KIC 502 Creation in the Old Testament
Faculty: Dr. Timothy Allen (Profile)
ABOUT THE COURSE
The intent of this online course is to see when the various creation stories in the Old Testament were used, stressed or employed in a pastoral sense in the history, life, worship and daily spiritual rituals of the Israelites and the Jews. Thus, I am looking at these stories in specific times of the life of Israel. (See Brown, p. 48 for an example) What religious, political and social circumstances led to this particular creation story being used at that particular time? With that, what pastoral crises can we identify in these times? If we can answer this, then we can better apply them to the pastoral needs of our parishioners.
I am also fascinated by creation’s role in praise of the Creator. Brown and Fretheim both touch on this. To me this relates to the growing body of evidence in the influence of nature on mental health. (see Florence Williams, The Nature Fix [Norton] and Richard Louv, The Last Child in the Woods [Algonquin]; see also internet articles on Nature Deficit Disorder). Keep this in mind as we work through the various passages from the Bible.