8/14/2019 Outdoor Education: Learning to Live Into The

1/3

Outdoor Education: Learning to Live into the Richesof CreationSean Purcell

February 20, 2010 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Seminar Description: If youlong to live more attentively in Gods

world and if you want to explore howoutdoor experiences orient us to see theworld as Gods, this seminar is for you.Our discussion, although emphasizingoutdoor education, will include othernon-extreme activities like making

bread, knitting and fixing motorcycles.Come prepared to talk and think aboutthe exciting opportunities to learn moreabout God and ourselves in the field ofoutdoor education.

Sean Purcell is a graduate student inphilosophy with the Paideia Centre forPublic Theology in Hamilton, Ontario.He is married to Krista and they havea very playful and adventurous fouryear old daughter. He loves climbing,skiing and kayaking but is always opento learn new ways to play in Godsworld. He has been involved withCCOs Outdoor Leadership team offand on for over ten years. Sean loves

the outdoors, and philosophy. Standingon the contributions of Christianphilosophers like Calvin Seerveld, Seanattempts to provide new lenses forunderstanding the place and practice ofoutdoor education.

Jubilee 2010

contact me at sdpurcell@gmail.com; on

Twitter follow me at: sdpurcell

Psalm 19 (translated by Calvin Seerveld)The heavens are telling the glory of God

the very shape of starry space makes news of his handiwork.

One day is brimming over with talk for the next day, and

each night passes on intimate knowledge to the next night

there is no speaking, no words at all,

you cant hear their voice, (but)

their glossolalia travels throughout the whole earth!

their uttered noises carry to the end of inhabited land!

God set up a tent for the sun at the ends of the earth

What are the moments or activities

that allow you to hear Gods "cre-ational glossolalia?"

have you seen the sun?! beaming forth like a bridegroom from his

marriage-bed!

The sun laughs joyfully like a strong man glad to run a race:

it always rises from the edge of the heavens, and

it circles over and around to the (other) ends of the sky

nothing is able to hide from its burning heat.

The leading of the Lord God Yahweh is utterly reliable,

bringing people back to life again!

The magnificent testimonies of Yahweh prove themselves to be

everlastingly true,

making inexperienced young people wise.The commanding words of Yahweh are truly straightening,

causing ones heart to laugh and be glad!

A task imposed by Yahweh is cleansing:

it stands up for ever and ever.

The ordering judgments of Yahweh are firmly trueAmen!

The Lords fiats all together are thoroughly just

more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold,

sweeter than honey, yes,than natural honey of the honeycomb.

Let me, your sevant, also be warned by these (ordinances, Lord),

for in keeping them much good results

who can discern (all ones) errant missteps?!

O (Lord!) set me free from the spoilsome sins

kept hidden from my notice!And please hold me back from every overweening presumption

I am your servant, (Lord!)

Do not ever let self-confidence push me around:

then I will (finally) be able to be unpretentiously blameless,

rid of all the guilt-making rebelliousness...

8/14/2019 Outdoor Education: Learning to Live Into The

2/3

outdoor education: learning to live into the riches ofcreation 2

Let the sayings of my mouth and the inarticulate groanings of my heart

be something acceptable in front of your face,

O Lord God, my rock! the One who who always comes through to set me

free from my bondage! 1

1 This translation can be found inRainbows for the Fallen World, andVoicing Gods Psalms. Both are by CalvinSeerveld and available from Hearts andMinds.

Matthew Crawford: Craftsmanship en-tails learning to do one thing really well,while the ideal of the new economy is tobe able to learn new things, celebrating

potential rather than achievement. Some-how, every worker in the cutting-edgeworkplace is now supposed to act like an"intrapreneur," that is, to be actively in-volved in the continous redefinition of hisown job. Shop class presents [or Outdoored.] presents an image of stasis that runsdirectly counter to what Sennett identifiesas a key element in the new economys ide-alized self: the capacity to surrender, to giveup possession of an established reality. Thisstance toward "established reality," is bestnot indulged around a table saw. MatthewCrawford, Shop Class as Soulcraft: AnInquiry into the Value of Workpage 19.

Crawford: "His [the practitioners]will is educatedboth chastened andfocusedso it no longer resemblesthat of a raging baby who knowsonly what he wants...With electronicequipment, the facts of physics operateon such a scale that they do not presentthemselves to immediate experiencefor the user. The computer "interface"adds another layer of abstraction, as itscreens the user also from the human-generated logic of the program runningthe software..." Crawford, page 60.

Are there cultural forces that influence our interactions with the

world, our work, in such a way that it leads us away from an ori-

entation where we might be primed to hear God speak in his cre-

ation?

Freedom

Limits

knowledge

work

craft

Figure 1: Certain cultural trends oftenpush us into a dualism where certainkinds of work are seen as "truly free"which is opposed to other kinds ofwork which are viewed as bound andlimiting.

Is there a connection between our agency and ability to inter-

act with Gods world in an attentive way? What is the connection

between "fear of the Lord" and the recognition that Gods world is

ordered?

Notes:

8/14/2019 Outdoor Education: Learning to Live Into The

3/3