Mission before the Fall; mission in the Biblical Studies curriculum; and AI and education

Welcome to my newsletter, ‘Bible, Mission, and More’, where I share what’s on my mind as I teach, research, and write on the Bible and mission, children-at-risk in the Bible and contemporary society, Psalms and Wisdom Literature, and a range of other topics. I teach at All Nations Christian College in the UK, though views are my own. You may also like to check out my Bible and Mission website.

Each Tuesday I’ll share something I’ve read, something I’ve written or recorded, something on learning and teaching, and a quote to reflect on.

Something read – Mission before the fall

A while ago I highlighted a 2017 article by C.J. Anderson looking at the starting point of mission: ‘Beginning at the beginning: Reading missio Dei from the start of the Bible.’ This is an important question because ‘mission’ is often perceived just as fixing something that went wrong. While this story of redemption is obviously critical, how do the creation accounts contribute to our thinking around mission? I say accounts plural because I recently came across a short article that focuses on Genesis 2 rather than Genesis 1, which is usually where I concentrate my attention.

Mission Round Table is the quarterly publication of the mission organisation OMF and occasionally features more biblically-focused articles. The October-December 2023 issue includes a short contribution from ‘JA’, Reflections on Genesis 2 as a Theology of Missions.

Although brief, the article raises some really interesting questions about what humanity’s vocation was in the opening chapters of the Bible. JA questions weather mission is a post-Fall activity, or if there is something into which humanity is called earlier than that. Framing his paper around three questions (Where is mission? What is mission? and Who does the mission?), his initial focus is on Gen. 2:15 which (having explained some technical Hebrew matters) he suggests refers to the cultivating and keeping of the land outside of the garden. The idea is that humanity was called to cultivate the currently unfruitful land beyond the garden and that the garden was a kind of base that would enable humanity to go about their vocation beyond Eden. He summarises,

‘In summary then, I have outlined a way in which we may understand mission as a pre-Fall directive that can include later themes of human redemption and blessing, but is not limited to them. “Mission” in this sense is to be understood more broadly, not so much as a “de-sacralisation” but the opposite—to see human activity that fulfils its priestly function of extending the dominion and rule of God in the world as mission.’ (pp. 22-23)

Having previously concentrated on the question of mission in Genesis 1 I found AJ’s focus on Genesis 2 fascinating. It complements some of the ideas around people being God’s image and being told to ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…’ (Gen. 1:28). It also helps us understand mission in more holistic terms.

You can read the article for free on OMF’s website:

Reflections on Genesis 2 as a Theology of Missions

Something written – Upcoming article series for Biblical Studies educators

Biblical Studies is taught in some shape or form in every theological education setting. But how often is mission integrated into this curriculum?

Having taught Biblical Studies in two different mission training settings, one of the enjoyable challenges has been to find ways of covering OT and NT subjects from a missional perspective. However, even if you don’t do everything through a ‘missional hermeneutics’ lens, there are still lots of way of bringing in different connections and questions concerning mission.

Photo by Lance Grandahl on Unsplash

With this in mind I will be shortly beginning a series of posts on bringing mission into the Biblical Studies curriculum. The primary audience I have in mind are professors teaching Biblical Studies modules who would like to find ways of bringing in questions, themes, and applications about mission. I’m thinking that each post will cover a particular biblical book, though not exhaustively. I plan to provide a general introduction, the occasional story from my teaching, some suggested themes and passages, and point to some resources. Whether you are teaching an Old or New Testament survey class, or delivering a module focused on a particular book or section of the Bible, I hope this series will energise and equip you to add a missional layer to your classes!

No doubt the series will develop over time. If you have suggests for how this can be as useful as possible please drop me a message or put a comment below.

Learning and teaching – report on AI use by educators and students

The entire education sector, not least those involved in theological education, continues to wrestle with the ethics, opportunities, and pitfalls of generative AI in education. It is an emerging phenomenon that is quickly changing, so it is useful when resources become available that help us with the wrestling.

I’ve had the privilege of working with Diane Hockridge through doing tutor and educational design work on Ridley College’s online platform. Diane is a leading voice in online education and spiritual formation, having completed her 2021 PhD on ‘Learning design for holistic student formation in online and distance theological education’.

Last week Diane made available a report, jointly written with Jessica Loef, entitled: ‘Educator and Student Use and Perceptions of GenAI.’ This is a ‘snapshot’ of what will be a fuller report in due course relating to the research project, ‘Attitudes to the Use of Generative AI in Australian Theological Education.’

A few things I found interesting:

• Some gender differences in use and attitudes towards AI

• For educators the top concerns were: ‘‘dumbing down’, accuracy, cheating, and enabling good use’

• Students thought similarly, but were also concerned about ‘the need for clear guidelines, and cost concerns.’

• Both also raised ethical issues such as the origin of data, working conditions, and environmental factors.

The report concludes with a series of recommendations that, while focused on the Australian context, are more widely applicable as well.

You can read the report through Diane’s academia.edu page.

Quote – Jürgen Moltmann on church, mission, and hope

‘The whole body of Christians is engaged in the apostolate of hope for the world and finds therein its essence – namely that which makes it the Church of God. It is not in itself the salvation of the world, so that the ‘churchifying’ of the world would mean the latter’s salvation, but it serves the coming salvation of the world and is like an arrow sent out into the world to point to the future.’ (Theology of Hope, p. 328)

Thanks for joining the journey and see you next week,

Tim