four most important biblical passages for a Christian enviromentalism, The

Paul presents two specific consequences of this curse on creation. First, creation was "subjected to frustration" (v. 20). We have already observed that when God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in the earth he did so with specific intentions for his creation. In his cursing of creation God is purposefully frustrating his own intentions such that creation is kept from fulfilling the purpose of its existence. Creation therefore groans as a woman painfully and precariously halted in childbirth. But more than just being halted in the realization of the purpose of its existence, creation also finds itself falling apart in the meantime. It is in "bondage to decay" (v. 21), the very opposite of its original condition of fertility and good health. In short, creation was devastated by man's sin.

And as man continues to sin he continues to bring havoc on creation, both by his own direct action and by inviting the judgment of God. This is the consistent witness of the OT prophets. Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: "There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying." (Hos 4:1-3)

"I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the Lord. "I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth," declares the Lord. (Zeph 1:2-3)

"My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good." I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger. (Jer 4:22-26)

Especially in this last passage, with its haunting references to the creation narratives of Genesis, we face the specter of the possible undoing of the physical world because of sin. The consistent testimony of Scripture is that creation suffers and is out of whack as a result of man's sinfulness.37 It is in "eager anticipation" of its "liberation" from these consequences that creation presently "waits," and it is to this future redemption of creation that Rom 8:18-23 speaks most eloquently.38

The images Paul uses to speak of this future redemption are powerfully emotive: the removal of an absolutely frustrating encumbrance, liberation from a killing servitude, the successful completion of a seemingly endless travail. But it is in his phrase "glorious freedom" (v. 21) that Paul strikes the most potent chord, for here he speaks of the return of creation to a state in which it can once again freely and perfectly fulfill God's purpose for it and by so doing participate in the general glory which will one day be revealed, not only in us, but as the controlling characteristic of Christ's eternal kingdom. Creation personified sees its destiny as inextricably linked with ours. On the day when we are revealed as sons of God (v. 19), and glory is revealed in us (v. 18), the day when our bodies are redeemed (v. 23), creation too will experience redemption at the hands of the one "by [whom] all things were created" and "through [whom] all things" will be reconciled to God (Col 1:16, 20).