PAUL AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 
AN INVESTIGATION OF HIS CHRISTO LOGY 
AND ESCHATOLOGY 
Lovemore Togarasei 
Abstract: The role that Paul has played in shaping 
Christianity cannot be overemphasized. His influence 
continues even in contemporary Christian communities. 
This paper attempts to show how the teaching ofP aul can 
be used to address the present ecological crisis. Specifically 
it looks at the Pauline doctrines of eschatology (1 
Thessalonians 4:13-5:3 and 1 Corinthians 15) and 
Christology (Romans 8:18-23). It underlines that since 
Paul considered the eternal world to be here on earth, his 
teaching can be used to promote environmenta l 
conservation. Th e same is true of his Christology which 
equates human beings with all the other created order. 
Introduction 
Of the twenty seven books of the New Testament, almost half claim 
Pauline authorship. Over and above these, about half of Acts of the 
Apostles tells the life and teaching of Paul. New Testament scholarship 
has for long debated the extent to which each of these writings infonn us 
about the historical Paul. Today the majority of the scholars take 
seriously only seven letters as authentically Pauline. 1 Acts' accounts of 
Paul are taken with a pinch of salt as the author is accused of being 
tendentious and of colouring his accounts with legendary hue. 2 Thus in 
I See, for example. M.J. Gorman. Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to 
Paul and His Letters (Grand Rapids: Wm. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004), pAl. 
, H. Conzelmann and A. Lindemann, Interpreting the New Testament (Massachusetts: Hendrikson 
Publishers. 1988). p.356. 
Ghana Bulletin 01 Theology (N.S) Vol. 3 December. 2008 143 
reconstructing the life and teaching of Paul, the modus operandi has been 
to give the seven genuine Pauline letters (Romans, Galatians, 1 and 2 
Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Philippians and Philemon) precedence 
over the other sources. I follow the same approach here. From these 
many sources, what then is Paul's teaching concerning the environment? 
Paul's teaching on the environment cannot be easily discerned. There 
appears to be two main reasons for this. First, is the fact that the Pauline 
writings and indeed all other New Testament books are not works of 
systematic theology. They rose out of the practical needs of the New 
Testament communities. The second reason is that early Christians, just 
like Christians today, considered the Old Testament 3 canonical and so 
were likely to tum to it for its rich guidelines on environmental issues 
whenever they had need. Be that as it may, one can still read, in between 
the lines, Paul's attitude to and teaching on the environment. To do so it 
is, however, necessary to first define one's use of the word 
'environment.' When we talk of the environment we talk about our 
surroundings. We do not talk only about the land, the trees and grasses 
that grow upon it. Rather we include the resources that we draw from and 
from underneath the land, the air that we breathe, the creatures that 
traverse the land, the seas and other water bodies around us, the deserts 
and ice lands, the birds that fly and so on; Environmental issues are about 
humanity's relations with all these. 
From the preceding discussion of the word 'environment,' it is then 
possible to discuss Paul 's attitude to the environment. I will do this first, 
by showing Paul's assumption of the Old Testament about creation. I will 
follow this with a discussion of Paul's eschatology analyzing what he 
' In this paper I follow the Christian practice of referring to the Hebrew Bible as the Old 
Testament to di stinguish from the New Testament. 
144 
thought about the world to come. My assumption here is that what Paul 
thought of the destiny of this world influenced his and his followers' 
attitude to the environment. I will follow this with a discussion of Paul 's 
Christology looking at what Paul said about creation in Romans 8: 18-23. 
I will then consider the implications of Paul 's attitude to the environment 
for Christians today before concluding the paper. 
Paul's assumption oft he Old Testament about creation 
Paul was a Jew proud of his Jewish heritage. In Philippians 3:5 and 2 
Corinthians 11 :22 he tells us that he was full Hebrew, circumcised on the 
eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin and a zealous Pharisee. His attitude 
towards the environment should therefore have been heavily influenced 
by the Old Testament, particularly the teaching about creation (Genesis 
1-3). Jewish children were instructed in the stories of the Old Testament 
from a very young age and if we consider the Acts account that he studied 
Jewish under Gamaliel in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3), then we cannot 
question Paul's knowledge of the Old Testament teaching on the 
environment. In a number of passages, Paul takes for granted the Old 
Testament view that the earth and everything in it is the proud handiwork 
of God. In Romans 1 :20, for example, he asserts that the created world 
reflects the character of God himself who created it. In Acts (14: 17, 
17:24), Paul says the creation and indeed the cycles of nature are 
accredited witnesses of God, the primary testimony he gives to himself.4 
Being influenced by the Old Testament view of creation, there is little 
doubt then that Paul assumed the role that the same Old Testament 
assigns humanity over the created world. He therefore should have 
viewed human beings as having been entrusted with the care of the 
created world as trustees, stewards and managers . 5 As a Jew, he believed 
4 S. Rayan, 'The Earth is the Lord 's,' in D.G. Hallmann (Ed), Ecothe% gy: Voices from South and 
North (Geneva: WCC Publications, 1994), pp. J30-148. 
, S. Berry, ' A Christian approach to the environment,' in The John Ray Initiative, A Christian 
Approach to the Envirollmellt (London: John Ray Initiative, 2005), pp. 1-4. 
145 
in the Genesis story that God created the world and gave humanity 
dominion over it. He believed that as they were created in the image of 
God, human beings share the 'godly' responsibility over the created 
world. But apart from his assumption of the Old Testament teaching 
about the environment, Paul also addressed environmental issues in his 
theology. This can be found in his Eschatology and Christology. 
The Environment in Pauline Eschatology 
Pauline eschatology is elaborately stated in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-5:3 and 
1 Corinthians 15. In these passages Paul reminds the Thessalonians and 
the Corinthians of the resurrection of the dead. His underlining message 
was that at the parousia, both the living and the dead will be transformed 
into imperishable bodies to live with Christ forever. An environmental or 
ecological question that one may ask is where the resurrected will spend 
their eternal life. This of course would have had an impact on Paul and his 
followers' attitude to the present world. As E. Lucas admits, Pauline 
literature does not have a clear answer to this question. 6 Although 1 
Corinthians gives details of the nature of the resurrected body, it says 
nothing about where the resurrected will live. It is rather 1 Thessalonians 
4 (especially verse16) that gives some idea of where the resurrected will 
spent their lives. The popular Christian view is that the eternal world is in 
heaven and that in this world Christians are sojourners. Unfortunately 
this appears unPauline. The word parousia that Paul uses of the coming 
of Christ is helpful in answering the question of where the eternal world 
will be. Parousia is a word which referred to the coming of a king or a 
very important person to a city. Often some residents of the city met 
him/her along the way and then escorted him/her into the city amid fun 
and pomp (Paul mentions the blowing of trumpet in both 1 Thessalonians 
4:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:52 showing he had this in mind). E. Lucas 
• E. Lucas, 'The New Testament teaching on the environment,' in The John Ray Initiative, 
A Christian Approach to the Environment (London : John Ray Initiative, 2005), pp.73-96. 
f 
should therefore be right when he says in 1 Thessalonians 4: 16, Paul was 
thinking of believers going to 'meet the Lord in the air' in order to escort 
him back to the earth. 7 Understood this way, Paul therefore believed 
eternal life will be here in this world. 
In his eschatology Paul also mentions his understanding of what will 
happen to the body at the parotlsia. He says, ' ... . .. but we shall all be 
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye ..... , and the dead will be 
raised imperishable ... .. For this perishable nature must put on the 
imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality'(l 
Corinthians 15 :51-53). Thus according to Paul, at the parotlsia, God is 
not to create new beings altogether. Rather he is going to renew the same 
old beings. In other words they will be a continuation of the was to the is. 
J. Pilkinghorne puts it succinctly: 
The new creation is not a second attempt by God at what he 
had first tried to do in the old creation. It is a different kind 
of divine action altogether, and the difference may be 
summarized by saying that the first creation was ex nihilo 
while the second creation will be ex vetere. In other words, 
it is God's bringing into being a universe which is free to 
exist "on its own", in the ontological space made available 
by the divine kenotic act of allowing the existence of 
. something wholly other; the new creation is the divine 
redemption oft he old. 8 
In 1 Corinthians 3:14 and 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Paul even argues that 
what humans do in this present world contribute to the new creation. As 
1 Ibid. 
, J. Pilkinghome, Science in Christian Belief(London: SPCK, 1994), p. 167. 
147 
we shall see below, this includes humanity's contribution to the 
environment. Therefore if Paul believed that eternal life will be on this 
earth, then he should have taught his communities to take proper care of 
this environment for it is the eternal world. 
The Environment ill Pauline Christ%gy 
The Pauline passage often cited in ecological discussions is Romans 
8: 18-23. 9The text is full of ecological notions. It reads: 
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not 
worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing 
of the sons of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, 
not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in 
hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its 
bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the 
children of God. We know that the whole creation has been 
groaning in travail together until now; and not only the 
creation, but ourselves, who have the first fruits of the 
Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the 
redemption of our bodies. 
Bryne, for example, notes that in light of the human capacity to act 
ilTesponsibly towards the earth, Pauline scholars can hardly help relating 
this ilTesponsibility to a reading of this passage. 10 Kassmann finds 
' See, for example, B. Bryne, 'Creation Groaning: An Earth Bible Reading of Romans 8:18-22,' 
in Habel. N.C. Readingfrom the Perspective ofE arth (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 
2000), pp.193-203, M. Kassmann, 'Covenant, Praise and Justice in Creation: Five Bible 
Studies,' in Hallmann, D.G. (Ed), Eco/heology: Voices from South and North (Geneva: WCC 
Publications, 1994), pp.28-51 and E. Lucas, 'The New Testament teaching on the environment,' 
in The John Ray Initiative, A Chris/ian Approach to the Environment (London: John Ray 
Initiative, 2005), pp.73-96. 
10 B. Bryne, Readingfrom the Perspective of Earth, 193-203. 
1/1Q 
thousands of examples of how the creation is suffering: ozone depletion, 
climate change, land degradation, water pollution, deforestation, habitat 
destruction, species extinction, use and misuse of biotechnology. 
Pessimistically she decries, 'Every day seems to bring news of some 
environmental deterioration.' I I 
Ecologists have found in Romans 8, a christological connection with 
creation. It is one New Testament text in which creation is the subject not 
the object. As a result those interpreters who think Paul had nothing to do 
with the environment as he was mainly interested in the human soul, 
have sought ways of explaining away the ecological tones of the passage. 
R. Bultmann, for example, sees in this text a cosmological mythology of 
Gnosticism which Paul then appropriates to enable him to express the 
fact that the perishable creation becomes a destructive power when 
humanity chooses it instead of God. 12 Other Romans commentators like 
M. Gorman even decide not to comment on the ecological aspects ofthe 
text. \3 Byrne (2000: 194) attributes this lack of interest in the ecological 
teaching of this passage to scholars' great focus on the theme of 
justification by faith , 'that Paul's notions that the relationships with the 
non-human created world should be an intrinsic element of human 
relationships with God has fallen from view.' 14 
Paul sees suffering as a characteristic of this world. So great is the 
suffering that Paul compares it to labour pains. This suffering for him is 
being experienced by the whole of creation. Although some readers have 
tried to limit the meaning of ' creation 'to humanity, the general context of 
11 M. Kassmann, Ecotheology: Voices from South and North, 28. 
12 R. Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament (New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1952), 
p.230. 
IJ M.1. Gonllan, Apostle of the Crucified Lord. 
" B. Bryne, Readingfrom the Perspective ofE arth, 193-203. 
149 
p 
the passage and particularly verse 20 has led the majority of scholars to 
conclude that Paul is refelTing to the sub-human creation. 15 In fact, in the 
passage, Paul differentiates ' creation ' (sub-human) (8:18) from 'we 
ourselves ' (humans) (8:23). Byrne's interpretation is much more 
enlightening. 16 He says, although Paul does not cite the creation stories 
of Genesis explicitly, his argument is premised on the stories. Byrne 
proceeds, 'In particular the argument hinges around the principle that, 
because human beings were created along with the non-human created 
world and given responsibility for that world, they share a common fate 
with that world. When the situation of human beings deteriorates, so 
does the rest of creation and, vice versa, when it goes well, the creation 
shares in the blessing. ' 17 As pointed out in the first section, Paul's view of 
the environment must have been influenced heavily by the Old 
Testament. This is true ofthe view expressed in this text, that is, that the 
destiny of the creation (the environment) is determined by the actions of 
humanity. The Old Testament is full of evidence to this effect. For 
example, because Adam and Eve's sinned, the land became difficult to 
ti 11 (Genesis 3: 17 -19) and when human beings please God and are 
blessed, "The wolfshall dwell with the lamb ... . .... and the weaned child 
shall put his hand on the adder's den" (Isaiah 11 :6-9). Paul therefore 
thinks of creation 's suffering as a consequence of human behavior, an 
entirely COlTect view if one looks at the damage that human action cause 
on the environment. He therefore envisages the creation waiting with 
eager longing 'the alTival of human beings at the fullness of the grace of 
humanity intended for them by God.' 18 
Working with Paul's comparison of creation's suffering to labour pains, 
one cannot but notice that Paul remained hopeful. Although labour pains 
" E. Lucas, A Christian Approach to the Environment. 73-96 is one such scholar who takes this 
position. 
16 B. Bryne, Reading from the Perspective oj Earth, J 97. 
I7 Ibid. 
" Ibid. 
are unbearable (so I am told) , the pain is soon overcome by the joy that 
comes with the birth of the child. Thus as creation suffers it still remains 
hopeful , hopeful that the suffering it experiences will bring about new 
life. But this, for Paul is dependent on the revelation of the children of 
God. At this point, the Pauline Christology comes out loud and clear. 
Pauline soteriology is Christocentric. The salvation of humanity is 
dependent on Christ. In the same way the salvation of the creation is also, 
therefore, dependent on Christ. Humans are thus co-creators with God. 
Romans 8: 18-23 is therefore of great value to ecological issues as it 
shows Paul's concern for the non-human created world. Probably 
noticing that human life is meaningless outside the whole of the created 
world order, Paul incorporates the theme of creation in his grand theme 
of justification in Christ. He therefore shows the intricate relationship 
between God, human beings and the non-human world. From the abo.ve 
analysis of Paul's ecological views as contained in his eschatological, 
soteriological and Christo logical views, what then can we conclude 
about Christians and the environment? 
Paul, Christians and the environment 
That our planet is fac ing an environmental crisis has long been observed. 
Evidence still abounds in the form of loss of animal and plant species, 
land degradation, depletion of energy resources, climatic change to 
mention built a few. Climatic change is a concern of not only 
governments and environmental organizations. Even individuals are 
feeling the effects of climatic change. The southern African region, for 
example, is reeling from some of the effects of the ecological crisis. In 
2008, floods affected farming and even led to loss of human life in 
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozampique and parts of Botswana. Depletion of 
energy resources has seen us preparing lectures and conference papers 
under candle light. Various world bodies have noted this crisis with some 
of them responding in one way or the other. Christianity, however, has 
been accused of contributing to this crisis. Some environmentalists have 
found problems in the Christian view that humanity was given dominion 
over the earth by God. They argue that instead of caring for the 
environment as servants and stewards of God and with love, respect, 
justice, creativity and interest of other creatures, humanity has 
dominated creation in a malign way. 19 The need for 'development' has 
seen humanity plundering the creation for its selfish needs. L. White 
looking at the Christian doctrine of creation, for example, accused the 
religion of being the 'most anthropocentric religion the world has ever 
seen' and that as a result of this anthropocentrism, Christianity bears the 
major responsibility for the ecological disaster. 20 This is particularly true 
in Africa and other former colonized states where Christianity, 
colonialism and ' development' came bundled together in one package. 
In the name of development and civilization local beliefs and traditions, 
which for centuries had helped cqnserve the environment, were 
demonized. For many different reasons Christians have supported 
industrialization without considering its effects on the environment. 21 It 
is for this reason that L. White accused the religion of bearing the blame 
of the present ecologieal crisis. But as those who wrote after the 
publication of White's work correctly noted, it is not the Christian sacred 
books that promote wanton destruction of nature by humanity. Rather it 
is the interpretation of the Scriptures in the Western world that led to the 
ecological crisis. The Scriptures are full of messages that call for 
humanity'S respect for the created world. The Pauline writings are some 
of these Scriptures that do promote right attitude to the environment. 
"See, for example, K. Gnanakan, God's World: A Theology of the Environment (London: SPCK, 
1999), pp.51-56. 
20 L. White cited by J.B. Cobb, Jr, ' Christianity, Economics and Ecology,' in T.T. Hessel and R.R . . 
Ruether (Eds) , Christianity and Ecology (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 
2000), pp.497-511. 
21 J.B . Cobb Jr, Christiallity alld Ecology, 497-511 , gives three reasons why Christians have rallied 
behind industrialization: Christian support of need for the world to meet human needs, the need 
to create employment for all and the need for population growth. 
I have pointed out above that Paul assumed the Old Testament view of 
the environment. This should be the starting point for Christian interests 
in environmental issues . Believing Paul that the created world reflects 
the character of God (Romans 1: 20) should lead Christians to respect the 
environment. This is because in the passage Paul argues for natural 
revelation. God can be seen in nature as well as he can be seen in 
Scripture (special revelation) . In a way Paul therefore equated the 
created world to Scripture: they both reveal God. Thus going by this 
interpretation, it can be argued that Christians must treat the environment 
in the same way they revere Scripture. They should manage it as 
caretakers and stewards of God, not in an exploitative manner as Lynn 
White (1967) accused Christianity of doing, but in a benign way. 22 
Pauline eschatology also has a number of ecotbeological lessons for 
Christians. As we have seen in our analysis of his eschatology, Paul 
situates eternal life here on earth . Understood this way, the earth is 
therefore our home, whether from the perspective of realized or of 
thoroughgoing (futurist) eschatology. This eschatological understanding 
is important for ecotheology. It means Christians must not wantonly 
destroy the environment in anticipation of a new creation, but should 
rather take care of this earth as it is their home forever. In a book on 
Ecology and Christian anthropology, the South African theologian, E.M. 
Conradie says taking care of this earth is more urgent for Christians as 
they must prepare for the coming of God. 23 As we have seen above, Paul 
does not anticipate a 'death' of this world and a recreation of a new one. 
Rather he anticipates a transformation of this same creation. His use of 
the word parousia (1 Thessalonians 4) and the analogy of the sown seed 
2l C. Dean-Drummond, A Handbook in Theology and Ecology (London: SCM Press Ltd, 1996), 
p.65. 
" E.M. Conrad ie, An Ecological Christian Allthropology: At Home on Earth? (Haunts: Ashgate 
Publishing, 2005), p.299. 
, 
in relation to the resurrected body (1 Corinthians 15) drive this point 
home. Thus G. Zerb, commenting on the whole of the New Testament 
eschatology (but using the phrase kingdom of God), underlines that 
eschatology is an ecological concept because the New Testament vision 
of salvation includes the restorative re-creation of the entire universe to 
its intended ecological balance, "the restoration of the entire universe to 
its original state.,,24 As we have seen this too is the Pauline view of 
eschatology. 
Although Paul's use of the Old Testament and his eschatology have 
ecological overtones, as we have seen above, it is his Christology as 
reflected in Romans 8: 18-23 which is much more evident. Paul does not 
separate the suffering of the environment (creation) from the suffering of 
humanity. In the same way he argues also that Christians, as children of 
God have the duty to see their salvation in conjunction with the salvation 
of all creation. In fact by reading between the lines, one can note that Paul 
sees humanity as part and parcel of creation. With the same origin, they 
all have the same destiny. Addressing Christians using the text, 
Kassmann (1994:50) has it that when humans destroy the creation, they 
therefore should know that they are destroying themselves. 25 She goes 
further, "So we have to recognize the connection of the human beings 
and nature as a whole because there is common salvation or common 
condemnation." 26 
Conclusion 
This paper was based on two assumptions. First, is the reality of the 
ecological crisis we are facing not only in the southemAfrican region but 
" G. Zerb, cited by G. McAfe, 'Ecology and Biblical Studies,' in D.T. Hesse l (Ed), Theology Jor 
Earth Commullity: A Field Guide (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1996), p.40. 
" M . Kassmann, Ecotheology: Voicesfrom South and North , 28-51. 
" Ibid.