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MEDIA ADVISORY, May 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following opinion article is submitted by Peter Illyn:

On May 16 we celebrate Endangered Species Day. As Christians we remember and reaffirm our covenantal responsibility to care for all of God's creation. The biblical and theological arguments for protecting the biodiversity of creation are very strong. God created a fruitful earth and gave us dominion but never expected us to destroy the fruitfulness there-of. 

The theology is clear - God created the different species and called them good (Gen 1:12,24). God blessed them and told them to fill the earth (Gen 1:20). God protected them by bringing them to the ark and lastly, God made an eternal covenant with them: "this is the sign of the covenant between me and you and every living thing with you, a covenant for all generations to come.... I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living things of every kind... I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." (Genesis 9: 12-16). 

In Matthew 24:45, Jesus asks "Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom the Master has put in charge of the servants of his household to give them food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns." This verse implies that humans, as heads of God's household, are to make sure the biological needs of the rest of the household are met.

Psalms 104:24 states "In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures."  This verse alone is a strong defense of endangered species protection for it says that God in wisdom created all of the species and that God still owns them. Therefore as caretakers of God's creation, humans have no right to destroy that which God created, blessed, protected and covenanted with. 

For Christians the question becomes do we have the right to destroy the species God that created in wisdom and that God clearly loves (Psalm 145)? Do we have the right to destroy the integrity of ecosystems that support the life of our human neighbors? 

The answer to both is a simple no.  Thankfully, 35 years ago men and women with foresight put in place a law to protect species that are endangered and threatened – the Endangered Species Act. Today we celebrate the success as wolves and bald eagles have been delisted but there are still many troubles facing species - salmon populations on the coast of Oregon and California are at record lows.

I'm encouraged by the Christian church rising up, speaking out, and stepping forward to become advocates for God's creation. Micah 6:8 tells us that when God has shown us what is good, we must respond with justice, mercy and humility. Driving species to extinction is not justice, it is not mercy and it is not humility.  Instead it is foolishness and arrogance. Instead, we are called to serve and to sacrifice to protect the fruitfulness of nature. It's really quite simple; extinction isn't stewardship. But protecting endangered species is.

Peter Illyn is a spokesperson for the Irreplaceable Campaign. Featuring work by award-winning wildlife photographers and the voices of faith, science, and justice leaders, the Irreplaceable: Wildlife in a Warming World  (http://www.irreplaceablewild.org) educates the public and policy-makers about the many plants and animals imperiled by climate change. 

Take Action: Please help protect Irreplaceable Wildlife by signing the Call to Care, (http://ga0.org/campaign/call_to_care) available online at the Irreplaceable Action Center http://www.irreplaceablewild.org/action,  and urge policymakers to protect species imperiled by climate change!