Religion and Theology

During the second half of the 20th century, biblical theologians and scholars started to dwell on issues like the land, environment and natural order. Along with this was their interest on issues like wild places and wilderness. Their forbears have been unwilling to take extra interest with popular scientific attitudes which viewed nature under human control, even biblical theologians have been more reluctant to view nature so (Journal of European Baptist Studies). At present, there is significant evidence that biblical scholarship is catching up with the onset of issues like global warming and other related environmental and ecological topics. Furthermore, it can be emphasized that without wilderness, the religions development in the Old Testament would be unintelligible. In respect to this, it would be suffice to deeply examine the notion of wilderness with respect to other philosophies so as to validate its authenticity and effect on people and the society. By holistically defining it, one might be able to discover the critical relationship between civilization and the environment and how each is mutually influenced as reflected in the biblical teachings like of Thoreau and Muir.

The Wilderness Tradition
Terry L. Burdens The Kerygma of the Wilderness Traditions identifies the notion of wilderness as indicated in both the Old and New Testament. The wilderness tradition results from the interaction of Gods land and Gods people that is, it varies from place and time and appears to be constitutive rather than prophetic (Journal of European Baptist Studies). The concept of wilderness is deeply rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the Old Testament for instance, Israels confidence and understanding of Gods acts appears to be highly dependent on it and over the years, the nations wilderness experience shaped the totality of the Hebrew Jewish tradition. The New Testament features almost similar reflection but quite in a different manner. In the Gospel of Matthew, the writer emphasized the fact that wilderness is a place of trial and suffer, but also a perfect place to have relationship with God, like the Israelites journey in the desert. In the Temptations narrative wilderness is prominently featured as the dwelling space for the mentally deranged (Journal of European Baptist Studies).

Thoreaus View on Nature
Henry David Thoreau, who was able to discover the relationship between wilderness and religion, was an American poet, author, historian and philosopher. He is best known to have written Walden, a book which reflects simple living within natural surroundings. In this book, he tells about how fortunate he is that he is happy in his solitude and able to correct the insanity of the human community through solitude and nature. His writings on natural history and philosophy anticipate the findings and methods of environmental history and ecology. He was advocated to preserve public land wilderness and conserving private land natural resources. The inherent solitude of man and the need to examine the universe as a whole in addition to the soul of each person individually was his focus. He believes in neither completely embraced wilderness nor rejected civilization. He chose to find a middle ground that is, a pastoral realm which integrates both culture and nature. His philosophy required consideration of a didactic arbitration between wildernesses. Upon his contact with the real wilderness in Maine, he realized the necessity of balance and felt greater regard for civilization rather than deeply appreciate the beauty of the wild. He also demonstrated that nature can be dangerous and unforgiving yet nature in his mind was a gift from God and a comparison to the human condition. Sometimes brutal, unfair, and unpredictable nature is a parallel to the human community as a collection of Gods work in places that can be inhabited by men or only visited by them as a gift. Religion and spirituality were also his central theme and nature was considered a place to meditate and commune with the natural elements to be able to reconcile the natural with the seemingly unnatural forces of ill-intentioned or ignorant men.

The general connection between the notion of wilderness as used in biblical texts and Thoreaus view about nature is reflected by how nature is viewed in a subjective manner. The idea of wilderness as reflected in the Gospel of Matthew refers to a place of trial and suffering however, it is also a place where one could strengthen his or her relationship with God. Although Thoreau was satisfied with the belief of simple living with the natural surroundings, his philosophy was not inclined to completely appreciate the beauty of the wild as a space for building relationship with God. His philosophy was more in favor of examining nature (as a place of commune and meditation) as a ground for reconciliation of wilderness with the unnatural forces developed by man. Thus, his philosophy partially deviates the idea of wilderness as a sole space with God.

Muirs Wilderness Notion
Another man who advocate to wilderness preservation in the United States is John Muir. He was a Scottish-born American author and naturalist. His interest for science made him believe that glaciers sculpted majority of the valley features including its surrounding area  a claim from which he would later theoretically gain acceptance. Muirs The Story of My Boyhood and Youth reflects his interest for the bible then he uses his Christian theology background to discover and explore wilderness. He developed his own religious philosophy that attempted to synthesize the encouragement argument for Gods existence and its antithesis, naturalism. His philosophy as reflected in his book argued that the natural forces and processes found in the environment that controls nature remains consistent with the presence and immanence of a designer and creator of the universe or God. In his book, he works hard to account the positive beauty and perfection of nature from its details to the entirety that manifests order and design. In fact, any person who embarks on an in depth study or observation of nature couldnt help but apprehend and discover such spiritual reality. Upon his attachment with American natural landscapes, he made himself believe that the environment, which consisted of animals and plants, came straight from Gods hands, one that is not corrupted by domestication and civilization. His philosophy revolved around the belief that wild is superior and that there must be a perceived dichotomy between nature and civilization. He believed that nature, as a great teacher, revealed the mind of God. Muir styled himself as John the Baptist by saying, He who kept the worlds natural and The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness. In Gods wildness is the hope of the world. In the end, in as much as nature has become a principal source of scientific investigation, it is also a primary source for understanding God besides the Bible.

In short, Muir perceived nature as a teacher in as much as he considered the wild as superior. It is a place where Gods existence can be found through natural processes which made wilderness so beautiful and perfect. In oppose to Thoreau, he believed that nature alone can make people apprehend spiritual reality and in the end, may serve as the principal source of science by which the notion of civilization is based upon. His regard for wilderness best exemplifies and represents the wilderness tradition as reflected in both the Old and New Testament. The wilderness tradition clearly defines nature as a place where Gods land and people can mutually interact and a space where people can perfect their relationship with the Supreme Being.ConclusionReflection

By examining the definition of wilderness with respect to the above-mentioned philosophies, Muirs regard for nature as the mind of God best exemplifies the very idea of wilderness as emphasized in biblical contexts. His message almost read like a glacial action preparing for life, a call to repentance to the society as a whole. This was best represented in Isaiah 403 a voice crying in the wilderness and Luke 38 stones could raise up children to Abraham by which Muir resembled himself as John the Baptist (Journal of European Baptist Studies). In contrast, Thoreau appears to stand in the middle as he chose to neither reject the idea of civilization nor fully accept the notion of wilderness. Hence, he centered the idea of the human community on the balance between an individuals space to be self reliant and the place for individuals to participate in the greater momentum of natural and social forces.