Paul's Argument Analysis

In several of Paul’s letters, he begins with a description of himself that lends to his primary argument. For example, in Romans 1:1, Paul calls himself, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for God.” And in Galatians 1:1, he calls himself, “Paul, an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.” For other examples, see Philemon 1:1 and Philippians 1:1. Although my self-description is slightly longer than Paul’s, I hope to also establish credibility and hint at my main argument early in my letter like Paul. Paul frequently tries to establish his credibility by—perhaps deceivingly—alluding to a larger body of …show more content…
From this source, I gather much of the evidence I use to support my argument in my letter. However, I think it should be noticed that, in general, EISs of past mines have tended to drastically underestimate their potential environmental destruction either due to optimism or political and economic forces. Because of this tendency, I feel that most of my assertions are very modest estimates. For more information, see Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, United States Army Corps of Engineers, and United States Forest Service, NorthMet Mining Project Land Exchange (St. Paul: US Army Corps of Engineers, 2015), …show more content…
I agree with Paul on this matter; the sins of humanity, such as greed and carelessness, are certainly responsible for the ecological devastation facing creation at large. Hawthorn and Martin discuss how many Jewish interpreters of scripture, including Paul, believed that God created an originally good world. He says that Paul also “recognized that sin damages this good creation by subjecting humankind to death,” which can be seen in passages such as Romans 5:12-14 and 1 Corinthians 15:21-22. This can also be seen in the Romans 8:19-22 passage where God subjects the natural world to decay because of human sin. For more information, see Gerald F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin, Dictionary of Paul and His Letters A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993), s.v. “creation and new creation,” 189. Hunt, Horrell, and Southgate also discuss the probability of ecological damage as sin according to Paul’s writings. They write, “It is not fanciful to understand exploitative human pollution of the environment as part of the sin story, along with other evils’, and there is hope that creation may also benefit when and where the grace story prevails.” See Hunt, Horrel, and Southgate, “An Environmental Mantra?,” 552. To see how Michael A. Bullmore also affirms the association of sin and environmental