Here is my column for the Tahlequah Christian for the week of March 14-20.

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As many may recall, this past weekend I attended the annual meeting of the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies. This gathering includes the regional chapters of several academic associations, such as the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the Association for the Scientific Study of Religion. Now that I’ve thoroughly established the religion “nerd” credentials for this gathering, let me establish my own: I have to admit that I really enjoyed the conference. There was a wide variety of papers presented ranging from the history of the Spiritualist movement at Camp Chesterfield in Indiana to a discussion of the various religious positions on abortion as a paradigm for exploring social and cultural worldviews. So if that run-on sentence doesn’t convince you that I learned something, you’ll just have to take my word that I couldn’t help but be engaged during this conference. Even the breaks for food and drink turned into another opportunity to discuss the most intriguing presentations!

One of the intriguing presentations was a discussion on the nature of covenant in the Hebrew scriptures, and its place in helping Christians establish a more environmentally friendly understanding of the faith. Drawing examples from the covenants God made with Abraham, Noah, and with the Israelite people at Sinai, the presenter showed how God’s covenants included the protection of animals, plant life, and the care of the earth alongside the wellbeing of humans. It was a fascinating exploration of the language of our texts and how we tend to read them with certain ideas in mind that obscure what’s really written on the page.

Yet what struck me about this presentation was what it spoke about the idea of atonement, a concept that we have been exploring throughout the season of Lent. Recalling that atonement can literally break down into at-one-ment, I find it striking that these references to the inclusion of earth, plant, and animal in the Divine covenant mean that they also have a place in atonement. Thus far, all of our theories of atonement have focused on human beings. This coming Sunday, when we look at atonement through the lens of Catherine Keller’s theology, we will see how atonement can be understood to include the entirety of all Creation.

I’m looking forward to being back in church for study and worship with you!

Walking the journey of Lent,

Clint