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WHAT IS CELTIC CHRISTIANITY? |
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WHAT IS CELTIC CHRISTIANITY?
Specifically, Celtic Christianity refers to the branch of Christianity which was unique to the peoples of the British Isles during the early Middle Ages. Although there is some debate over exactly when and how Christianity got to the British Isles, there is no doubt that it was firmly established by the 2nd Century, because Ireneaus, the Bishop of Lyon, had significant interaction with them.
The first, great Celtic son was Morien, also known as Pelagius. Pelagius was a spokesman for Celtic theology. Pelagius has been labeled as a heretic by traditional theologians because they favor a Latin version of Christianity. Pelagius' opponent, Augustine, succeeded in expelling the Pelagians out of the Roman Empire during the 5th Century. Augustine became the father of Latin Christianity.
Celtic Christianity holds to a balanced view of the Biblical doctrines of free-will and predestination. Ostensibly, these doctrines were the focus of controversy between Augustine and Pelagius. Through the centuries, Pelagian Celts have emphasized the individual's responsibility to obey God's moral law. Latin Christianity has tended to rely upon the strong arm of the state.
Celtic Christianity does not have much interest in the grand worship of state religion. Celtic Christians are fond of the small group and a liturgy which is an expression of personal faith. From ancient times, they have had great interest in spiritual gifts, manifestations of the Divine presence, religious revivals, and world evangelism.
Celtic theology does not agree with Augustine's view of Original Sin. It sees Original Sin as the result of Adam's failure to be an adequate federal head of the human race. That failure produced a wounding in the nature of man which weakened his will but did not disable it. Because of Christ, all people are able to respond to the call of God's grace to salvation and virtue.
Augustine taught that sexual desire was inherited depravity. Because of this doctrine, traditional Christian theology has had a dim view of sexual pleasure and women in general. Living on this side of the sexual revolution, most modern Christians are completely unaware of how repressive traditional Christianity has been toward human sexuality. The Celtic Christians did not believe our sexuality was tainted and enjoyed it fully within marriage. Augustine was scandalized by the Pelagian view. The Roman Catholic Church and later, misguided Puritans saw the Celtic attitude as pagan. doctrine
Celtic Christianity tends to produce a love for nature. That was why the Celtic South was pastoral and the Saxon North was mercantile. Yankees want every inch of earth to be used for production. They hate what they call inefficiency. Southerners cherish the wilderness; Celts always have. However, that is not to say they are unproductive people - consider the Welsh of Ohio and upstate New York, cradles of American industry. Celts labor for the joy of what they do, not because they are driven.
Celts love mysteries, story-telling, poetry, folk-music and dancing. They are not impressed by great cities and the arts which are abstract and separate from life.
Celtic Christianity does not see God as separate from His creation and finds the Incarnation of Christ as proof of that view. Celtic theology, inherited from the Druids, teaches that the universe is like a body. God is the head and the cosmos is His body. Being one with the creation does not erase the Creator/creature distinction, no more so than it is possible for the finger to do the work of the brain. What it means is that God shares in the joys and sufferings of His creation. And Jesus Christ is the symbol of that unity. Church of Cambria
Celtic Christianity rejects cosmic dualism, whether pagan or Christian. It does not believe in two competing gods. Likewise, it views Satan as a fallen member of the angelic host and not as a rival god. It is solidly Trinitarian.
Celtic Christianity also teaches that the Godhead contains feminine attributes as well as masculine attributes. Because Augustinianism held a dim view of women, traditional Christianity sought to create an exclusively masculine God. The spiritual void left by that view of God drove the Church to Mary worship. Unfortunately, it was an incomplete and sexless Mary. Celtic theology teaches that the Holy Spirit is the representative of God's femininity and that sexuality is reflective of God's creative power. It views Mary as a woman who had other children besides Jesus. And it teaches that Jesus was truly a man (as well as God), which included the sexuality of a man.
Celtic Christians have always gravitated toward localism as a form of government. Historically, they dislike the modern notion of the nation-state. The tribe, clan, and kinship group, within the context of the village, are the forms of government which Celtic peoples prefer. Celtic Christianity recognizes the ethnic character of the Church. According to Bible prophecy (e.g. Psalms 2), the Messianic kingdom consists of ethnic churches which form the constituent members of the Body of Christ. It disagrees with the Latin and Byzantine versions of Christianity, inherited from the Roman Imperial model, which attempt to force everyone into the same mold. Many of the doctrinal and liturgical disputes in Church history have come because of the language barrier, which, of course, is ethnic in orientation and Divinely ordained (Genesis 11). These differences ought to be respected with a gracious spirit.
Through the centuries, the Celts have instinctively resisted the Imperial model for Christianity. They have tended to be exuberant worshippers, free-thinkers, and dissenters. They are intensely loyal to beloved leaders and not to systems or institutions. For that reason, mainline churches have viewed Celtic Christians with suspicion and, sometimes, outright hostility. Celtic expressions of the faith have been persecuted as cultic heresies.
Today, there is a growing sense that traditional Christianity has exhausted itself as a spiritual and moral reservoir for Western civilization. Celts and non-Celts are turning to the ancient Celtic Church for a fresh start. We invite you to investigate it for yourself.
If you would like to learn more about Celtic Christianity, please contact
Friends of the Cambrian Church, P.O. Box 8701, Moscow, ID 83843
 iCelticprincessz · Fri Jan 25, 2008 @ 08:09pm · 0 Comments |
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