An Abecedarian of Sacred Trees

Every person has seen a tree and maybe planted or climbed one! In all world religions, various trees are considered sacred. Trees have the ability to help us reach wholeness if we learn their wisdom and integrate it into our lives. This abecedarian--a book whose contents are in alphabetical order--explores the spiritual growth that is possible by reflecting on the wisdom of woody plants, which help humans experience the divine. In these pages you can explore trees from Acacia to Zaqqum. For each of the forty entries, the author presents a text identifying the tree, a reflective study, a question for journaling or personal meditation, and a concluding prayer. Some trees you may have heard about, and some may be new to you. The spiritual life is enhanced by the trees that surround and share the earth with us while also disclosing the divine to us.Boyer has written an informative and inspirational book that explores the religious significance of a variety of trees in Christianity and other religions of the world. Well organized and well researched, this book goes far in illustrating why and how trees have played such an important part in the religious lives of people across the world.--Stephen C. Berkwitz, Professor of Religious Studies, Missouri State UniversityWith his characteristic combination of detailed scholarship and clarity of thought, Boyer's latest volume guides the reader through a personal discovery of their own spiritual connection with trees and sacred nature as only a seasoned educator can. Trees beautify our backyards and public spaces. They clean our soil and our air to form an ecological link between the Earth and sky. Boyer shows us how they can also spiritually link the human and the divine.--John Kossler, Ecologist, Western Meridian ResourcesThis ecologically sensitive book hits the market as the foliage of the forest revels in all its autumnal glory. Boyer's latest reflections summon humanity to rejoice in this colorful grandeur that discloses the immanence of God, 'disguised by the bark of a tree.' Within this forest, tree lovers everywhere will detect an echo of the divine that resonates in every human heart, that realizes afresh, that 'only God can make a tree.'--Pauline Nugent, CCVI, Professor of Classics and Biblical Hebrew, Missouri State UniversityMark G. Boyer--well-known author and college instructor--has been writing books on biblical and liturgical spirituality for thirty years. As an author, he has written fifty volumes on spirituality focused on recognizing the divine in every-day life. As a college instructor, he has taught courses in Bible and film at Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri, for almost thirty years. This is his tenth Wipf and Stock title.