Religion and the Mountains

The Jewish faith and by implication the whole Abrahamic tradition is based on a few significant events, one of which is the magnificent theophany of Sinai.  Sinai, which has not been positively identified is thought to be one of a cluster of peaks reaching 9000 feet in the Sinai desert. The Hebrews, under Moses and Aaron, had fled from slavery in Egypt and were making for the mountain, which for them seems to have been a holy place, aided, by strange coincidence, in all probability, by the smoke and fires of yet another mountain,  the volcano Thera, the wreckage of which is the present day island cluster of Santorini.

It was at Mount Sinai that the theophany occurred that shaped  the history of the  Jews, the faith from which not only modern Judaism, but both Christianity and Islam arose. It was at Sinai that Moses ascended the mountain to receive the stone tablets were inscribed with the main tenets of the law, the keeping of which constituted the Hebrews' side of the covenant with God. The  covenant that God would be the Hebrews'  [lsrael's] God in return for keeping God's law has been fundamental to Israel's identity and religious thought in  that time. The concept of the New Covenant is fundamental to the story of Jesus and his mission. The Jewish Passover and the Christian Eucharist are celebrations of the original and new covenants respectively. 

No account of worship on hills and mountains in the Holy Land could fail to mention high places, which were hill top shrines used for sacrifices and feasts. These ancient sites were local places of worship, but they fell into disfavour when King David centralised sacrifice in Jerusalem and dwindled until the exile, when rabbinic Judaism  which worshipped in synagogues replaced the remaining few of them.

The New Testament continues the mountain theme, as it begins with Jesus' sermon on the mount. The parallel with the giving of the old covenant and law on Mount Sinai and  Jesus' sermon is clear. Just as God sends the old law symbolized by the commandments on Sinai, so Jesus, God's Son and messenger, presents the new law symbolized by the eight beatitudes on the mountain. A great religious change  is signaled. It seems likely that Matthew includes teaching material in the Sermon that was uttered on other occasions if it fits into the sermon,  and we cannot prove that there was a real sermon on the mount. But in a hilly place such as Palestine hills are hard to avoid. So it is reasonable to judge that Jesus gave a sermon from a hillside. 

The parallel between the Sinai theophany and the sermon on the mount is that God speaks from the mountain to give his law. The implication is that Matthew's gospel is presenting Jesus as God's representative among humankind, his son. The differences are that at Sinai was that there  was a thunderous storm, signifying God's power, whereas Jesus speaks in a normal preaching style without spectacular demonstrations. This is in line with the tradition of Elijah in the cave, but more about that tradition later.

 The first important experience on a mountain was Abraham's attempt to sacrifice Isaac, in which he was following the religious traditions of the land in sacrificing one's first born to the deity. Whether there is any truth in this tale or whether it was concocted to show that the Hebrew rejection of human sacrifice derived from the command of Israel's God. But as Abraham was  attempting to build the fire,  an angel of the Lord directed him to sacrifice a goat that had become entangled in a clump of bushes, in this case Mount Moria, whose precise identity is unknown, but which some traditions say was Mount Zion, the mountain upon which Jerusalem was built. The significance of this story is that it serves to display God's rejection of violence in worship, a fact that some people have taken further  by rejecting animal  sacrifice, though not all agree that this kind of worship is inherently wrong.

Another significant experience was the prophet Elijah's experience on Mount Horeb. God's prophets were under persecution by Queen  Jezebel and several, even many, had been murdered. Elijah agreed to meet Jezebel's prophets of Baal came. Elijah and his foes attempted to offer burnt offering, but only Elijah's fire burnt. He had been vindicated and had the false prophets killed. Then, knowing Jezebel and what she was like, he did a runner, pronto, heading for Mount Horeb, known as the mountain of God. There Elijah takes refuge  in a cave and next morning comes out to wait for God. First, there comes a powerful wind, but God is not in the wind; next comes an earthquake, but God is not the quake, but then comes a gentle breeze, and then Elijah covers his face, for in the gentleness God is found. God is showing Elijah that violence is not to be part of his religion. I sometimes meditate on this passage, as I feel that it is one of the most important passages in Scripture. Religious truths seem to have often been revealed on mountains.

Ancient religious believers thought that there were special places .and times where the veil between this world and the other was thinner than normal. Scholars have called these liminal places, and mountains, especially the summits, were locations where the earthly world came close to heaven, which was the residence of some of the gods. The Hebrews were ever a people who looked to heaven for their deities, as did Semitic cultures in general, rather than to the earth, where mother goddesses were thought to dwell. Hence their sacred places tended to be found on heights.  It is possible that the great ziggurats, the mighty temples of the Babylonians that the king would ascend in yearly rituals,  were imitation mountains meant to bring the worshipper closer to the deity. 

There are occasional references in the Old Testament to certain mountains being holy. For example psalm 88 [89] speaks of the Mountains  on which Jerusalem stands as beng sacred, and Psalm 98 , when speaking of Jerusalem speaks of God,s Holy Mountain. Since the biblical period Christianity has added no sacred mountains to its sacred geography. But maybe anywhere where good is done is holy!

Besides the Sermon on the Mount the New Testament has the Transfiguration. Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain, but it's name was not given, whereupon he was transfigured before them, radiating clear brightness. Theologically this is significant,  as  this means that he was being revealed as a heavenly being. This was a theophany to parallel SinaI. Moreover, Moses and Elijah, two prophets who had encountered the divine in mountain settings, appeared and spoke with him. To complete the theophany a cloud,in Hebrew thought a sign of divine presence,  enshrouded them, and a voice spoke, declaring Jesus God's beloved Son. This .was a religious experience incomparable in its beauty and significance. God was replicating the Sinai experience for  Jesus' leading followers to prepare them for their future mission.

Later on Jesus went to Gethsemane, a garden on the Mount of Olives, to pray. This is a small climb from Jerusalem, but as Jerusalem is built on a mountain it is possible to say that  the events  that took place there also occurred in mountains.

Matthew's gospel ends with Jesus appearing to the twelve apostles on a high mountain in Galilee. This is the culmination of Matthew's gospel, where Jesus appears as a being who should be worshipped. He gives the apostles their commission from the mountain, acting in a godliness  manner. Luke's version has the experience taking place near Jerusalem, a discussion takes place about the date of the end, but Jesus tells them that only the Father knows the date.the apostles' job is to spread the gospel. Jesus is then taken into a cloud and a vision of angels tells the apostles that he will return the way in which he came. After this mountains fall out of the Christian story. 

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