Moral Landscape of Creation

The biblical creation stories and hymns are the fertile landscape in which our Christian moral vision finds a place to flourish. In them we catch a glimpse of the good world that God intended. Under their influence we begin to notice, by contrast, some ways in which our lifestyles are sinful and our physical world is distressed.

Traveling through the moral landscape of these stories and hymns, we see ourselves as creatures responsible to one another and toward the earth. Our contributors offer thoughtful reflection to enrich our understanding and stir us to care for the creation, through articles, inspirational pieces, book reviews, an interview, Christian art, new hymns, and worship aids.

The study guides and lesson plans integrate Bible study, prayer, and worship to enrich our understanding of the call to delight in, care for, and teach children to love God's beautiful creation. The guides can be used in a series or individually. You may download and reproduce them for personal or group use.

Download the entire Moral Landscape of Creation issue and the set of six Study Guides. Or, download individual pieces by clicking the titles below.

Articles

• "Eden: Moral Power of a Biblical Landscape," by Theodore Hiebert
• "The Stewardship of Creation," by Russell A. Butkus
• "God's Measure of Creation," by Norman Wirzba
• "Two Languages," by Greg C. Earwood
• "Teaching Children the Story of Creation," by Andrea Harrell Moore
• "Becoming Better Gardeners," by Teresa Morgan

Art

• "Joyous Innocence," by Heidi J. Hornik, on Hetland's Teeming with Life
• "Sin's Landscape," by Heidi J. Hornik, on Michelangelo's Original Sin and Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
• "Isolation," by Heidi J. Hornik, on Ezekiel's Eve Hearing the Voice

Hymn and Worship Service

• "Stars and Planets Flung in Orbit," by Herman G. Stuempfle
• "The God Who Set the Stars in Space," by Timothy Dudley-Smith
• Worship Service by Ragan Courtney

Inspirational Pieces

• "Little Things Mean a Lot," by Raymond Bailey
• "Our Two Gardens: Resources for Teaching Children," by Robert B. Kruschwitz
• Other Voices, Quotations on Creation

Book Reviews

• "God's Delight and Covenant," by Edwin Bagley
  • Scott Hoezee, Remember Creation: God's World of Wonder and Delight
  • R.J. Berry (ed.), The Care of Creation: Focusing Concern and Action
  • Fed Van Dycke, et al, Redeeming Creation: The Biblical Basis for Environmental Stewardship
• "The Biblical Landscape," by Steven C. Bouma-Prediger
  • William Brown, The Ethos of the Cosmos: The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible
  • William Brown and S. Dean McBride (eds.), God Who Creates: Essays in Honor of W. Sibley Towner
  • Theodore Hiebert, The Yahwist's Landscape: Nature and Religion in Early Israel

Interview

• "The Glory Robe of God: A Conversation with Scott Hoezee"

Study Guides and Lesson Plans

Download the set of six Study Guides

• "Eden: A Moral Landscape"
• "Stewardship of Creation"
• "God's Measure of Creation"
• "Two Languages"
• "Becoming Better Gardeners"
• "Teaching Children the Story of Creation"

Further Reading

• "The Whole Creation Has Been Groaning," by Harry Alan Hahne (Apocalyptic Vision)