Course Description

This course explores the Earth and all that lives here as the dwelling place of God. There is an ongoing dialogue between scientists’ (especially Darwin’s) meticulous observations of natural selection and evolution on Earth with the Nicene Creed, scripture, and theologies through the ages. This dialogue allows science and theology to both maintain their own language while at the same time challenging each other to broaden their thinking about this mystery called life and an unexplainable Giver of life that many of us call God. Elizabeth Johnson uses Rolston’s concept of three Big Bangs to contemplate: the divine spark at the beginning of the universe, the beginnings of life on Earth and the emergence of Homo sapiens.

Learning Objectives

• Differentiate and dialogue between scientific language and faith language.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method, the Big Bang theory, the theory of natural selection and ecosystems.
• Appraise theological understandings offered in this course and interpret how they intersect with your lived theology.

Required Texts

• Johnson, Elizabeth A., Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love, Bloomsbury, London, 2014.