A biblical obligation to protect resources

One of our most beloved anthems is "God Bless America;" we know how true it is in both hope and affirmation. God has blessed our country beyond measure, "from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam." And one of the ways we can continue our blessings is by protecting those mountains, prairies, and oceans for generations to come.

Christians understand that God calls us to be good stewards of the bounty upon which all life depends - that's why one reason so many of us identify as "pro-life." For us pro-life cares for all life from the "womb to the tomb," and as Genesis teaches, we were created in God's image and entrusted with the proper care of His creation, to "tend and keep it" (Gen. 1:26; 2:15). For in protecting and cherishing our land and water, we defend our children's health and the rights of future generations to meet God in His creation and enjoy its wonder.

As good stewards, we must do everything to protect our national treasures and all our public lands, We must be ever vigilant to protect what belongs to God against attempts to sell them, transfer them, or weaken their protections, or to weaken the laws that make our public lands possible.

That is why I joined 8,479 Christians in Illinois who cherish and value all life in signing a petition affirming that "our public lands are essential to our quality of life; they are national treasures" and calling on Congress to "reject selling off America's public lands and permanently reauthorize the Land Water Conservation Fund."

I have been blessed to see many places in the United States and in the world. At one point in my life, I managed the environment and safety programs for the Des Plaines-based Gas Research Institute, the R&D organization for the entire U.S. natural gas industry. I have seen firsthand what lack of care for the environment can do and the high cost of restoration. I know that it is our God-given responsibility to restore God's creation, but it is even nobler to not destroy God's creation.

In total, more than 225,000 petitions were delivered to legislators in all 50 states this month in support of policies that defend and preserve America's public lands. The petitions ask members of Congress to heed our call and take encouragement from our support to do what's right when it comes to our national heritage and God's creation.

That means upholding national monument designations - land that already is stewarded by the federal government but is now given special protection thanks to the Antiquities Act of 1906. We believe that such designations answer the Christian call as caretakers for God's Creation. It also means supporting funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, one of our nation's more effective conservation policies.

Let us remember the verses of "God Bless America": "Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, as we raise our voices in solemn prayer: God bless America, land that I love."

We call on Congress to heed our prayers, and commit to standing beside our country, and guiding our country, with a grateful nation behind them.

Thomas R. Roose is an associate professor of physics and science education at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights.