Scripture quotations about God and Creation . . . JUDEO-CHRISTIAN Old Testament "God put Adam in the Garden to "til and to keep" (Genesis 2) "The Eternal placed the Human Being in the Garden of Eden to till it and to tend it." (Genesis 2:15) God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh." (Genesis 9:12-15) "This [the rainbow] is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations." (Genesis 9:12) "The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation." (Exodus 34:6-7) "Ask the animals, and they shall teach you; the birds of the air, and they shall instruct you. Speak to the earth and it shall teach you." (Job 12:7-8) "The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and all those who live in it." (Psalm 24:1) "In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small. . . When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the earth." (Psalm 104: 25, 30) "He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-bringing forth food from the earth." (Psalm 104:10-14) "When God created Adam, he showed him all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to him: See my works, how lovely they are, how fine they are. All I have created, I created for you. Take care not to corrupt and destroy my universe, for if you destroy it, no one will come after you to put it right." (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7) "The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers; the heavens languish together with the earth. The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant." (Isaiah 24:4-5) See to it that you do not destroy my world, for there is no one to repair it after you." (Midrash Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13) "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." (Isaiah 55:12) "Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?" (Ezekiel 34:17-18) New Testament "…For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something do drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in…I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25, 34-40) "the first and great commandment. Love God and the second is love you neighbor as yourself." (Mark) He answered: "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." (Luke 1-, 27-28) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being." (John 1) "For by Him (Christ) all things were created: things in haven and on earth" (Colossians 1:16) "Faith without action is dead." (James 2:17) QUR’AN "It is God who has created the heavens and the earth and sends down rain from the skies, and with it brings out fruits wherewith to feed you; it is He who has made the ships subject to you, that they may sail through the sea by His command; and the rivers (also) has He made subject to you." (Qur'an, 14:32) "Assuredly the creation of the heavens And the earth Is greater Than the creation of humankind; Yet most people understand not. Koran (as quoted in This Sacred Earth, edited by Roger Gottlieb) "Greater indeed than the creation of humankind is the creation of the heavens and the earth." (Qur’an 40:57) HINDU TEXTS "Earth, in which lie the sea, the rivers and other waters, in which food and cornfields have come to be, in which lives all that breathes and that moves, May she confer on us the finest of her yield. Earth, in which the waters, common to all, moving on all sides, flow unfailingly, day and night, may she pour on us milk in many streams, and endow us with lustre. May those born of thee, 0 Earth, be for our welfare, free from sickness and waste. Wakeful through a long life, we shall become bearers of tribute to thee. Earth, my mother, set me securely with bliss in full accord with heaven, 0 wise one, uphold me in grace and splendour." ("Hymn to Earth" in the Atharva Veda -- as quoted by Dr. Karan Singh) "Fire is his head, his eyes are the moon and the sun; the regions of space are his ears, his voice the revealed Veda; the wind is his breath, his heart is the entire universe; the earth is his footstool, truly he is the inner soul of all." ("Mundaka Upanishad" -- as quoted by Dr. Karan Singh) "The divine expresses itself through natural phenomena." (Dr. Karan Singh, (1986) "The Hindu Declaration on Nature" in the Assisi Declaration) OTHER JEWISH TEXTS "We are not obligated to complete the task; neither are we free to abstain from it." Rabbi Tarfon (Pirke Avot, 2:21) "…if we desire life, we must establish a new relationship with Nature." (Mivhar Ketavim, 57-58) Religious Hymns - relevant to creation
http://www.webofcreation.org/Worship/liturgy/hymns.htm http://www.earthministry.org/Congregations/song_bibliography.htm
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