There is something mysterious and provocative about fire. We don’t need fireplaces when we have central heating, but we have fireplaces anyway. We pay the utility company extra to have them; and we take much time and effort to haul and cut wood for burning. Our fascination with fire can’t be put into words, but watching a fire is as close to meaningful prayer as some of us get.

The discovery of fire changed the life of primitive people. Fire made possible the change from a nomadic to a settled existence. With fire, vegetable cellulose could be broken down and eaten, so that the hunt no longer became the main struggle for nourishment. Fire made us into farmers, and with that gave us the possibility of permanent town and village life. It found us nomads and made us into urbanites!

Fire also pr…