I’ve been thinking a lot about trees recently. I love them. We have some great trees where we live in Horsforth in Leeds.
My favourite tree is the Great Boab tree (Oz). What’s yours?
We are all aware of how trees are being chopped down all over the world. We know how important trees are to this planet we live on.
How do various worldviews look at trees? In future posts we will be looking at these worldviews. Consumerism, Paganism, Neo-paganism, Goddess worship (Wicca), Eastern religions, Nature Mysticism, Deep Ecology and finally trees in the biblical worldview. Here are some questions we will be asking.
Are trees just commodities?
Are trees sacred?
Should we pray to oak trees?
Should we ask trees to forgive us for our sins?
Are trees the homes of dead saints?
Are trees just illusions?
Are trees good and humans vermin?
Do trees belong to Christ the Lord?
Mark is a lively storyteller and the author of four books, including The Spy, the Rat and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. His work is focused on storytelling and how this can help us to communicate the Christian faith. He has written many articles for the Baptist Times, RE Today, Youthscape, Direction magazine and the Christian Teachers Journal.
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3 Comments
Hugh Grear · June 29, 2022 at 2:31 pm
Good questions! My favourite tree is the Kauri from New Zealand. I was once able to buy a bowl made from “Genesis Kauri”. The story goes that around 3000 years ago there was a tidal wave (from an underwater volcano) which flattened all the Kauris along that coastline. They lay buried (and preserved) under the mud until discovered in the 1980s. Named after the book of Genesis because of the dates, the wood had an amazing glow, and it felt amazing to hold such ancient history in my hands. As to the questions, they are not commodities nor illusions, and neither are they homes for saints. I do feel that they are sacred in a way, but only because they are magnificent examples of God’s good and fragile creation. Of course, we know that there will be trees in heaven, which will be wonderful, and those that line the River of God will have leaves that are capable of ‘healing the nations’. Good post Mark – tell us more!
Hugh Grear · June 29, 2022 at 2:47 pm
Mark, why do you like the Great Boab tree? Does it’s sap taste like a good pint of Guinness? Tell us!
Kefah Maranga · July 7, 2022 at 6:25 am
Just thinking about trees and the area of oxygen and life. The garden of Eden that God created man and placed him there. Maybe we look at the relationship between trees and life which is God’s purpose for human kind.
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