Lessons in community - part 2

If we compare the creation story to a song, it's clear that the resounding chorus is the words "and He saw that it was good"

However the key suddenly changes as God, after creating man, declares that it is not good for man to be alone.

Lessons in Community: The Creation Story

This is the first in what I plan to be a series of brief summaries of the thoughts I have and the things God teaches me about his ideas for sustainable communities as I read his word (yes, a thoroughly modern project!).

I've started in Genesis, since that is where God started and here is the first instalment presented just as ideas for discussion:

1. History matters
2. Man's authority is limited from the start
3. Geography matters

Click 'read more' for details...

Development... sustainable??

The story so far...

My study of sustainable development from God's perspective continues its embryonic phase. So far I've loosely outlined what is meant by sustainable and thrown out some thoughts on whether this is a biblical concept or how it might be redefined biblically.

At the end of that post, I briefly touched on a question which I'd like to look at more closely here and throw open to general debate. That question is; "can development ever be truly sustainable?!"

Define Your Terms - Part 1

In my previous post, Sustainable Community Development - the beginning, I outlined the themes that I want to study over the next year and how and why I came to be interested in them. Having introduced my subject, the key next step in any good piece of research is to define one's terms. That is (loosely) what this post is about - defining "Sustainable" and comparing how the world defines this term with how it might be defined biblically.

Sustainable Community Development - the beginning

The challenge:

So Andy has laid down the gauntlet by announcing his aim to study the biblical principles of economics over the coming year (see Why metanoia). I will take up that challenge by announcing here to all and sundry that it is my intention to study the bible over the coming year to glean the principles of sustainable community development.

There. I've said it. Now you can all hold me accountable to it.

This is something I got passionate about whilst studying Engineering (of all things) a couple of years ago. I signed up for a module in my final year on sustainable development and I found that a lot of the concepts and ideas that were talked about really resonated with what I was coming to understand about the way God's kingdom works.

I've started reading through the bible with this as my focus. Admittedly, I haven't got very far yet (Genesis 4!) but that's partly because there's so much in there to learn.

Click on 'Read more...' for a summary of why I've chosen this as my focus and why I think this is an important topic to engage with as a Christian.