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Start Date
18-9-2024 1:00 PM
End Date
18-9-2024 1:45 PM
Keywords
creatureliness, creation, wendell berry, martin luther, salvation
Description
In the contemporary Western world, we can observe a flight from creatureliness. Agrarian philosopher and essayist Wendell Berry helps us understand that the loss of creatureliness results from several factors, yet a significant reason is the widespread conception of machines and technology as agents of salvation enabling us to transcend our creaturely limitations and our life together with other creatures in the creation. Berry often laments that Christianity has contributed to rather than hindered the contemporary flight from creatureliness. However, Martin Luther offers a theological vision that embraces creatureliness and the creation. After exploring how the passive righteousness of faith restores human creatures to true creatureliness and re-opens creation up to them as a gift, this sectional concludes by describing two creaturely practices for God’s restored creatures to cultivate as they live together with all other creatures in our technological age: 1) learning to pray and 2) nurturing place.
Submission Type
Bible Study; Lecture; Sermon Prep
Submission Audience
Laity; Ministers; Scholars
People in this Resource (separated by commas)
Wendell Berry, Martin Luther, Joel Oesch, Jacob Schatzer, Robert Kolb, Leopold Sánchez
Submission Cost
Free
Wendell Berry and Martin Luther on Creatureliness in a Technological Age
In the contemporary Western world, we can observe a flight from creatureliness. Agrarian philosopher and essayist Wendell Berry helps us understand that the loss of creatureliness results from several factors, yet a significant reason is the widespread conception of machines and technology as agents of salvation enabling us to transcend our creaturely limitations and our life together with other creatures in the creation. Berry often laments that Christianity has contributed to rather than hindered the contemporary flight from creatureliness. However, Martin Luther offers a theological vision that embraces creatureliness and the creation. After exploring how the passive righteousness of faith restores human creatures to true creatureliness and re-opens creation up to them as a gift, this sectional concludes by describing two creaturely practices for God’s restored creatures to cultivate as they live together with all other creatures in our technological age: 1) learning to pray and 2) nurturing place.
