Micah's haunting words ... it is...
Illustration
Micah's haunting words ... "it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy ..." call to mind an increasing awareness of an eco-spirituality for steward of the earth.
In September 1986, the World Wide Fund for Nature brought together five of the major ethical religions to declare how their faith leads each of them to care for nature.
What resulted were "The Assisi Declarations: A Call." Father Lanfranco Serrini presented the Christian Declarations: "... Because of the responsibilities which flow from his dual citizenship, [humanity's] dominion cannot be understood as license to abuse, spoil, squander or destroy what God has made to manifest his glory. That dominion cannot be anything else than a stewardship in symbiosis with all creatures....
"Therefore, in the name of Christ who will come to judge the living and the dead, Christians repudiate: 1. All forms of human activity -- wars, discrimination and destruction of cultures -- which do not respect the authentic interests of the human race, in accordance with God's will and design, and do not enable men [and women] as individuals and as members of society to pursue and fulfill total vocation within the harmony of the universe. 2. All ill-considered exploitation of nature which risks to destroy it and, in turn, to make [humanity] the victim of degradation."
In September 1986, the World Wide Fund for Nature brought together five of the major ethical religions to declare how their faith leads each of them to care for nature.
What resulted were "The Assisi Declarations: A Call." Father Lanfranco Serrini presented the Christian Declarations: "... Because of the responsibilities which flow from his dual citizenship, [humanity's] dominion cannot be understood as license to abuse, spoil, squander or destroy what God has made to manifest his glory. That dominion cannot be anything else than a stewardship in symbiosis with all creatures....
"Therefore, in the name of Christ who will come to judge the living and the dead, Christians repudiate: 1. All forms of human activity -- wars, discrimination and destruction of cultures -- which do not respect the authentic interests of the human race, in accordance with God's will and design, and do not enable men [and women] as individuals and as members of society to pursue and fulfill total vocation within the harmony of the universe. 2. All ill-considered exploitation of nature which risks to destroy it and, in turn, to make [humanity] the victim of degradation."
