"United by the belief"....

[Emily Page Bidgood]

 I have been compiling quotes from various religious leaders, aided by the links at GreenFaith's website, and I wanted to post some here.  These snippets are extracted from larger proclamations put forth by church body committees or from singular leaders and they find themselves all in agreement that when we live selfishly, we hurt our neighbors, the Earth, and ultimately ourselves.

I think the most interesting ones to read have been those from the self-described "traditionally silent" groups, like the Southern Baptists and the Evangelical christian denominations.  These groups take the stand that the earth's climate is changing, but they equivocate in whether or not humans are actually the driving force. However, they say that it does not matter: better to change our habits now, rather than be sorry later.

 

All creation is the Lord’s, and we are responsible for the ways in which we use and abuse it." | United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society, Social Principles Doctrine, The Natural World, 2008

 

By putting God at the center of life, we see the sacred in everything and the natural world becomes a source of wonder and not only a resource for our use and abuse." | Rabbi Lawrence Troster, Green Faith Fellow (writings available for download here), 2010

 

Love of God, love of neighbor and Scripture’s stewardship demands provide enough reason for Southern Baptists and Christians everywhere to respond to these problems with moral passion and concrete action." | Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative, signed by hundreds of individuals, 2011

 

The environment must be seen as God’s gift to all people, and the use we make of it entails a shared responsibility for all humanity, especially the poor and future generations." | Pope Benedict XVI, speech for the World Day of Peace titled "To Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation", 2010

 

We are not masters of this Earth; it does not belong to us to do what we wish. It belongs to Allah and He has entrusted us with its safekeeping." | Dr. Abdullah Omar Naseef, Muslim World League, "Muslim Declaration on Nature", 1986

 

 

 

 

 

[H.B. Lee]

 

Emily ... You have been busy!  Keep up the good work.  HB