The list of significant events that occurred on mountains seems endless: NoahвЂ™s ark came to rest on a mountain God tested Abraham in an incident sometimes called the вЂњbinding of IsaacвЂќ on a mountain Moses meets God as a burning bush and is later given the Ten Commandments on a mountain and there are several references in the Old Testament to GodвЂ™s holy mountain. There are more references to mountains and hills in the Bible than any other geographical feature. Thus a mountain top is one of the most sensitive spots on earth.вЂќДЄfter reading ancient texts, one might add that perhaps mountains are among the most spiritual spots on earth. вЂњOne climbs a mountain,вЂќ writes Tim Robinson, вЂњdrawn instinctively by the magnetism of the highest point, as to a summit of personal awareness, awareness of oneself as a point inrelation to as much of space as can be grasped within a maximal horizon. The vastness of the lake, so deep, so broad, so peaceful, or the continual flow of a river can engage our spiritual sense. Sitting on the shores of a lake, whether in the wilderness or a beach in great city, can enable us or prepare us to experience GodвЂ™s grace. Rivers, lakes, streams and seas as well as hills and mountains can have a certain power over us. Two geographical locations that seem to have very strong grip on our religious sensibilities are bodies of water and mountains. To use the language of theologians, we might say that nature or certain spots in creation are вЂњsacramental.вЂќ To put it simply, such places can have a spiritual effect on a person.

We can experience God in and through nature, albeit in a limited fashion. Nature, created by God, reflects GodвЂ™s glory. The second option is most in line with the authorsвЂ™ thinking and is a theme throughout this book. Nature does not so much reflect God as it is God. The third group holds that nature is itself spiritual. The second group believes that nature is in some way sacred as it was created by God and thus reflects GodвЂ™s glory.

People in this profile are usually not religious. The first group holds that nature, while important, is not sacred in any sense of the word. We rest between the gunwales of our canoe at a quiet bay on a Canadian shield lake, watching the loons, or a bear, smelling the white cedar trees and the tamarack swamp, and see evidence of a Divine hand.Д¬onservationists, environmentalists, and those who have a strong attraction to nature tend to fall within one of three groups. Others can stand at the foot of a great sculpture, near a painting or hear a sonata and find the results of God at work through the efforts of humans. We love it for its beauty, power and majesty.

Gods fingerprint