John Muir - The Wild Gospel of Nature
A video narrated by Chris Highland
John Muir– The Wild Gospel of Nature
A video narrated by Chris Highland
AUTHOR: John Muir
SOURCE: Chris Highland
PERMISSION TO PUBLISH: Granted by Chris Highland. All rights reserved.
John Muir (1838 – 1914) spearheaded the preservation of Yosemite Valley and Giant Sequoia redwoods as national parks. He also co-founded The Sierra Club. Muir grew up in Scotland and at the age of 11 immigrated with his family to Wisconsin. Although he never graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Muir studied science as the campus as an “irregular gent.” At the age of 28, he almost went blind from a work accident in a factory making wagon wheels. In September of 1867, soon after he recovered, Muir went on the journey from Kentucky to Florida which he would later describe in A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf. He moved to California, fell in love with Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and developed a preference for wilderness over civilization. He disliked writing, but his writings stand as some of the most beautiful, insightful, and persuasive of Americans’ attempts to describe and discuss the natural world.
Chris Highland was a Protestant minister and interfaith chaplain for many years before becoming a humanist celebrant. With a degree in Religion and Philosophy from evangelical Seattle Pacific University and an M.Div. from a diverse consortium of seminaries (Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley), he has been active in “presence ministry” and nonprofit work in a private school, a county jail, homeless shelters, and affordable housing.
Chris and his wife Carol, a Presbyterian minister, live in Asheville, North Carolina. His website, entitled “Friendly Freethinker,” is www.chighland.com.
To watch Chris Highland’s video featuring naturalist John Muir,click the arrow below.