The Liberation of the Body of Creation: Towards a Pauline Environmental Ethic

Abstract

Abstract This article argues that careful attention to Paul’s concept of σῶμα provides a distinctly Pauline contribution to environmental ethics. It begins by highlighting the theological and exegetical problems posed by recent environmental approaches to Paul, and especially to Romans 8:19–23. It then proposes an alternative path for constructing an environmental ethic from these verses, one which (1) is based upon the close relationship Paul posits between bodily resurrection and creation’s liberation, and (2) builds upon a tradition of Pauline anthropology represented by Ernst Käsemann and Dale Martin. Specifically, this article argues that Paul relates the body to creation in such a way that it is possible to reason from the place of the body in the person’s liberation from sin and death (6:6; 12–13; 8:23) to an environmental ethic. What this approach provides is an environmental ethic that is both exegetically responsible and more consistent with Paul’s apocalyptic framework.