Living Spirituality Study Guide - Chapter 5

Christian spirituality is both overwhelmingly communal and intensely personal. As you read slowly and carefully through this book, we encourage you to think deeply about the questions and ideas presented. Following are some questions for discussion in a group, personal reflection, or both.

Chapter 5 – God, Creation and Living Spirituality

*  How does the relation/distinction configuration resonate with what you’ve been taught about creation and God?

*  Can you think of some ways that God reveals something of the spiritual in the material world?

*  What are your thoughts about how we’ve done with our mandate for respecting creation? Do you see the Christian response changing at all? In what ways? Does it need to change?

*  In what ways can you see that we’ve put God and/or creation into a box because of an insufficient creational grounding of our spirituality?

*  Can you think of some other ways that a creational understanding opens the world up?

*  What does it mean to be created in the image of God? What are some competing cultural narratives that assign value to humanity?

 

O merciful Creator, your hand is open wide to satisfy the needs of every living creature: Make us always thankful for your loving providence; and grant that we, remembering the account that we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your good gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

--The Book of Common Prayer

 

Suggested Map Reading:

Genesis 1-3

For Further Study:

How to Read Genesis, T. Longman

In the Beginning, H. Blocher

For the Beauty of the Earth, S. Bouma-Prediger