WHEREAS, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24-1:); and
WHEREAS, “God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together He called Seas. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10); and
WHEREAS, Christians recognize God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of the created order; and
WHEREAS, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15); and
WHEREAS, The sinfulness of the human race has led to the destruction of the created order (Romans 8:22) as evidenced by the endangerment of the earth by pollution, human extravagance and wastefulness, soil depletion and erosion, and general misuse of creation; and
WHEREAS, We are forbidden to worship the creation (Matthew 4:10, Romans 1:25), but are charged by our Creator with caring for creation (Genesis 1:28, 2:15), and are called to be faithful stewards of that which is entrusted to us (Luke 16:1-13).
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 12-14, 1990, recognize publicly our responsibility to God to be better stewards of all of the created order; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the messengers in the session for this Southern Baptist Convention covenant with one another to seek ways personally and corporately to care for the earth and all those who dwell therein; and
BE IF FURTHER RESOLVED, That individuals, churches, and other Baptist groups be encouraged to make an environmentally responsible ethic a part of our lifestyle and evangelistic witness.