The Graduate Certificate in Ecotheology & the Missio Dei takes seriously God's act of creation, his command to subdue it, and his promise of the future redemption of all creation. Students examine and analyze the biblical, theological, historical, and practical elements of creation care theology. The purpose is to encourage students to missionally and redemptively care for God's creation while anticipating full redemption.
Christians often find themselves caught between extreme positions related to creation theology and creation care. On the one side are those who tend toward advocating pantheistic or materialistic views of creation, in which creation itself is deified or idolized. On the other side are those who tend toward interpreting "subdue the earth" as permission to ravage and abuse. The Graduate Certificate in Ecotheology & the Missio Dei enables students to look first at scriptural commands and examples of what the human-creation relationship is intended to be, argue against both extremes and develop a theology of creation care that implements missional, redemptive, and restorative practices.
