Abstract
In Romans, Paul describes creation groaning in anticipation of eschatological freedom from present slavery to corruption (Rom. 8:20-22). Scholars commonly interpret creation's slavery to corruption as an allusion to the curse God pronounces on the ground in response to the transgression of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:17-19), which Paul understands as reflective of the corruption of creation by the introduction of physical death and decomposition. This article argues that "slavery to corruption" is better understood in reference to human moral corruption of the sort Paul describes in the preceding chapters (Romans 6-8). Under this interpretation, the groaning of creation is reminiscent of a number of biblical prophetic texts in which the earth is said to mourn over the detrimental effects of human sin. Such a reading has important implications for Christian theological reflections on both evolution and environmentalism.
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