Environmental history of early Christian wilderness concepts

Christian Idea of Wilderness

The early Christian idea of the wilderness concept is the result of many millennia of human evolution in terms of mode of living and thinking. Human beings evolved firstly as part of nature; using natural forces for their survival. When human beings became aware that nature might be manipulated for the perpetuation of human life, they became agents of ecological change. The agricultural mode of living culminated in a similar type of religion, with fertility and nature at its center. This was replaced as Yahweh, the god of Judaism gradually replaced the importance of the natural with the supernatural.

God created the world and all things in it"

This belief is the result of the evolution of the god concept from natural to supernatural, and the concomitant idea that God provides the world for humanity to civilize. This idea is very prominent in the Pentateuch, where God chooses a special group of human beings and leads them to a land prepared especially for them. The belief that God created everything is also indicative of the central image of the supernatural in the Christian world view, as opposed to the original centrality of nature as the giver of life.

Nature is a fallen and profane world, and Heaven is home"

This belief is the culmination of the separation between humanity and nature. Human beings, being superior to nature, finds their true home only in the hereafter. This also shows the evolution of philosophy as it relates to the human concept of time. In contrast to earlier population groups, early Christians began the belief that time is linear rather than circular, ending in a final goal; the second coming of Christ.

God is transcendent and above the fallen world; He alone is divine and sacred"

This belief signifies a hierarchy: human beings are above nature, while God, as a spirit, is above all that is physical. Human beings, while being superior, are nonetheless part of the physical world and subject to its laws.

Mankind is made in His image and is therefore distinct from the rest of creation

This belief is central to the dichotomy outlined above: human beings are part of the physical world, but also part of God. On the basis of this inner divinity, humankind is given the right to claim superiority to their nonhuman surroundings.

Mankind is to rule over God's earthly creation

This belief is central to the concept of humankind's separation from and superiority to nature. Nature is to be manipulated according to the needs and requirements of humanity. Technology instead of agriculture plays a large role in this manipulation. In terms of early Christianity, the use of technological tools to manipulate nature is seen as part of the divine directive to rule over creation.

Time is diachronic and headed somewhere

Jesus is central to the early Christian concept of linear time. The example of his life, death, resurrection and second coming to earth shapes the time concept of early Christianity. Human beings as individuals live, die and receive their final reward. Collectively, humanity was created, lives, and will cease its current existence upon the second coming of Christ.