Over a century Congress passed the Antiquities Act, designed to protect scavengers from raiding federal lands for historic or prehistoric treasures from public lands. The Act empowers the President to designate historic or prehistoric sites or structures as places of protection.
Although much of the focus has been on places like Bears Ears where uranium miners want to open shop, it also includes places like Fort Monroe, Virginia, and Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. .Administered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it helps places of historical importance gain designation.
A challenge to designating the 1.3 million acres known as Bears Ears was dismissed by a federal court, a victory of the many Native American peoples who have long used the site as part of their sacred grounds. As Jesus said, God has many mansions, many different ways of worshipping the Divine. That is certainly reflected in the many different ways we as Christians worship God. Let us celebrate how God listens to us, all of us.
Prayer for the Day
God of light, remove from us the darkness we often feel,
Embracing not just us but all your children as they come to you;
God of the morning, open to us the radiance of your day,
Expanding our vision of your Word in the world.
Broaden our understanding of those around us as they search for you,
Understanding that the many divergent paths all lead to you.
In the name of the One who welcomes all,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune.
- Theodore Roosevelt, President, on the Antiquities Act 1906 (1858-1919)
When we survey the whole field of religion, we find a great variety in the thoughts that have prevailed there; but the feelings on the one hand and the conduct on the other are almost always the same, for Stoic, Christian, and Buddhist saints are practically indistinguishable.
- William James in The Varieties of Religious Experience (1842-1910)
In my father’s house are many dwelling places.
If it were not so, I would not have told you.
The Gospel According to John 14: 2