GOD'S EARTH IS SACRED:
A Letter from the National Council of Churches
On 2-14-05, the National Council of Churches, a coalition of 36 faith groups
representing 100,000 congregations and 45 million American Christians, published
"God's Earth is Sacred: An Open Letter to Church and Society in the United
States." Warning that humanity has become the uncreator, the letter calls on
Christians to repent "social and ecological sins" and work for a cleaner,
healthier environment for all the earth's species. It states in part:
"God's creation delivers unsettling news. Earth's climate is warming to dangerous
levels; 90 percent of the world's fisheries have been depleted; coastal development and
pollution are causing a sharp decline in ocean health; shrinking habitat threatens to
extinguish thousands of species; over 95 percent of the contiguous United States forests
have been lost; and almost half of the population in the United States lives in areas that
do not meet national air quality standards. In recent years, the profound danger has
grown, requiring us as theologians, pastors, and religious leaders to speak out and act
with new urgency.
"We are obliged to relate to Earth as God's creation 'in ways that sustain life on
the planet, provide for the [basic] needs of all humankind, and increase justice.' Over
the past several decades, slowly but faithfully, the religious community in the United
States has attempted to address issues of ecology and justice. Our faith groups have
offered rich theological perspectives, considered moral issues through the lens of
long-standing social teaching, and passed numerous policies within our own church bodies.
While we honor the efforts in our churches, we have clearly failed to communicate the full
measure and magnitude of Earth's environmental crisis-religiously, morally, or
politically. It is painfully clear from the verifiable testimony of the world's scientists
that our response has been inadequate to the scale and pace of Earth's degradation.
"To continue to walk the current path of ecological destruction is not only folly;
it is sin. As voiced by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has taken the lead among
senior religious leaders in his concern for creation: 'To commit a crime against the
natural world is a sin. For humans to cause species to become extinct and to destroy the
biological diversity of God's creation . . . for humans to degrade the integrity of Earth
by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the Earth of its natural forests, or
destroying its wetlands . . . for humans to injure other humans with disease . . . for
humans to contaminate the Earth's waters, its land, its air, and its life, with poisonous
substances . . . these are sins.' We have become un-Creators. Earth is in jeopardy at our
hands.
"This means that ours is a theological crisis as well. We have listened to a false
gospel that we continue to live out in our daily habits-a gospel that proclaims that God
cares for the salvation of humans only and that our human calling is to exploit Earth for
our own ends alone. This false gospel still finds its proud preachers and continues to
capture its adherents among emboldened political leaders and policy makers."
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