Nineteenth Century Childhoods in Interdisciplinary and International Perspectives

“The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground . . .” (Gen 2:7). Made of dust, we humans are thoroughly physical beings. We are dusty earthlings. As such, we are also ecological beings, or rather eco-physical beings, firmly embedded in and dependent upon God’s earthly ecosystems that support and provide for us and constitute our earthly home. Today we are living in ways that are damaging our home.

As Christian dusty earthlings, we are called to oversee God’s earthly creation and to follow Jesus Christ—God incarnated as a dusty earthling. How do we do this in the face of the array of ecological problems we face today? How can we obey the ecological principles and limits that govern all of life on God’s good earth? I suggest that the virtues of humility, voluntary self-limitation, and the principles of kenosis and justice will help as we seek to follow Jesus as dusty earthlings in today’s world.