Earth Day

Here is an excerpt from an Earth Day sermon by Joseph C. Hough, Jr., President of Union Theological Seminary in New York:

Here is a fundamental compelling choice. It is the one choice that will determine all of the other choices we make. It is an absolutely bottom line, base line choice between life and death.

* Yet, despite the disappearance of the forests, the death of thousands of species and the pollution of air and water;

* despite the growing consensus that we have already done irreparable harm to our world;

* despite the fact that we are in danger of opening another nuclear arms race;

* despite the fact that a deteriorating ecosystem can seriously distort the genetic structure of those yet unborn;

Despite all of this that we now know, our national political leaders scorn the warnings of the world's top scientists and stand alone against all efforts of other nations to stem the tide of destruction.

This cannot go on. This is not a matter that we Christians can leave to habitual partisan politics. At this moment in history, our choices have to transcend our self-interests and our political loyalties. The care of the earth is a part of our covenant with our God that determines who we are and what we choose. So let the voice of the covenant people rise into a mighty and deafening roar so that all the world may hear:

This destruction of God's world cannot go on. The time is now and we cannot rest until we are heard. We choose life! We choose life! We choose life! -- a life that will ensure that we are working with our God as a covenant people to ensure a future of any life at all for our children and their world!

It is a powerful sermon, truly. I would like to urge you to click through and read it in its entirety.