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Ecological Interpretation of the Bible

Module description

Problems caused by humanity’s impact upon the planet, visible especially in the climate crisis, are among the most pressing issues of the twenty-first century. These challenges have led to a range of new engagements with the Bible, and a range of different interpretative approaches – some of which claim to find ecological wisdom in the Bible, others of which are more critical of the Bible and its legacy, or find other priorities in the Bible’s teaching. This module will enable you to engage with these various perspectives and to consider for yourself what an ecological interpretation of the Bible might entail. You don’t have to be a specialist in this area to take the module, though any previous work in biblical studies will help equip you for it. It may be of interest to those approaching environmental humanities from other disciplinary perspectives, especially if you are interested in how religious texts and traditions shape and inform responses to the environmental challenge.

Module aims - intentions of the module

In this module you will encounter the various approaches to biblical texts developed in the field of biblical hermeneutics and contemporary ecotheology. The module aims to enable you to assess these various approaches critically, and to develop your own hermeneutical perspective on selected biblical texts in a rigorous and critically reflective way.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate critical understanding of the diverse approaches taken in the field of biblical ecological hermeneutics.
• 2. Develop an ecological interpretation of a biblical text from a critically reflective perspective

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Demonstrate awareness of the issues underpinning different approaches to biblical interpretation.
• 4. Construct a reflective, critical, and analytical argument relating biblical texts to a contemporary challenge.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Offer critical reflection on academic literature in an oral presentation
• 6. Plan, structure, and produce to deadline a piece of critical and reflective written work.

Syllabus plan

This plan is indicative only and subject to change from year to year, but themes covered are likely to include the following. The syllabus will begin by introducing the context and issues that have given rise to various approaches to ecological hermeneutics in the field of biblical studies, then proceed to examine critically major contemporary approaches, before applying these to a range of biblical texts.

• The ecological crisis and questions about the Bible’s legacy
• Attempts to recover the Bible’s ecological wisdom
• The Earth Bible Project
• The Exeter Project
• Developing ecological readings of biblical texts

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 50%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 50%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

R. Bauckham, Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation (London: DLT, 2010)

N. Habel, An Inconvenient Text: Is A Green Reading of the Bible Possible? (Adelaide; ATF, 2009)

N. Habel (ed.) Readings from the Perspective of Earth (Earth Bible, vol. 1; Sheffield: SAP, 2000)

D. Horrell et al. (ed.), Ecological Hermeneutics: Biblical, Historical, and Theological Perspectives (London: T&T Clark, 2010)

D. Horrell, The Bible and the Environment: Towards a Critical Ecological Biblical Theology (London: Routledge, 2014)

H. Marlow and M. Harris (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Bible and Ecology (Oxford: OUP, 2022)

Key words search

Environment, ecology, Bible, ecological hermeneutics