Watch or listen to the latest Richard Urban Show: Why Abstinence Matters-4: Sex Outside of Marriage Harms Society.
Revelation 5
9 Then they sang a new song,
“You are worthy
to receive the scroll
and open its seals,
because you were killed.
And with your own blood
you bought for God
people from every tribe,
language, nation, and race.
10 You let them become kings
and serve God as priests,
and they will rule on earth.”
Lamentations 1
20 Won’t you look and see
how upset I am, our Lord?
My stomach is in knots,
and my heart is broken
because I betrayed you.
In the streets and at home,
my people are slaughtered.
21 Everyone heard my groaning,
but no one offered comfort.
My enemies know of the trouble
that you have brought on me,
and it makes them glad.
Hurry and punish them,
as you have promised.
22 Don’t let their evil deeds
escape your sight.
Punish them as much
as you have punished me
because of my sins.
I never stop groaning—
I’ve lost all hope!
World Scripture and the Teachings of
Sun Myung Moon
Chapter 4
God’s Creation and Human Creativity
The Sanctity of Nature
2. Alive with Consciousness, Endowed with Purpose
No creature is there crawling on the earth,
no bird flying with its wings,
but they are nations like yourselves.
Qur’an 6.38
I say: Just as the consciousness of a man born
blind, deaf and dumb is not manifest, likewise the
consciousness of beings of earth-body [e.g., miner-
als] is also not manifest. Nevertheless such a man
experiences pain when struck or cut by a weapon,
and so also do the beings of earth-body. Likewise
for water-beings… fire-beings… plants… ani-
mals… air beings: their consciousness and expe-
riences of pain are actual, though not manifest.
Acarangasutra 1.28-161 (Jainism)
If these [my disciples] were silent, the very
stones would cry out.
Luke 19.40
Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation
of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every
plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad
or happy event in days long vanished.
Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb
and dead as the swelter in the sun along the
silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring
events connected with the lives of my people,
and the very dust upon which you now stand
responds more lovingly to their footsteps than
yours, because it is rich with the blood of our
ancestors
Chief Seattle (Native American Religion)
The explanation of the goodness of creation is
the goodness of God… Nevertheless, certain
heretics remain unconvinced, on the ground that
many things in creation are unsuitable and even
harmful to that poor and fragile mortality of the
flesh, which of course is no more than the just
penalty for sin. The heretics mention, for exam-
ple, fire, cold, wild beasts, and things like that,
without considering how wonderful such things
are in themselves and in their proper place and
how beautifully they fit into the total pattern of
the universe, making their peculiar contributions
to the commonweal of cosmic beauty. Nor have
they observed how valuable they are even to us
if only we use them well and wisely. Consider, for
instance, poison. It is deadly when improperly
used, but when properly applied it turns out to
be a health-giving medicine.
Saint Augustine, City of God 11.22 (Christianity)