Programme
Ecological crisis is one of the most crucial challenges needing combined response in the last decades, now and the most immediate future. In the critical discussion regarding its roots as well as religion’s contribution to address it, biblical scholars have turned to the biblical text and its interpretation through the ages, searching for possible misinterpretations that supported ideologically the environmental exploitation and degradation. They also developed different methodological models for reading the biblical text from an ecological perspective. Given the pressing global ecological crisis, the research unit would like to continue the critical and inter-/multi-/trans-disciplinary exploration of the Bible and ecology and to link these two to the larger project of sustainability.
The research unit aims to:
- Explore and employ various methodological trends in reading well-known and uncharted biblical and early Christian texts from ecological and sustainability perspectives.
- Analyse the use of these texts from the global perspectives of various stakeholders including but not limited to biblical scholars.
- Encourage dialogue and synergy with various groups from different global locations, within and beyond biblical exegesis.
- Develop pedagogical strategies in exegesis, theology, and religious education for effective response to pressing pastoral challenges of the climate crisis and sustainability.
Keywords:
Bible, Hermeneutics, Ecological Crisis, Sustainability, Ecumenical/Interreligious Dialogue