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Bible Study
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Many of the passages listed in the Catechism of Creation, part I, lend themselves to study. A bible study group might elect simply to work their way through the list below, theme by theme. Or they might choose to study the passages in the order in which they are referred to in the Catechism of Creation. A short course could be created by selecting four to seven passages, studying one each week. This might be focused on a portion of scripture, for example, “Creation in the Psalms” or “Creation in the New Testament”. Or it could be a survey hitting the highlights, such as the passages from Genesis 1 and 2, Job 38, Psalm 8, John 1, and Romans 8.
You can find help in how to approach scripture and how to organize a bible study from In Dialogue with Scripture, available on this web site.
Sometimes in bible studies, and in studies on creation in particular, differences emerge in how Christians regard the authority of scripture. Basic information on how Episcopalians use scripture is introduced in the article by Joseph Russell and John Vogelsang. Several books have also proved helpful to adult study groups in exploring how Episcopalians understand scripture to be inspired and inspiring.
Of particular note are these three:
- Marcus Borg, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.
- Frederick H. Borsch, editor, Anglicanism and the Bible. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing Company, 1984.
- L. William Countryman, Biblical Authority or Biblical Tyranny. Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications, 1994.
Using methods of bible study which value readers’ responses over careful historical study of the texts may lead to valuing opinion above insight, and thus exacerbate conflicts over how God is understood to be creating. The methods in In Dialogue with Scripture which would prove most helpful are probably Equipping the Saints (Verna Dozier’s method) and the Basic Critical-Historical Approach. Both these methods may be used effectively by a group working collaboratively with a collection of bibles in several recent translations and with good bible study tools and references. Walter Wink’s method of Transforming Bible Study could prove very fruitful, but it does depend on the leader making careful and thorough preparation of the text. Transforming Bible Study with Children would be a wonderful approach with a group of children of mixed ages or an intergenerational group, again with careful preparation. Both these methods involve not just study, but creative responses to the texts. A group of adults or teens concerned with eco-justice issues might use the Base Community Approach to studying creation texts.
When studying the bible it is important to take into account the cultural gulf between the communities which valued and preserved various scriptures and our own. This is particularly true for passages about creation, where the cosmology of the writers and redactors was radically different from contemporary understandings. Today’s astronomers and the ancient scribes of the various Hebrew textual strands may all stand in awe and reverence before the universe, but their understanding of the structures and the processes of that universe are very different. Studies in biblical archaeology and biblical anthropology can shed light on the thinking of the biblical writers. Looking at various cultures’ origin stories may also help people understand the range of cosmologies and the importance of context. An excellent web site for the latter, accessible to upper elementary children but fun for adults, is the Big Myth.
Here again are the passages:
Old Testament and Apocrypha: Cosmology and Theology (Psalms 8:1-4; 89:11-12; 102:25-27; 104; 139:1-18; 148; Genesis 1:1-2:4; 2:4-2:24; Sirach 42:15-43:33; Job 12:7-10, 26:7-14, chapters 38-41; Jeremiah 10:11-13; 51;15-16). God: Creator and Redeemer (Isaiah chapters 40-43; Isaiah 45:12, 15-18, 21-23; Psalms 33; 74:12-23; 77; 136). Wisdom (Proverbs 8; Sirach 24:1-7; Wisdom 7:7-8:1).
New Testament: Christ the Creator (I Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:9-23; Hebrews 1:1-13 [cf. Psalms 102:25-27; 110:1]; John 1:1-14). Christ and the New Creation (Romans 8:18-25; 2 Peter 1:1-8; Revelation 4:11; 21-22:5).
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