Asking the Beasts: What God’s Creatures Can Teach Us About Living Well on a Fragile Earth course
The Bible teaches us that all of creation is God’s handiwork and proclaims God’s glory, but most of the time we are not listening. Instead, we are used to treating our world as a resource to be exploited or a machine to be set to work for us: we feel distant from creation and out of touch with the Creator. As our world hurtles towards destruction because of our indifference, we need to connect with the creatures once again, to “ask the beasts” to tell us about our God.
This way of thinking of the creatures, as our teachers and spiritual companions, particularly flourished in the Middle Ages, with the development of the “bestiaries”. These books of theology, devotion and practical wisdom sought lessons in the lives of different creatures in turn. They were often flamboyant and imaginative, as well as rich in insight. By following their example, we may learn how to reconnect with the creatures and, through them, gain new insights into the Creator.
This course will introduce the thinking behind the bestiaries and give some examples; but a significant part of the day will be given over to a practical exercise, “ask the beasts” and following where they lead.
Dr Peter Kevern is an Honorary Research Fellow of the Queens Foundation, Birmingham. The majority of his research and writing has been on the boundary between religion, spirituality and social care, culminating in his most recent book, Touching God: Dementia and the Bodies of Christ (2025). He is currently working on a book applying the wisdom of the bestiaries to the ecological crisis (Asking the Beasts) which is due for publication later in 2026.
