Joel Holsteen - Student Choosing

In Kip Redick's "Wilderness as Axis Mundi: Spiritual Journeys on the Appalachian Trail," He brings up the topic of how wilderness is an Axis Mundi in Judaic and Christian Scripture. He gives many examples of how stories from scriptures prove his theory. One example of this is when he brings up the story of Abraham and how he followed God's instructions to leave his home and go into the mountains. Once Abraham got to the mountains God spoke to him and after he built an alter on that spot and called it Bethel, meaning house of god. This along with other stories he brings to mind show the reader that God intends us to seek out wilderness to help avoid the temptations of the city. So not only is it recommended by doctors and psychiatrists it is also highly recommended in both the the Christian and Judaic religions. So it sounds to me that getting out and experiencing the wild is a positive and over all good thing to do.