The Redemption of Creation: Ecotheology and the Mission of the Church
This course is about the gospel of Jesus Christ reconciling all creation to himself, but it’s also about so much more. Rather than focusing on the latest news-media hype surrounding issues like fossil fuels and climate change, this course uses lesser known ecological issues like soil depletion to explore the place of human management, technology, and politics within God’s story. By re-reading the story of the Bible in light of narratives of immanent human-caused disaster, we will find fresh ways of hearing the good news of Jesus Christ. This course will then turn to the nature and mission of the church to show how the people of God are to reveal the coming redemption of all things. We will discuss high-level vision and strategy, as well as some practical examples of communities working to be reconciled to all creation. In all of this we’ll find that the good news of Jesus Christ is far more radical than is often thought—God has a personal rather than categorical relationship with every subatomic particle, and God alone is capable of rulership without simplification.