Creation spirituality, eco-theology and the quest for equality

I haven't really gotten the chance to blog the past few weeks as I was buried deep in paperwork for our finals at the seminary and not to mention that it also coincided with the Global Work Party on Climate Change that I was given the task of overseeing our work for Greenpeace. A lot has been learned in the past few weeks and I would just like to share some stuff that I've found around the net that I believe might be of interest to those who often visit this blog.

The Earth is Alive - a prose written by Ruel F. Pepa that I stumbled upon via ning.com which I think is a good point of reflection for those engaged in the struggle for ecological justice and environmental equity.

The United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and its international mission partners last June released a statement entitled: Ecumenical Challenge Statement by International Partners of the Philippines, which is a good document that other Christian bodies might like to see as a reference with regards to its church policy recommendations like:

That UCCP seriously considers its own personal use of bio-degradable containers and packages. (Plastics and Styrofoam are immortal and infinite and cause pollution and pose health hazards. The use of plastics or the combination of plastic and aluminium packages for food and other products should be minimised).

That UCCP encourage the establishment of a nursery for tree seedling or wildlings in home, church yards and places which are made available for tree planting purposes.

That UCCP members consume healthy and locally produced farm products. (It has been observed that food served to General Assembly delegates are characteristic f the scarcity of locally grown vegetables and locally sourced marine products eg. fish and others)

If only Evangelical bodies would also as radical as the UCCP with regards to creation care and stewardship....

Lastly, I've also been busy writing over what I have come to dub as: The Scandal of Partiality in the Epistle of James, which I've been posting as a series over at Fide Quarens Intellecttum if you're keep on issues related to equality within faith communities you might want to read the introduction that I wrote for the series.

Anyways I hope in the coming days I'd get more time to write a decent post...

Evangelical Churches and Climate Change: A Call to Action

The brokenness of earth is the brokenness of God’s home.”

It has long been held that the environment is among the most pressing concerns of this generation. In this bygone age of technology and consumerism, ministry pertaining to the natural world of creation has taken a backseat in the teaching and preaching of Evangelical Christian churches in particular. While most Christians appreciate the beauty of nature, many don’t realize there is a strong Biblical basis for creation care, in fact many ethical values, fundamental to the development of a peaceful society, are particularly relevant to the ecological question.

In the Book of Genesis, where we find God’s first self-revelation to humanity (Gen.1-3), there is a recurring refrain: “And God saw that it was good.” [2] Mankind’s first home was Eden –paradise. The Earth was paradise, teaming with life, vegetation, and the wondrous landscape of skies, the land and the sea. Creation in God’s eyes was good, but at the same time entrusted it to the care of man and woman.
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