Description: An in-depth analysis of the literary issues, meaning, and message of the text of the Old Testament, including Genesis through Kings. This course is part of a grant that has been funded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The content of this course covers Genesis-2 Kings and traditionally attention has been given primarily to historical, literary and theological issues associated with these texts. While these issues will remain both necessary and important in this course, they will be filtered anew through a question posed by Richard Bauckham in the opening line of his book The Bible and Ecology: “How should Christians read the Bible in an age of ecological disaster?” In order for students to develop and sharpen an appropriate hermeneutic for biblical interpretation, given current ecological concerns, students must understand the world of the text, but equally so, they must also develop an awareness of the world in which they inhabit. To this end, relevant research and findings in climate science, and anthropogenic climate change in particular, will be paired with appropriate texts from the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (HB/OT) in pursuit of a constructive theological and ethical response. Although this portion of the HB/OT is known best, perhaps, for its attention to texts focused on creation and stewardship, other issues remain relevant for this interdisciplinary investigation including matters associated with the land, the poor, and human migration, all matters that intersect with anthropogenic climate change.

Seminary: George W. Truett Theological Seminary

Science areas: Environmental Science