Traditional Readings of Genesis 1-3

Prerequisites, corequisites or exclusions

9 credit points of a Theology unit (i.e “Introduction to Theology” or “Church Fathers: An Introduction”)

Academic Staff

Very Rev. Dr Doru Costache, BTh (Bucharest 1993), PhD (Bucharest 2000), Senior Lecturer

Curriculum Objectives

This graduate course unit addresses the ways in which the Christian tradition has engaged Genesis 1-3. It assists students to appreciate the complexity and formative dimension pertaining to ecclesial hermeneutics, and to critically utilise the tools of contemporary hermeneutics equipping students with the necessary hermeneutical tools.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit students will be able to:

1. At the end of this graduate course unit students will be able to:
   1) Display a profound awareness of the methods pertaining to traditional and contemporary hermeneutics.
   2) Appreciate the complexity and formative dimension of the traditional reading of Genesis 1-3.
   3) Assess the traditional ways of reading Genesis 1-3 in the light of contemporary hermeneutics.
   4) Critically analyse samples of traditional interpretations of Genesis 1-3.
   5) Critically appraise the traditional ways of reading Genesis 1-3 with reference to contemporary concerns.
2. Threshold Concepts:
   1. Perceived as foundational narratives, the first three chapters of Genesis have long fascinated Christians from the early centuries to the end of the Middle Ages. Contemporary hermeneutics lends credibility to the traditional ways of reading Genesis 1-3, bringing to the fore the complexity and formative dimension of this reading.

Content

1) From the historical-critical deconstruction of Genesis 1-3 to its hermeneutical reconstruction
2) The Church’s Scripture and the early Christian readings of Genesis 1-3
3) Medieval readings of Genesis 1-3
4) The traditional reading of Genesis 1-3 and contemporary concerns

Essential Reading

Blowers, P. M. Drama of the Divine Economy: Creator and Creation in Early Christian Theology and Piety. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Bouteneff, P. C. Beginnings: Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008