Nature

Upon hearing the word nature, I am always reminded of Robert Frost’s poem Nothing Gold Can Stay. The imagery he uses symbolizes to me the beauty of nature and how it is fleeting:

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Nature was once revered by many cultures, and yet today, it is thought of last among the dominant countries like the United States and China who keep on contributing dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Native Americans held great respect for nature, a respect akin to religious beliefs. In The Iroquois League, there were many referrals to nature to describe their culture and way of governing. The leader of Iroquois League planted a tree, naming it the Tree of the Great Peace, and that was to be the meeting place when the leaders were ‘in session’.

“Roots have spread out from the Tree of the Great Peace, one to the north, one to the east, one to the south and one to the west. The name of these roots is The Great White Roots and their nature is Peace and Strength.”

This passage from The Iroquois League implies that the tree, or more accurately the peace accord with the other tribes, is widespread and as everlasting as a tree.

Jonathan Edwards, a theologian, Puritan, and preacher also admired nature and beauty. Although, sometimes his allusions to fire and other facets of nature were not always used in a way that was synonymous with the peace associated with the word nature:

“[Sinners] are as great heaps of light chaff before the whirlwind; or large quantities of dry stubble before devouring flames. We find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or singe a slender thread that any thing hangs by: thus easy is it for God, when he pleases, to cast his enemies down to hell,” (Sinners, 2009).

Nature and all of its connotations can hold different meaning and value depending on the person’s perception of peace, strength, and clarity.

References:

Sinners. (2009). Sinners in the hands of an angry god by jonathan edwards. Retrieved on October 4, 2010 from http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/history/spurgeon/web/edwards.sinners.html

Fire and Brimstone

If "Pilgrims and Puritans literally believed that all humankind was stained by Adam's fall,", one has to wonder how much further they would cast their judgments on modern society.

One such Puritan, Jonathan Edwards, condemned many for their lifestyle choices, including "wicked, unbelieving Israelites,". In his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, there are several statements he makes that alludes to the belief that humankind is inherently tainted, like "The use of this awful subject may be for awakening unconverted persons in this congregation [...] That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you,".

To further scare his congregation into compliance, Edwards goes on to describe how the wicked among them shall be punished, "There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell's wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of; there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up,".

A sermon delivered by Edwards in the 21st century would not have the same impact as it did in 1741, because many of the modern populace believes in a more forgiving God than the angry torturer described in detail in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. In 1741, perhaps churchgoers believed that if they had one sinful thought or committed one sinful deed, then God would come down upon them with all of the wrath he could muster. In today's world, people adhere to a moral code, but not one that is so restricted based on fear of retaliation from their God. Hopefully, modern individuals adheres to a moral code because they know it is the right thing to do, God or no God.