Christ as Creator: Implications for Ecotheological Readings of Paul

Pauline scholarship has contributed rather modestly to the growing corpus of ecotheological readings of Scripture with Rom 8:19–23 and Col 1:15–23 as the primary texts for consideration. This study complements existing scholarship by proposing that 1 Cor 8–10 provides yet another potentially engaging and fruitful text having ecotheological implications. Because Paul is dealing with practical questions related to one's relationship to food, community, and Christ, his directives provide a unique interplay for teasing out the ethical implications for believers with the created realm; of special significance is that his ethical praxes are grounded on theological claims about the relationship of Christ and creation. This study gives particular attention to the Christological texts of 1 Cor 8:6 and 10:26 that provided the theological framework of 1 Cor 8–10. The following questions guide this study: What do 1 Cor 8:6 and 1 Cor 10:26 articulate about the relationship between Christ and creation? How is the relationship between Jesus Christ (Ίησου̃ς Χριστός), God (𝜃εός), all things (τὰ πάντα), and us (ἡμει̃ς) formulated, and what implications might be drawn from that formulation? What are the principles of relatedness that Paul draws between Christ, believers, and creation, and how might those principles extend to the broader ecotheological discussion?