Posted on 01/25/2008 9:16:23 AM PST by mbarker12474
"Grace Notes" for February 2008, by United Methodist Church Bishop Charlene Kammerer:
Why we should care about God’s creation
The psalmist has declared in Psalm 8: "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet..."
My Christian faith and The United Methodist Church have taught me that all of creation belongs to the Lord God Almighty. Because we are all created in the image of God, who created a beautiful earth and heavens beyond what we can see, we are given responsibility for the ways in which we use the earth, or abuse the creation. We are to value and conserve water, air, soil, minerals, energy resources, plants, animal life, and space. We are called to be good stewards of God’s creation, not because of what benefit it will be to us, but because it belongs to God.
If anyone is in doubt of how we humans have abused the gift of the earth, all you have to do is read Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. This book, complete with stunning photographs, charts, and compelling evidence of global warming, invites us to seriously consider again our stewardship responsibilities. [Editor’s note: A film of the same name was released the summer of 2006 and is now available on DVD.]
Gore states at the close of his book, "Now it is up to us to use our democracy and our God-given ability to reason with one another about our future and make moral choices to change the policies and behaviors that would, if continued, leave a degraded, diminished, and hostile planet for our children and grandchildren — and for humankind."
The earth is the Lord’s. We are children of God. We are called to love and protect the earth and all of creation. God is counting on us — will we be found wanting?
I'm embarrassed to say that I missed that. I've seen the correct spelling, too, during 4 years of Catholic high school and undergrad studies at Loyola University.
As Clarke's work goes, this short story is quite a gem. I was glad to find it online.
post #24
Any conservative still in a United Methodist church just doesn’t read the label before using the product.
You are exactly right. Please consider Pinging me if you get any responses to the contrary.
I will support you as best I can.
IMNSHO,
You have cut right to the chase.
Bishop, try reading the Bible instead of Al Gore’s book.
Yet another reason I left the United Methodist Church, after being a life-long Methodist.
They are becoming more PC and like Unitarians, rather than being evangelical.
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