Winds of Change Newsletter, December 2005     See sidebar for table of contents

Christians for the Mountains: Statement by Denise Giardina

When God created heaven and earth, he looked at his handiwork and declared it good. Each act of creation received this word of divine satisfaction. As time passed, only one part of Gods creation became the subject of disappointment and anger ourselves. But after the destruction of the Flood, God declared he would not repeat this act. As Christians, we believe that God even took human form in order to redeem us. The apostle Paul believed that redemption extended to the whole of creation. (The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay. . . Romans 8:21)

Throughout time God has shown his continued love for creation. But God seems to have a special love for mountains. Time and again, when God wants to meet Man, he chooses mountains. Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac on a mountain. Moses was called to receive the Ten Commandments upon a mountain, and God showed him the Promised Land from a mountain. Jesus preached his greatest sermon upon a mountain. Monks in medieval England and Ireland saw mountains as thin places, places where it is especially easy to pray and communicate with God. Psalm 68 even speaks of God having a mountain for his abode.

As a beloved part of creation, mountains themselves have been seen as participating in praising and thanking God. In the Psalms and elsewhere, the mountains and hills are described as skipping for joy. If we may speak to God from atop a mountain, the mountains themselves also sing praise to their Creator in their own special language.

Mountains have also given us enduring spiritual metaphors. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, speaks of a faith that can move mountains (I Cor. 13:2), though he goes on to add that without love, such faith is meaningless. Paul here is speaking of faith so strong it can accomplish the impossible. Moving mountains was meant to stay just that impossible.

What then can we say about mountaintop removal? First we must acknowledge that man has indeed developed the capability to move mountains. We have that capability but should we exercise it? Clearly God did not mean that we should, for to literally move a mountain makes the metaphor meaningless.

But mountaintop removal does far more spiritual damage than the destruction of language. The Appalachian Mountains, according to geologists, are among the oldest in the world. This means they are among the first mountains God created. The beautiful Appalachian Mountains are a balm to the soul. Their destruction speaks of the souls sickness.

If God loves mountains so much, and scripture is clear that he does, how must we grieve him when we destroy them? When scripture bids us look up to the hills, from whence comes our help, how may we when those hills are gone? Where is hope or comfort then, when the signs of hope given by God, the mountains, have been leveled?

Psalm 24 tells us that the earth, and the fullness thereof, belongs to the Lord. Woe on us if we continue to destroy what is the Lords. But the woe, the shame, is for more than just disobeying God. When we destroy the beautiful, the sacred mountains, we reject Gods gift. It is a gift near to the heart of God. To destroy the mountains is to spit in the face of God. It must break his heart.