Date Cancelled | |
College | Emmanuel College |
Instructor(s) | |
Course Code | EMT3651HS |
Semester | Second Semester |
Section | 0101 |
Online | No |
Credits | One Credit |
Location | Toronto (St George Campus) |
Description |
This course considers the Darwinian theory of evolution as both source and challenge for the development of a Christian ecotheology. That is, if the Christian God is creator of all things but is also revealed in Christ to be costly love, then how can divine agency in creation be understood in light of scientific discoveries revealing that biological warfare undergirds the creative process of natural selection? The implications are significant for understanding Christian discipleship and ethics if indeed the human is made in God's image with the capacity for creative or destructive dominion over earthly life (Gen. 1:26). Of particular concern, can biological evolutionary processes revealed by scientific methodologies offer Christians material for constructive human action in light of environmental concerns, and if so, how? The course will therefore consider such issues as human origins and the place of humanity in creation; divine immanence, agency, and goodness in light of creaturely processes and ecosystems; the consequent demand for ecological literacy; the argument from design; theodicy; kenosis; and the relation of science to theology, or, more specifically, the means by which observed data and experience are interpreted as evidence to infer conclusions. The reading will draw upon the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, Elizabeth A. Johnson, Sallie McFague, Philip Hefner, Mary Evelyn Tucker, Jay McDaniel, Arthur Peacocke, Holmes Rolston III, Monica A. Coleman, and Charles Darwin, amongst others. |
Pre-Requisites | one intro course in Christian Theology AND one in the history of Christianity |
Schedule | Thu |
Start Time | 14:00 |
End Time | 16:00 |
Hours Per Week | 2 |
Minimum Enrolment | 12 |
Maximum Enrolment | 20 |
Teaching Method |
Lectures
Practicum
Readings
|
Means of Evaluation |
Class Participation
Reflection Paper
Research Paper
Short Paper
Other
|
Previously Offered | Fall 2018 |
Currently Offered | Winter 2020 |