This high school study guide, students will learn what the Bible teaches about the natural world and its purpose from Genesis through Revelation. Then they will consider the environmental challenges facing their local area (and those affecting the planet from a climate realist perspective.) Finally, they will explore the unique responsibility of Christians to care for creation compared with other approaches to ‘environmental’ issues.

The study guide includes reading assignments from the spine text, narration prompts, and open discussion questions. Experiments related to the reading are also included. Optional supplemental activities, such as current events, videos, and article suggestions when there is time, are also included. Finally, you will find a link to an exam for each course in the introductory material.

Pages: 58
Prerequisites: Form 3-4 Biology. While the content in The Body does not exactly build on the content in Men, Microscopes, and Living Things by Katherine B. Shippen, I still recommend it as a prerequisite because it is the only survey of biology available in a living book format. Still, it is your choice and your student can get along fine without it.
This study can be used as one-third of a high school Biology credit or combined with nature study to provide an Environmental Science credit. Learn more about high school transcripts in this article.

Spine Text

This study guide accompanies the living book Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World by Douglas J. Moo and Jonathan A. Moo (Zondervan Academic, 2018, ISBN: 978-0310293743), which must be purchased separately.

256 pages

Reading Level: grade 10-12 and up

There is also an audio and video version by the authors, but they do not sync to the book and are, in fact, substantially different. Therefore, if you choose to use either of them, you will have to make adjustments on your own.
You should know that as the book Creation Care was written by two Biblical scholars, it includes a lot of theology. Therefore, it would be helpful for you to pre-read it so your conversations with your child about the subject will be well-informed.

Douglas Moo credits watching his son’s love for the natural world as he was growing up for infecting him with his own love of creation and his interest in putting faith and environmental ethics together. For Jonathan Moo, the example his parents set of taking him outside often and showing him what it meant to follow Christ in an atmosphere where no question was off-limits and where faith and science could go together, was foundational.

Jonathan (son) went on to study many things; literature, biology, wildlife ecology, and theology to name a few. Jonathan is now a professor where he gets to teach about many of his interests, ranging from the New Testament, Greek, environmental studies and environmental ethics . He loves to take his students outside to adventure and discover, whether it be hiking in the mountains or on the other side of the world.

Douglas (dad) is a scholar and a professor. He has authored many works covering individual books of the New Testament. He and his wife, Jenny (Jonathan’s mom), love to photograph God’s creation, capturing the light on neighborhood walks, while traversing the wilds of Alaska, or traveling around the globe. —Michele Jahncke (source)

Other Necessary Items to Complement This Course

Review the Supply List for this course.

Schedule:

This study guide includes 33 lessons, each requiring approximately 30-40 minutes. You can either schedule it:

Three times a week for 11 weeks allowing for exams during the 12th week, or
Once a week for an entire year, allowing time for exams at the end of each term, and including other science subjects on the other days of the week.

I’ve been meaning to send an email to let you know what a great book you chose for Ecology: “Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World.” I have 5 students taking it with me in our Nature Co-op and it has led to such valuable discussions. As someone who loves nature and the Creator and is trying to make sense of where to stand on issues of our responsibility to creation while not becoming “worshippers of created things”; I am learning so much. As always, thank you for your wonderful resources.

—Emily R.

Sample Lessons