1) " The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it" (Gen. 2:15, NRSV).
2) The Assembly notes with deep concern that human life and creation are increasingly commercialized and commodified in our world today. Such commercialization and commodification devalues God's creation and robs humans of their God-given dignity. In this way, every dimension of creation entrusted to humankind and human life itself is endangered. The Assembly finds disturbing that the practice extends even to the message of God's Gospel of grace thereby putting a price tag on the ministry of the church, reducing it to a commodity that can be bought and sold.
3) The Assembly, therefore,
- Encourages the LWF to find ways to help the member churches to become more theologically grounded in their teaching on human dignity and the value of creation.
- Decries the excess destruction of natural resources including the misuse of land for commercial purposes only, because human destruction of creation is self-destruction since humans are an inseparable part of creation.
- Acknowledges that due to human activities, creation is losing biodiversity at a highly alarming rate, and understands that biodiversity loss threatens the delicate balance of the Earth system as seriously as climate change. The Assembly calls on the LWF Communion Office and the LWF member churches to dedicate special attention to and action on this issue, including in the context of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
- Is concerned that through carbon emission compensation, pollution is commodified. The Assembly recognizes current efforts as a transition, and calls for advocacy with corporations and countries for responsible and sustainable carbon emission efforts.