From primordial curse to eschatological restoration: Ecological challenges from Genesis 3:14�20 and Romans 8:18�25

Abstract

This work employs a comparative study of the theologies of Genesis 3:14�20 and Romans 8:18�25 as it relates to the problem of ecological imbalance. It attempts to re-interpret from a Christian theological point of view the primary and the secondary causes of decay from Genesis and the implications of those for the ecosystem, identifies Paul�s eschatological theology of restoration, and then re-reads the import of his eschatological hope in Romans for the restoration of the creation. By inter-acting the curse theology of Genesis 3 with the restorative theology of Romans 8, the work shows the drift of the �very good� world from its initial, harmonious state to its present state of chaos and the challenge to redress the contemporary ecological imbalance.