last updated 21 September 2005

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Celtic Christianity / Celtic Paganism / Pagan Christianity

celtic dragon art found here

     And he said unto them, "If a man told God that he wanted most of all to help the suffering world, no matter the price to himself, and God answered and told him what he must do, should the man do as he is told?"
     "Of course, Master!" cried the many.  "It should be pleasure for him to suffer the tortures of hell itself, should God ask it!
     "Honor to be hanged, glory to be nailed to a tree and burned, if so be what God has asked," said they.
     "And what would you do," the master said unto the multitude, "if God spoke directly to your face and said,'I COMMAND THAT YOU BE HAPPY IN THE WORLD, AS LONG AS YOU LIVE.'  What would you do then?"
     And the multitude was silent, not a voice, not a sound was heard upon the hillsides, across the valleys where they stood.
      --Richard Bach in Illusions

     The above quote comes from a story which was not written by someone of Celtic blood nor culture, and the story itself is neither Christian nor pagan in its metaphysics, yet the story's denouement still fits the Celtic experience when dealing with the spirituality and sentiments of people of other cultural dispositions.  Part of the Celtic disposition is a zest for life; not some shallowly pleasant sort of 'happiness' but an intensity of feeling in both delight and sorrow, and a certain earthy holiness that pervades daily life rather than restricting itself to church or temple.
     This difference can be found in both the pagan Celtic faith(s) and the Celtic iteration of Christianity which followed - and learned from - the original religion(s) of the Celtic lands, such as some branches of the Anglican Catholic Church.  Celtic paganism does not envision a spiritual realm which is far away in the skies or beneath the earth much less one which is outside human existence.  The spiritual realm -  The  Otherworld  - of Celtic paganism is nextdoor to and intertwined with the world of day-to-day life.  Similarly, Celtic Christianity does not perceive God and His Kingdom as far away or otherwise outside human existence, but as being one with daily living: "For behold, the Kingdom of God is within / among you." --Luke 17:21 [the two predominant versions combined]
     A number of internet sites on Celtic Christianity can be found through Stuart Woodward's website on Celtic Christianity and the Celtic Christianity Webring.  For specific information about the U.S.American branch of the Anglican Catholic Church, visit the "official" homepage of The Episcopal Church.
     A particularly beautiful website can be found at the House of Breathing with its elegant emphasis on spiritual meditation.  Another spiritual resource for the Celtic Christian is the Celtic Spirituality Handout.
     For information on the Celtic world in general, five excellent websites are Angus Og's Hot Links to the Celts, Gaelic Social Structure, The Encyclopaedia of the Celts, the website called Celtic Heritage, and The International Celtic Congress.  For specific information on Celtic Ireland, take a look at Biddy McGraw's Irish History.  Some nice Celtic art can be found at the Celtic Art Home Page.
     Finally, while Anglican Catholics or Episcopalians might refer to themselves as pagan Christians because they incorporate the spiritual dispositions but not theology of Celtic paganism, here is a website for an actual merging of Celtic Christianity and Celtic paganism in Llan Dobhran, a Celtic Pagan Christian website.

 

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