Between the Times is soliciting attendance for the Creation Care conference at Southeastern scheduled on October 30 and 31, 2009 (//link). The conference is hosted by the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture.
Hoping to examine current issues related to the care of God’s creation, several worthies are on the platform including David Cook, Steven Bouma-Prediger, and Lowell Pritchard.
Conspicuously absent from the lineup is Jonathan Merritt, who was named a Creation Care consultant for SEBTS last year and was being funded by a $126,000 Creation Care grant awarded October, 2008 (//link; //link). Interestingly, Merritt will apparently be in Macon, Georgia for a Creation Care conference at Mercer University the same weekend the Creation Care conference is being held at SEBTS (//link).
Is Merritt extending the borders of SEBTS's vision by heading off to Macon for double-barreled influence? Or, is Merritt now the defunct young Southern Baptist voice for Creation Care issues SEBTS publicized him to be?
Hard to tell...
At least, that's my view anyway.
With that, I am...
Peter
Peter,
What are your thoughts on SBC entities doing all of this "creation care?" Do you think these conferences are good ideas? Productive?
Posted by: Matt Svoboda | 2009.10.09 at 02:10 PM
Matt,
Thanks.
From my understanding, no sphere of behavior/knowledge stands outside a viable Christian response. Hence, anytime we can speak a theo-biblical worldview about any sphere of knowledge--in this case, ecology--one cannot count it wasted endeavor.
Once granted, the reservations I sometimes express about much of the eco-hullabaloo today is the "trendy" aura emanating from the discussion. It's as if evangelicals have climbed aboard yet another cultural bandwagon secularists have been riding for years.
And the weird thing about it is, many times they're so decidedly condemnatory about it--not toward secularists but toward other evangelicals...the ones who, more than likely, hold a fairly firm--albeit bashful--biblical ecology. In short, there exists a subtle but ugly self-righteousness within 'green' evangelicalism.
With that, I am...
Peter
Posted by: peter lumpkins | 2009.10.09 at 05:33 PM
I'm not familiar with 'Creation Care' per se, but I am aware that many Christians have concerns and no solid leader out there give solid leadership in this area.
Unfortunately, this is an area we have to play catch up on when really we should have been leading then movement instead of the leftist secular groups.
Randy
Posted by: Randy Williams | 2009.10.09 at 10:20 PM
Randy,
Hello! I do not disagree. The continued void of a Christian worldview nuance in ecology has left the academic discipline to fill with pantheistic wackos. To now reclaim a viable voice is just shy of impossible. I suppose Sisyphus remains our model.
With that, I am...
Peter
Posted by: peter lumpkins | 2009.10.10 at 05:22 AM
The Lord Jesus told us to fish, not clean up the fishtank. He'll do that one glorious day.
David
Posted by: volfan007 | 2009.10.11 at 10:34 AM
Merritt and Gushee will hit it off real well.
Posted by: Calvinator | 2009.10.17 at 06:08 PM