Mountains often played a big part in the stories of the Bible.
Both symbolic as well as literal they are prominent among the settings in the Bible stories.
From Abraham to Zachariah, they all had "special" experiences on mountains.
Jesus himself was recorded as being on several different mountains for different purposes, one of which was defeating the Devil's temptations and conquering sin, Amen! Moses and the Israelites that were freed from captivity in Egypt wound up on a mountain, where they formed an army and trained for battle (but that is another story).
Abraham took his only son into the mountains to make an offering as was customary in those days (he was supposed to actually kill his son as an offering, but that is another story).
Noah, his wife, and sons in the Ark, came to rest on a mountain, where he built an altar to worship and offer, which meant they would go there often.
There is no shortage of rock climbing excursions in the pages of the Bible.
Although it is not considered sport climbing, to my way of thinking, without helicopters and trams the only way to get atop a mountain is to "climb" it! Therefore we know people have been rock climbing for at the very least around 2,000 years.
What we call the "sport" of rock climbing which involves safety gear and specialized equipment was born in the late 1880's.
When you are on the summit of a mountain and overlook a seemingly large part of the world, there is something really majestic and grandiose about that.
You really do feel closer to God, or Allah, or the force, or whatever you call him.
It's no wonder there is a growing community of Christian climbing clubs, and church sponsored climbing programs.
With all the health and mental benefits, and the personal challenges it presents, rock climbing is very therapeutic.
If we are to follow the examples of the great characters of the Bible, then we are to get to the mountains and climb, at least every so often.
There are many great websites to check out Here is a good place to start http://www.
climbingforchrist.
org/
Both symbolic as well as literal they are prominent among the settings in the Bible stories.
From Abraham to Zachariah, they all had "special" experiences on mountains.
Jesus himself was recorded as being on several different mountains for different purposes, one of which was defeating the Devil's temptations and conquering sin, Amen! Moses and the Israelites that were freed from captivity in Egypt wound up on a mountain, where they formed an army and trained for battle (but that is another story).
Abraham took his only son into the mountains to make an offering as was customary in those days (he was supposed to actually kill his son as an offering, but that is another story).
Noah, his wife, and sons in the Ark, came to rest on a mountain, where he built an altar to worship and offer, which meant they would go there often.
There is no shortage of rock climbing excursions in the pages of the Bible.
Although it is not considered sport climbing, to my way of thinking, without helicopters and trams the only way to get atop a mountain is to "climb" it! Therefore we know people have been rock climbing for at the very least around 2,000 years.
What we call the "sport" of rock climbing which involves safety gear and specialized equipment was born in the late 1880's.
When you are on the summit of a mountain and overlook a seemingly large part of the world, there is something really majestic and grandiose about that.
You really do feel closer to God, or Allah, or the force, or whatever you call him.
It's no wonder there is a growing community of Christian climbing clubs, and church sponsored climbing programs.
With all the health and mental benefits, and the personal challenges it presents, rock climbing is very therapeutic.
If we are to follow the examples of the great characters of the Bible, then we are to get to the mountains and climb, at least every so often.
There are many great websites to check out Here is a good place to start http://www.
climbingforchrist.
org/