, Community, and the Land. Edited by Norman Wirzba. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003.

———. The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry. Edited by Norman Wirzba. 1st ed. Emeryville, CA: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2003.

———. “The Gift of Good Land.” Pages 293–304 in The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry. Emeryville, CA: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2002.

———. The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1996.———. “Two Economies.” Pages 219–35 in The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of

Wendell Berry. Edited by Norman Wirzba. 1st ed. Emeryville, CA: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2003.———. What Are People For?: Essays. Second Edition. Counterpoint, 2010.Bouma-Prediger, Steven. For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care. 2nd ed.

Engaging culture. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2010.Bredin, Mark. The Ecology of the New Testament: Creation, Re-Creation, and the Environment. IVP

Books, 2010.Bromfield, Louis, and Gene Logsdon. Pleasant Valley. Fourth. Wooster Book Co., 2008.Brunner, Daniel L., Jennifer L. Butler, A. J. Swoboda, and Bill McKibben. Introducing Evangelical

Ecotheology: Foundations in Scripture, Theology, History, and Praxis. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2014.

Capon, Robert Farrar. The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection. Modern Library food. New York: Modern Library, 2002.

Carson, Rachel, Linda Lear, and Edward O. Wilson. Silent Spring. Anniversary edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.

Chevat, Richie. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Young readers ed. New York: Dial Books, 2009.

Conradie, Ernst M. “What on Earth Is an Ecological Hermeneutics? Some Broad Parameters.” Pages 295–313 in Ecological Hermeneutics: Biblical, Historical and Theological Perspectives. Edited by Cherryl Hunt, Christopher Southgate, Francesca Stavrakopoulou, and David G. Horrell. 1 edition. London ; New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2010.

Davis, Ellen F. “Learning Our Place: The Agrarian Perspective of the Bible.” Word & World 29, no. 2 (2009): 109–20.

———. Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible. Cambridge ; Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Deffenbaugh, Daniel Grant. Learning the Language of the Fields: Tilling and Keeping as Christian Vocation. Cambridge, Mass.: Cowley Publications, 2006.

DeWitt, Calvin B. Earth-Wise: A Biblical Response to Environmental Issues. Issues in Christian living. Grand Rapids, Mich.: CRC Publications, 1994.

———. The Environment and the Christian: What Does the New Testament Say About the Environment. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1991.

Dillard, Annie. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. New York, NY: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2013.Duling, Dennis C. “Matthew as Marginal Scribe in an Advanced Agrarian Society.” Hervormde

Teologiese Studies 58, no. 2 (2002): 520–75.Edwards. Sustainable Agricultural Systems. 1st ed. CRC Press, 1990.

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Edwards, Denis, ed. Earth Revealing--Earth Healing: Ecology and Christian Theology. Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 2001.

———. The Earth Story in the New Testament. Edited by Norman C. Habel and Vicky Balabanski. London; New York; Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2002.

Elvey, Anne. “Exploring Ecological Hermeneutics.” Biblical Interpretation 18, no. 4–5 (2010): 465–67.Fields, Leslie Leyland. The Spirit of Food: Thirty-Four Writers on Feasting and Fasting Toward God.

Eugene, Or: Cascade Books, 2010.Fiensy, David A. “Ancient Economy and the New Testament.” Pages 194–206 in Understanding the

Social World of the New Testament. Edited by Dietmar Neufeld and Richard E. DeMaris. 1 edition. London ; New York: Routledge, 2009.

Foster, Paul. “The Tenants in the Vineyard: Ideology, Economics, and Agrarian Conflict in Jewish Palestine.” Expository Times 118, no. 6 (2007): 286–318.

Glave, Dianne D., ebrary, Inc. Rooted in the Earth Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage. 1st ed. Chicago, IL: Lawrence Hill Books, 2010.

Habel, Norman C, and Peter L Trudinger. Exploring Ecological Hermeneutics. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2008.

Hargreaves, Andy, and Dean Fink. Sustainable Leadership. Jossey-Bass, 2005.Hillel, Daniel. Out of the Earth: Civilization and the Life of the Soil. New York: Free Press ;, 1991.———. The Natural History of the Bible : An Environmental Exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures.

New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.Horrell, David G. Bible and the Environment: Towards a Critical Ecological Biblical Theology. London ;

Oakville, CT: Equinox Publishing, 2010.———. Greening Paul: Rereading the Apostle in a Time of Ecological Crisis. Waco, Tex: Baylor

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H O U S T O N G R A D U A T E S C H O O L O F T H E O L O G Y€¦ · Web viewReflect on key themes such as Sabbath, community, land, health, agriculture, politics, and economics,