A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 7 Number 32 - Tuesday, August 9th, 2005 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian Laity
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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In Genesis 1.28-29, God grants man "dominion" over the Earth, but the passage also implies that God expects man to be a good steward of Creation. What, precisely, does it take for us to be good stewards of Creation? It means we must also be responsible, and that requires us to have an environmental consciousness, conscience and conscientiousness. To be conscientious, man needs a conscience; and to have a conscience, he needs to be conscious of his surroundings. And that’s why the National Council of Churches’ environmental statement, now endorsed by SCCOBA, is so important. It stands to elevate our consciousness. In this statement, the NCC offers its "Guiding Norms for Church and Society," charging us to "fulfill our vocation as moral images of God," and to foster both social and ecological relationships ensuring all members of the global community the necessary conditions for all to thrive. "Among human members, justice demands meeting the essential material needs and conditions for human dignity and social participation," the statement says. Cynics scoff and dismiss such statements and exclaim that no one would argue with general truths. Anyone can say such things, the scoffers quickly point out, but how do we execute? Negative attitudes aside, it’s a fair question. But the need to execute does not diminish the excellence of stated truth, and the fact that this message is coming from one of the country’s major bodies of religious leaders is significant. The NCC, of which the Orthodox Church is a member communion, is reaching out to America’s faith-based communities in an attempt to heighten the awareness of individual members in those communities. In and of itself, raising environmental consciousness at the local level is grassroots execution. Our country’s Church leaders are concerned, and they want the adherents of the Christian faith to be concerned, too. The fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch is playing a key role in this effort internationally, and the fact that the Orthodox hierarchy in America is also behind it, signifies that America’s Orthodox Christians should also get involved. It means we should start paying closer attention to government policies and legislation as they pertain to the environment, and take stands alongside our non-Orthodox Christian brethren when it comes to protecting our natural resources. It’s time for us to transcend our everyday community concerns and join others in a wider, crucial common cause.
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