A story in the New York Times today piqued my interest: it seems poachers have shot the last two white rhino’s in Zambia, killing the female and wounding the male, and taking the female’s horn with them. It caught my eye because it triggered a question that’s been bubbling on slow simmer on the back burner in my brain for quite a while now. What’s the deal with animal rights, trying to prevent extinction of species, etc. etc.? (Oh dear, I suspect I’m rather going to get in trouble here.)
On the one hand, it makes sense to me that having a compassionate, just stance toward animals, and a wise caretaker attitude towards species, will both feed and reflect a compassionate, wise, caretaking attitude towards other people and ourselves.
On the other hand, however, … Read the rest of this entry »
06-13-2007 |
12 Comments »“O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your creatures.”- Psalm 104:24
Yesterday morning as I was reading the beautiful creation hymn Psalm 104, I was reminded of an organization I recently learned about that might be of interest to our readers. The Noah Alliance is a coalition of Jewish and Christians activists who have come together in support of the Endangered Species Act. They focus on their shared faith traditions and on protecting biodiversity and preserving threatened habitats.
It was especially encouraging to see that evangelicals are active in this alliance. For so long, the evangelical community has seemed indifferent, or even hostile to, environmental concerns. But the tide seems to be shifting as more and more evangelicals recognize that creation care is a biblical mandate. As Rich Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals often says, “God is not going to ask us how he created the earth. He will ask us what we did with the earth he created.”
05-25-2007 |
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