Introduction

A young sapling grows to become a strong tree only to be cut down. Its wood is used for fuel, building materials, furniture, paper, tools, weapons, and more. This process has existed since the beginning. It is therefore clear that wood plays an essential role in the history of civilization. Throughout history it has played a fundamental role in shaping societies in the East, the West, and the New World. Considering this and the notion that grace builds upon nature, we can assume that wood would also be an essential element in salvation history. By exploring how wood plays an essential role in the East, the West and New World, it will become clear that it is also a fundamental element in Christianity. 

We will start at the beginning and look at wood’s impact based on what we know about prehistoric fire. After having that basis, we will look at the use of wood in all three major cultures of history so far: the East, the West, and the New World. In the East, the Wuxing system exposes the most essential elements, wood being one of the symbols. In the West, we will discover how wood was essential in Greco-Roman cultures and then throughout European history. We will see in the New World the importance of wood in the home and then see that as society developed through industrialization more complex issues surfaced. Our analysis culminates with how fundamental wood is in Christianity specifically throughout salvation history focusing on Creation, Noah, and finally, the Cross.

Chapter 1

Wood as an Essential Element in Prehistoric Fire

In the earliest stages of human history, the Prehistoric Age, wood was an essential element for fire. In an article by the Kosmos society, Theophrastus, an ancient Greek Philosopher, says just that in his work the Enquiry into Plants, «whether for mining, heating, cooking, or burning anything, it was essential to be able to kindle a fire: fire-sticks are made from many kinds of wood»^[1]. This philosopher noticed not only that wood was essential for fire but that the type of wood makes a difference as well. In an article by Kindred, it highlights that fire provides light and heat but also shields against predators, cooks food, and transforms other substances. Moreover, it enhances social interactions by dispelling darkness^[2]. Now we see how the multi-use functionality of fire can be used and developed. This is why the Greek word ὕλη for wood came to mean material because it is so fundamental and can be used in various ways. In the Abric Romani region in Spain archeologists discovered hearths which are the key to identifying the Middle Paleolithic period.

Given what we know about Neanderthals’ material choices for artefacts, it’s not surprising that they also took care in the fuels they used. Wood is by far the most common, and similar to how hunted, largely they took whatever was around. Being very abundant, pine is therefore the most commonly burned wood, but sometimes it seems to have been selected despite other species being available. For example, in Level J of Abric Romani, among over 1,000 identified charcoal fragments, all but one were pine, the exception being birch.^[3]

The trees that they used for their fires include juniper, maple, evergreen oak, and yew. These are still in use today. These trees were not just used for fire though. For example, yew was the same material «used for the feared medieval English longbows, it was also the choice of both the Clacton-on-Sea and Lehringen spear makers»^[4]. It is also very useful for dish platters, digging tools, butcher knives, and composite tools. Another illustration is that for adhesives they used birch tar, pine and conifer resin. Some of the Neanderthals, however, lived up in the mountains where there were no pines because of the cool, dry climate there. They resorted to using juniper as an alternative, despite its twiggy and tough nature devoid of branches, or terebinth, which, although producing sticky gum and smoke, was not the most ideal option. In some cases though smoky fires may have been used to cure hides. Although the majority of fires were wood, there is evidence of coal and bone being used. It is unclear if those materials were thrown in the fire. They make multiple fires up to six months using naturally fallen or dead wood. A small fire was eight to twelve inches and a bigger one was one yard with a heat range of 300 to 750 degrees Celsius. Some of the other uses for the fires included communication or signal, mimicking wildfires to drive animals or forcing new plant growth to attract herbivores.^[5] We see how their use of fire developed and contributed to their earliest society.

Chapter 2

Wood as an Essential Element in the East

The Wuxing System

In the East, specifically in China, we discover that wood is also an essential element throughout their history. In their philosophy the Wuxing System serves as their metaphysics and is made up of five agents or phases: Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth. Wuxing, originally based on a cosmic analogy, referred to the five major planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Mars, Venus; and were conceived for creating five forces of earthly life. They were primarily concerned with process, change, and quality. For example, the Wuxing element wood is more accurately thought of as the vital essence of trees rather than the physical substance. In traditional doctrine, the five phases are connected in two cycles of interactions: a generating or creation cycle and an overcoming or destructive cycle. For example, in the regenerative cycle of the Wu Xing, «water engenders wood, as rain or dew makes plant life flourish; wood begets fire as fire is generated by rubbing together two pieces of wood»^[6]. Since wood also represents wind in their system, it nourishes the fire with oxygen. They also use this system for the phases of the year, what we in the West would call the seasons. The wood is associated with the spring season since it is a period of growth which generates abundant vitality, movement and wind. In the conquest cycle, wood overcomes earth through the roots of the trees and draws sustenance from the soil. Metal overcomes wood as the metal axe can topple the largest trees. Since metal represents the winter season, the dryness and coldness causes wood, like the trees, to lose their leaves because the sap goes inward and returns to the roots in the fall. Among the Chinese constellations there are four symbols or mythological creatures. They are viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. One of them is the Azure Dragon of the East which represents the spring season, or wood.^[7]

We can see the simplicity and beauty of this system which is based on nature and gives them the ability to discover eternal truths. I argue that the same thing is done throughout salvation history. Therefore, it is important to show the universal concept that wood is an essential element in all societies.

Other Eastern Cultures

In other Eastern cultures, such as Japan, India, and Korea, wood holds deep cultural significance symbolizing longevity, vitality, and natural beauty. It plays a central role in Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Shintoism. For instance, in Japan they have sacred tree groves in the Shinto religion. They believe that spirits inhabit trees that are over one hundred years old. These spirits, known as kodama, develop into the personality of the tree and are regarded with awe and caution. Traditional wooden architecture, furniture, and artwork reflect meticulous craftsmanship,such as wood-carving, and aesthetic sensibilities deeply rooted in Eastern philosophy. Wooden statues, such as Buddha or Vishnu, along with altars and ritual objects, are integral to temple worship and spiritual practices serving as conduits for devotion, meditation, and reverence for the divine.  In construction, furniture-making, and crafts bamboo is widely utilized for its versatility, strength, and sustainability. It is also used as material for housing, utensils, tools, and even musical instruments. This shows not only the practical uses of wood but also the spiritual use.

In the East they do not have the modern concept of religion as just another part of life but rather it is so integral to their society and culture. Therefore, to say that wood plays a fundamental role in the religion is to express even more deeply that it is an essential element in their society.

Chapter 3

Wood as an Essential Element in the West

Everything in the West starts with Greece and Rome. We see that wood is also an essential element in these cultures as well. From landscaping in the ancient Roman villas to shipbuilding in the Middle Ages to oil painting on wood panels in the Renaissance, wood has played a fundamental role in these societies in architecture, art, and craftsmanship across the centuries. In Greek, wood or ὕλη, can also mean trees, forest, timber, or firewood. Later on, it came to mean material, stuff, or substance because it was the basic element for everything in life. It was so fundamental in Greek thought that it is the same word they would use for our modern concept of matter. We see it appear in the earliest works in history. For example, in the Greek classics beginning in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

Iliad and Odyssey

Let us look now at the Greek classics and see how they use wood and how essential it was to them. Sarah Scott of the Kosmos Society studied and found various instances of how wood was used in the Iliad and the Odyssey. For Patroklos’ funeral, wood was cut to be used as fuel for the cremation^[8]. In Achilles’ enclosure, a temporary structure was made of wood^[9]. Achilles carries an ash spear as the only part of his armor and gear^[10]. In the Odyssey, the Cyclops Polyphemus has a similar enclosure to Achilles that is made out of wood and Odysseus himself uses an olive stake to put out Polyphemus’ eye^[11]. Odysseus makes a ship vessel out of wood to leave Calypso’s island^[12]. The nymph Calypso lives in a wooded place where she had a large fire burning on the hearth^[13]. The handle of Calypso’s ax is crafted from an olive tree, the same material from which Odysseus fashioned his marital bed—a memory he shares with Penelope^[14].  In the Odyssey we also see sacred tree groves dedicated to gods and goddesses^[15]. In the Homeric Hymn 26, there is reference to Dionysus who as we know is connected with the grapevine but also with ivy and laurel^[16]. Hesiod makes reference to trees in his Works and Days giving advice about which wood to use and how to use it^[17]. This practical advice is based on the properties of the wood and the best season to cut it. These instances underscore that wood held significance not only in Greek literature but also in their societal fabric and mythology. Another correlation emerges, linking wood as a symbol of nature with the divine representation of the gods.

Ancient Roman Landscaping

Let us turn now to Ancient Rome and look into one unique aspect of how essential wood was in their culture. In the city, life was relatively comfortable for the upper class but it was also political and hectic. That is why they fled to the countryside and built villas to get away from the city. The idealized rural villas offered an appealing setting. They offered shade in the summer and warm sun rays in the winter. The Oxford History confirms this by saying,

Amid the congestion and the senseless revels of the capital, the cultural hothouse and the demands of the imperial court, the regimen of farm life, of physical exercise and undisturbed sleep of comfortable solitude amid physically attractive surroundings, was eminently desirable^[18].

It was in these villas that they began the practice of landscaping. Pliny the Younger attributes the invention of this art to Gaius Martius of the equestrian «in which the gardener is interested in artistically shaping plants into geometric figures, animals, objects or human figures by cutting branches and trimming leaves and using metal supports»^[19]. Cicero is the first to use the words of Greek derivation, topiarus and ars topiaria, for gardener and gardening^[20]. Topiarius means painted or frescoed landscape and in fact, these plants were set in aprons, courtyards, or along paths either individually or in groups which consisted of  hunting scenes, fleets of ships, episodes of the Trojan War^[21]. We hear that

Pliny could report not only that cypresses were clipped to form hedges but also that they were shaped into elaborate tableaux portraying ‘hunt scenes, fleets of ships, and other images’; and in his nephew’s villa at Tifernum in Tuscany there were box trees cut into the shapes of wild animals and into numerous other forms^[22].

Topiary art, together with gardening, originated in the first century B.C. in ancient Rome at the time of Lucullus and Sallustius when simple cultivation of plants no longer sufficed and sumptuous gardens were created. They were typically adorned with luxurious constructions like porticos and nymphaeum. Nymphaeum are small temples connected through long paths with pergolas and small barbered groves called nemora tonsilia in Latin^[23]. They replanted trees and shrubs in intentional arrangements. By using their God-given ability they were able to cooperate with nature and create something beautiful. This shows the relationship between nature, beauty, and grace.

The garden, or hortus in Latin, was «framed by trees and flowering shrubs…originally shaded by fruit trees planted in serried ranks»^[24]. The original aim of the gardener was, in fact, to create attractive natural settings. This would have been an extraordinary sight and experience to be surrounded by beautiful plants and fruit. Discovering the House of Pansa, the French scholar Mazois «sketched a plan of the garden at the time of excavation and observed that it was laid out systematically in rectangular plots separated by paths which also served as irrigation ditches”»^[25].  The pleasure garden «became the focus for art galleries, libraries, lecture halls, meeting rooms, basilicas, and conclavia (rooms)»^[26].

Ships

As far back as Ancient Egypt, ships were employed for navigation, while boats were utilized for fishing. On the Mediterranean, the Greeks were highly familiar with navigating the waters and we observed earlier that Odysseus personally crafted his own vessel. Lionel Cassan highlights that the Roman and Byzantine Navies used triremes and dromons respectively. These ships were rowed by oarsmen but were both agile and well-suited for ramming enemy ships in naval battles.^[27] There is reference from Theophrastus who speaks  of various types of wood used for shipbuilding and  that beech wood was favored^[28].

I would now like to focus on ships throughout Western civilization to show the continuity and development of the use of wood in shipbuilding. Wood forms the primary structure of a ship’s hull and various types have been used depending on availability and desired characteristics. Oak, for example, was favored for its strength and resistance to rot. Oak provides both stability and durability for long sea voyages. Tall wooden masts and spars were essential for rigging sails and providing stability to the sailing vessels. Wooden decking and planking cover the hull and provide a surface for crew members to walk on. Wooden rudders were crucial for controlling a ship’s direction. These were often made from dense, durable woods like elm or oak. Wood was also used for decorative elements on ships, showcasing craftsmanship and adding aesthetic appeal. Carvings, figureheads, and ornate woodwork adorned many vessels throughout history.

In ancient times the Phoenician ships utilized cedar wood for their hulls and decks, known for its strength and resistance to decay. The Egyptian boats, such as the Khufu ship, were constructed using acacia and cedar, showcasing advanced woodworking techniques of the time. In the Medieval Period we see the Viking longships, like the Oseberg Ship, which were primarily constructed from oak, including the hull, mast, and oars, enabling swift navigation through northern European waters. The Arabic dhow employed teak wood for their hulls and masts, facilitating trade and exploration across the Indian Ocean. In the Age of Exploration, Spanish galleons, such as the Santa Maria, relied on oak and pine for their hulls and masts, enabling long-distance voyages to the New World by Christopher Columbus. The Portuguese caravels, like the São Gabriel, utilized sturdy hardwoods such as oak and chestnut for their hulls and decks, pioneering oceanic exploration. In the Age of Sail, British naval ships, including HMS Victory, were constructed using a combination of oak and teak for hulls, masts, and decking, ensuring durability and seaworthiness during battles and long campaigns. During the Battle of Trafalgar, Lord Nelson’s flagship helped protect the ship’s structure from moisture and wear. The American clipper ships, exemplified by the Cutty Sark, featured sleek designs with mahogany and teak decking, enabling fast and efficient trade routes across the world’s oceans. In the Modern Era, the Steam-powered ships of the nineteenth century, like the SS Great Eastern, still incorporated wood for decking and interior fittings, despite advancements in metal shipbuilding technology. Nowadays, Contemporary wooden boatbuilding enthusiasts continue to craft vessels using traditional techniques and materials, preserving maritime heritage and craftsmanship. For instance, I had the privilege of visiting the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) on the Newport, RI harborfront which has become the premier marine trades and modern manufacturing school in the United States. There the students specialize in the restoration of historically significant wooden sailing yachts.

Now we can see that wood, throughout history, has played an essential role in the development of ships in various western cultures. This has been a vessel for the gospel to travel to new lands. For example, we know from the Acts of the Apostles that Paul’s travels included voyages on merchant ships, cargo vessels, and Roman ships. It is believed that he sailed on a grain ship from the fertile Nile of Alexandria all the way to Rome, Italy^[29]. There is also the impact that Columbus’ trip to the Americas had on the spread of the faith in the New World. Here again we see the link between grace and nature.

Oil on Wood Panel

Another compelling illustration of the interplay between nature and spirituality is exemplified by the use of oil painting on wood panels during the Renaissance. In the sixteenth century, artists in Britain and Northern Europe very often chose to paint on wooden panels^[30]. As this became popular the faithful artists used this technique for altarpieces, retablos, and iconostasis which enhanced liturgies and elevated the prayer of the congregation. We have many examples from this period, such as the Flemish Peter Paul Rubens’ Elevation of the Cross which is a massive work in the Baroque style depicting the dramatic moment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, with remarkable energy, emotion, and dynamism. We also have The Ghent Altarpiece by the Dutch Jan van Eyck, a monumental altarpiece created in the fifteenth century in the Northern Renaissance style, featuring multiple panels depicting scenes from the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and various saints. Finally, The Temptation of St. Anthony by Hieronymus Bosch which is a surreal and visionary painting, depicting the torment and temptation faced by St. Anthony the Great during his desert asceticism.

            Why did artists begin using wood in the first place though? We find that the

hard, even surface of the wood allowed them to apply the paint smoothly, in a detailed and delicate way. This was especially suited to painting the richly embroidered costumes and elaborate jewels worn by the kings, queens and people of high society who typically had their portraits painted^[31].

The dense, solid structure of wood ensured that paintings remained intact and stable over time, resisting warping, cracking, and deterioration. This durability was particularly important for preserving the intricate details and vibrant colors of oil paintings for future generations. Oil painting on wood panels offers a high degree of accuracy, detail, and realism. This approach to painting aims to create lifelike images that closely resemble the appearance of the physical world, capturing the objects with precision and fidelity. We also see that it depended on the region that the artists found themself in.

Artists generally chose to paint on oak. However rather than using English oak, wood was imported from the Eastern Baltic region (modern-day Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) as its colder, more stable climate enabled the trees to grow slowly and evenly. The tree rings, which represent the seasons, would have been close together and evenly spaced, producing high quality oak that was far easier to cut down into relatively thin, rectangular boards for painting. By comparison, English oak would have had an irregular, twisted grain due to greater changes in weather throughout the year, meaning it was far more difficult to cut down into a flat panel for painting with the hand tools available in the 16th century.^[32]

Another advantage was that these wooden panels were relatively lightweight and portable. They were also versatile in size, shape, and format, allowing artists to create paintings of various dimensions and proportionalities. Our analysis has demonstrated that oil painting on wood panels further developed the arts in Renaissance society but also contributed to the spread and enhancement of the Christian faith.

Chapter 4

Wood as an Essential Element in the New World

Eventually what is known as The West moved farther west to the New World. This brought about a significant change in culture and technology. Before the colonists arrived, in the indigenous cultures of the Americas, wood held spiritual and practical significance. Native American tribes used wood for constructing dwellings, canoes, totems, and ceremonial objects as we saw in the East. They also had the concept of sacred trees such as the cedar and the oak, which were revered as symbols of life, wisdom, and spiritual connection with the land and ancestors. As the colonists arrived, wood was essential for construction, shipbuilding, manufacturing, and energy production. It was especially significant during the Revolutionary War when the colonists toiled throughout the night to construct wooden breastwork defenses atop Bunker hill to surprise the British generals the next morning. There is also the famous structure built by the Dutch in New Amsterdam to keep out the Native Americans that gave Wall Street its name in New York City. Its versatility, strength, and abundance have made it indispensable for building infrastructure, producing tools, and fueling industrial processes throughout the rest of the history of the New World.

Homebuilding

In the most basic structure for modern civilization, the home we find wood as an essential element. Most medieval houses were of wood, and only the better built survived^[33]. It began to be used in the design of modern homes for various reasons including heat storage, tensile strength, aesthetics and cost efficiency. It is a fundamental element in construction even up to the present. Another reference from Theophrastus in his Enquiry into Plants mentions various types of wood that were connected with house-building. He points to the construction of roofs and that sweet chestnut was preferred^[34]. Now, it is common that floors, halls, cellars, doorways, porches, towers, staircases, windows, decorations, kitchens and utensils all are made of wood.

In the New World the New England colonists’ earliest homes were either log cabins or stone houses. For example, the oldest surviving timber-frame house in North America, the Fairbanks House in Dedham, Massachusetts was built in 1637 for Puritan settler Jonathan Fairbanks and his wife Grace. The house was originally a two-storey dwelling encased in oak and cedar cladding, featuring a gabled roof and a central chimney. However, as the family grew and architectural styles developed, the house was expanded multiple times to keep pace.^[35] At the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, I had the privilege of seeing firsthand what it would have been like to live in one of the homes. When you walk in the living room you see nothing but wood in the spinning wheel, table, rocking chair, fireplace, cupboard, and clock on the wall. Even in the stone houses the frame was all made of wood.

Coal

Theophrastus provides information about the wood involved in the charcoal process saying that the best charcoal is made from aria, oak, arbutus because they are the most solid, so that they last the longest and are the strongest. They were used in silver-mines for the smelting of the iron ore^[36]. In iron-mines they use sweet chestnut when the iron has been already smelted, and in silver-mines they use charcoal of pine-wood. Smiths require charcoal of fir rather than of oak because it is not as strong, but it blows up better into a flame, as it is less apt to smolder and the flame from these woods is fiercer^[37].

In the Industrial Revolution the fuel source turned from wood to coal which radically changed the efficiency of producing energy. Burning coal was easier because coal burned longer than wood. With the rise in industry, wood could not be harvested fast enough for the factory. Eventually, this led to the rapid expansion in transportation because coal was used in trains and ships. Adversely, the rise in coal mining operations resulted in deforestation, soil erosion, and water pollution, while coal combustion emitted harmful pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and greenhouse gasses, contributing to air pollution, acid rain, and climate change. The adverse effects of coal mining and combustion on human health, as well as its role in environmental degradation, sparked calls for regulation and cleaner energy alternatives in the twentieth century.

Carbon Footprint

As these issues were brought forward a greater concern was raised about our carbon footprint. This is the total amount of greenhouse gasses (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions. The average carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons, one of the highest rates in the world. One of the proposals brought forward was the goal of getting the carbon footprint to zero. This would mean that «technology, economics, policy, and behavior would have to play a role»^[38]. Koonin argues that this would differ among countries as well. In the US,

transportation, electricity generation, and industrial activities account for the great majority of emissions and, importantly, neither the major sources of emissions nor their amounts have changed all that much over the past thirty years.

Koonin also argues that «even an accelerated energy transformation would take decades»^[39]. He says that the policy would have to have consistency, significance, focus, systematic thinking, technical practicality, and promotion of conservation rather than efficiency. He says that because energy plays such a central role in society an emissions-free system would be disruptive both economically and behaviorally. Meanwhile, the US accounts for only 13 percent of the global greenhouse gas which means that the policy would also have to be taken to a global scale.^[40]

According to Koonin emissions-lite technologies such as fission realtors, solar, and nuclear fusion are worth the research . Advancements in lighting are a great example of how to produce more efficient technology. Smart, energy saving technology with engines and HVAC is another good example^[41]. Another area worth investing more into is geoengineering, Koonin says. Some of the schemes that try to increase the reflectance of incoming solar radiation include raising ground-level albedo, injecting sulfur particles into the stratosphere, whitening marine clouds, and delivering millions of tiny orbital mirrors or sunshades into space. Despite this Koonin introduces the fact that,

Even as new sources of energy come online, older sources have not disappeared. For instance, you may be surprised to hear that the amount of energy provided by wood (by far the leading energy source for most of the nineteenth century) is today the same as it was at the time of the Civil War, though other sources of energy have grown enormously since then^[42].

This helps to give us reference that just as we saw in the beginning that wood was the original source of energy and continues to contribute, although significantly less. We see that all the other energy sources were made possible because the foundation was using wood.

Chapter 5

Wood as an Essential Element in Christianity

Now that we have seen how wood has played a fundamental role in shaping societies throughout history in the East, West, and the New World we come to the climax of our analysis. Remembering our premise that grace builds upon nature, we can expect that wood is an essential element in Christianity. We can look no further than at the beginning and work our way through salvation history.

Creation

From the tree in the Garden of Eden to the Cross and the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In the first chapter of Genesis, God creates the Earth and commands it to bring forth trees:

God said, «Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear»; and it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Then God said, «Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit according to their kind with seed in them»; and it was so. The earth produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.^[xliii]

Then, in the second chapter, God gives Adam freedom saying, «From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die»^[xliv].

In the third chapter, Adam and Eve disobey God’s command at eat of the tree,

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked.^[xlv]

God, the Creator uses the tree as a fundamental element in the story of creation which is the beginning of the story of salvation.

Noah

In the very next covenant that God makes with his chosen people we see wood as a fundamental element in the ark of Noah,

Then God said to Noah, «The end of humanity has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of people; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and put the door of the ark on the side; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. Now behold, I Myself am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which there is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kind, and of the animals according to their kind, of every crawling thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. As for you, take for yourself some of every food that is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and them.» So Noah did these things; according to everything that God had commanded him, so he did.^[xlvi]

This story has parallels and variations in numerous cultures and religions around the world. While the details may differ, the core narrative typically involves a catastrophic flood, the construction of a vessel to save humanity and animals, and the survival of a righteous individual or family. The following are examples of how the story appears in different cultural and religious traditions. In the Mesopotamian flood myths, we have the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Atrahasis Epic. In these myths, a divine figure warns a righteous person about an impending flood, instructing them to build a large boat to save themselves, their family, and various animals. The flood is often sent by the gods as punishment for human wickedness. In the Islamic Tradition: The story of Nuh in Islam, is recounted in the Quran with similar themes to Noah in the bible. According to Islamic tradition, Noah is a prophet who receives a divine revelation instructing him to build an ark to save believers and animals from a great flood. The Quranic account emphasizes Noah’s role as a messenger of God and the importance of faith and obedience. In the Ancient Indian texts, flood narratives can also be found in the Hindu Puranas and the Matsya Purana. These texts describe the story of Manu, a legendary figure who builds a large boat to survive a deluge sent by the god Vishnu. Manu saves various species of animals and eventually repopulates the earth after the floodwaters recede. In the Indigenous traditions flood myths are prevalent in Native American, Australian Aboriginal, and African tribes. These stories often feature themes of purification, renewal, and the resilience of life. In some traditions, animals play a significant role in helping humans survive the flood, while in others, spiritual beings guide the chosen survivors to safety. In Chinese Mythology, the Great Flood of Gun-Yu, recorded in ancient texts like the Classic of Mountains and Seas. According to this myth, the hero Gun-Yu builds channels, dams, and dikes to control the floodwaters and save the people of ancient China. The story emphasizes the importance of flood control and water management in Chinese culture.

Seeing that this story is multi-cultural further proves the point that wood of the ark is an essential element. We continue to see wood throughout the rest of salvation history in the sacrifice of Isaac carries the wood, the blood on the wooden doorposts and lintels of the houses in the great Exodus from Egypt, and in the ark of the Temple with King David which all culminate in the wood of the Cross.

The Cross

In the nineteenth chapter of the Gospel of John we hear,

They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, carrying His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: «JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS»^[xlvii].

The wooden cross represents the central tenet of the Christian faith—the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the redemption of humanity. The crucifixion was the moment when all of humanity was saved from sin and death. Now, after the Resurrection, wood continues to be present in Christianity with its use in statues, crosses, chapels, and rosaries. The artistic and religious traditions of Christianity rely heavily on wood as we saw in the Renaissance with oil on wood panel.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we have seen how throughout history wood has played a fundamental role in shaping societies in the East, the West, and the New World. As a foundation we went back to the beginning and saw that in the earliest of societies wood is fundamental to their most basic necessity, fire. Then, we saw in the East with the Chinese Wuxing System that wood is a major element. It is also deeply rooted in their philosophy and religion. In other Asian cultures we find the same specifically in other religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Shintoism. In the West, we discovered that not only is wood ingrained in Greek Literature but also in their society practically with its use in ships. It is the same in Roman culture where wood played a central role in their villas that they held so dear. They began to landscape and take pleasure gardens to another level. Also later on in Western Civilization we got a glimpse of how essential wood was to the Renaissance. We looked at just one example of oil painting on wood panels and how closely linked that became with the spreading of the Catholic faith. Next, we moved on further in history to the New World where we discovered how vital wood was in the earliest homes of the colonists. Eventually through the Industrial Revolution we observed the transition from wood to the dominance of coal. With this new environmental issues and questions arose such as carbon imprint and emissions. Despite this it was noted that wood has not disappeared and is still indispensable in our daily lives.

Having this as our background and the principle that grace builds upon nature, we concluded that wood is an essential element in salvation history. It became clear that it is a fundamental element in Christianity by showing that it is present in every covenant from creation in Genesis to the sacrifice of Isaac to Moses before the burning bush to King David with the ark of the covenant. All these lead up to the ultimate sacrifice, the precious wood of the Cross of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Why He chose such a death is a mystery, as much a mystery as why God chose wood to be essential in nature.

^[1] Scott, Sarah. “Trees and Wood: Part 2: Theophrastus on the Uses of Timber.” Kosmos Society, 21 July 2022, kosmossociety.org/trees-and-wood-part-2-theophrastus-on-the-uses-of-timber/. Theophrastus Enquiry into Plants 5.9.6–7.

^[2] Sykes, Rebecca Wragg. Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art. Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020.

^[3] Ibid., p.180

^[4] Ibid., p. 124

^[5] Ibid.

^[6] Littlejohn, Ronnie. “Wuxing (Wu-Hsing) | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.” The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), iep.utm.edu/wuxing/.

^[7] Ibid.

^[8] Scott, Sarah. “Trees and Wood: Part 2: Theophrastus on the Uses of Timber.” Kosmos Society, 21 July 2022, kosmossociety.org/trees-and-wood-part-2-theophrastus-on-the-uses-of-timber/. Iliad 23.110–126.

^[9] Ibid., Iliad 24.448–456

^[10] Ibid., Iliad 16.140–144

^[11] Ibid., Odyssey 9.182–186/9.320, 378, 382, 394

^[12] Ibid., Odyssey 5.234–257

^[13] Ibid., Odyssey 5.59–60, 63–65, 68–69

^[14] Ibid., Odyssey 23.188–204

^[15] Ibid., Odyssey 6.291–295

^[16] Ibid., Homeric Hymn 26 to Dionysus

^[17] Ibid., Works and the Days 414–436

^[18] Boardman, John, et al. The Oxford History of the Classical World. Oxford ; New York, Oxford University Press, 1995. p. 100.

^[19] Polizzi, Donatella. “Life and the Art of Pruning.” Meer, 14 Mar. 2021, www.meer.com/en/65148-life-and-the-art-of-pruning. Accessed 6 March 2024.

^[20] p. 47

^[21] Polizzi, Donatella. “Life and the Art of Pruning.” Meer, 14 Mar. 2021, www.meer.com/en/65148-life-and-the-art-of-pruning. Accessed 6 March 2024.

^[22] p. 735

^[23] McKay, Alexander G. Houses, Villas, and Palaces in the Roman World. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.

^[24] Oxford History p. 44

^[25] p. 43 on the House of Pansa

^[26] p.61

^[27] Casson, Lionel. Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. Princeton University Press, 1986.

^[28] Scott, Sarah. “Trees and Wood: Part 2: Theophrastus on the Uses of Timber.” Kosmos Society, 21 July 2022, kosmossociety.org/trees-and-wood-part-2-theophrastus-on-the-uses-of-timber/. Enquiry into Plants 3.10.1

^[29] Hirschfeld, Nicolle. “The Ship of Saint Paul: Historical Background.” The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 53, no. 1, Mar. 1990, pp. 25–30, https://doi.org/10.2307/3210150.

^[30] Odlin, Lucy. “Against the Grain: The Construction of Tudor Panel Paintings | Royal Museums Greenwich.” Www.rmg.co.uk, 20 Feb. 2018, www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/conservation/against-grain-construction-tudor-panel-paintings#:~:text=In%20the%2016th%20century. Accessed 3 May 2024.

^[31] Ibid.

^[32] Ibid.

^[33] Wood, Margaret. The English Mediaeval House. Phoenix House, 1981. p. 208

^[34] Scott, Sarah. “Trees and Wood: Part 2: Theophrastus on the Uses of Timber.” Kosmos Society, 21 July 2022, kosmossociety.org/trees-and-wood-part-2-theophrastus-on-the-uses-of-timber/. Enquiry into Plants 5.3.3/5.6.1.

^[35] Upton, Alexandra. “America’s Oldest Homes from the Earliest Dwellings to Stone Cottages.” Loveexploring.com, 30 Dec. 2023, www.loveexploring.com/gallerylist/232029/americas-oldest-homes-from-the-earliest-dwellings-to-stone-cottages. Accessed 3 March 2024.

^[36] 5.9.1 Theophrastus

^[37] 5.9.2-4 Theophrastus

^[38] Koonin, Steven E. Unsettled : What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters. Dallas, TX, BenBella Books. Inc., 2021. p. 226.

^[39] Ibid., p. 230

^[40] Ibid., p.236

^[41] Ibid., p. 253

^[42] Ibid., p. 227

^[xliii] Genesis 1:9. NASB: New American Standard Bible. Foundation Publications, Publisher for the Lockman Foundation, 2020.

^[xliv] Gen. 2:16-17

^[xlv] Gen. 3:6

^[xlvi] Gen. 6:13-22

^[xlvii] John 19:17-19