Greening the Children of God

Chad Michael Rimmer

ISBN 10: 0718895770 / ISBN 13: 9780718895778

Published by Boydell and Brewer Ltd, GB, 2021

About this Item

An exploration of the importance of ecological education in the context of the work of Thomas Traherne.Greening the Children of God uncovers the theological roots of the growing ethical imperative to reconnect children to their natural environment. In their different traditions, theologians, environmental educators and psychologists all affirm that knowing their place in the natural environment helps a child develop an intersubjective 'ecological' identity that nurtures virtues of mutuality and care. During the Scientific Revolution this ethical harmony was threatened as science and moral theology began to adopt different epistemological methods, something the Anglican priest and poet Thomas Traherne was all too aware of.Traherne insisted that education should promote a child's attention to the moral dimensions woven into 'the tapestry of creation', and professed that play, wonder, and a sensory relationship to diverse creatures play a pedagogical role in a child's moral formation. Greening the Children of God establishes the contemporary significance of Traherne's moral theory in conversation with child psychologists, educators, philosophers, and theologians who know that cultivating a place-based relationship to the local ecology helps children perceive creation's deep mutuality and develop a moral identity in the image of a caring Creator.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780718895778

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Greening the Children of God
• Publisher: Boydell and Brewer Ltd, GB
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0718895770
• ISBN 13: 9780718895778
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

An exploration of the importance of ecological education in the context of the work of Thomas Traherne.

Greening the Children of God uncovers the theological roots of the growing ethical imperative to reconnect children to their natural environment. In their different traditions, theologians, environmental educators and psychologists all affirm that knowing their place in the natural environment helps a child develop an intersubjective 'ecological' identity that nurtures virtues of mutuality and care. During the Scientific Revolution this ethical harmony was threatened as science and moral theology began to adopt different epistemological methods, something the Anglican priest and poet Thomas Traherne was all too aware of.
Traherne insisted that education should promote a child's attention to the moral dimensions woven into 'the tapestry of creation', and professed that play, wonder, and a sensory relationship to diverse creatures play a pedagogical role in a child's moral formation. Greening the Children of God establishes the contemporary significance of Traherne's moral theory in conversation with child psychologists, educators, philosophers, and theologians who know that cultivating a place-based relationship to the local ecology helps children perceive creation's deep mutuality and develop a moral identity in the image of a caring Creator.

About the Author

Chad Michael Rimmer is an ordained Lutheran pastor and currently serves as the Program Executive for Lutheran Theology and Practice at the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva, Switzerland. He is also the author of several articles, and the collection of poetry titled, Yellow: Chemopoetry from a Caretaker's Journey. "