Missiological Reflections on Celtic Christianity

Whether one thinks of western culture as secular (Bruce 1996, 2002; see Stark 1999), ultramodern (Netland 2001; see Grenz 1996; Oden 2001), or postmodern (Oden 1990), it has long been thought of as post-Christian. Increasingly, western Christianity is unable to answer the questions confronting the western mind. Lesslie Newbigin (1987) asked the provocative and still relevant question, “Can the West be converted?” David Cornick suggests that the answer might be found in the Celtic Church:

We who are the heirs of pollution and the misuse of creation long for an intimate closeness with the natural world. We who are the heirs of post-Enlightenment dualism and its demeaning of the spiritual long for an integrative experience of sacred and secular . . . . We who are the heirs of the “cheap grace” of a Christian establishment . . . long for a faith which costs. We who are the heirs of ecclesiastical division and the bureaucratic structures of the modern church long for the pure air of days when Aidan tramped the Northumbrian hills gossiping the gospel. All this and more we see in the Celtic Church (1997:47).

The Celtic Christians, growing out of a cultural context of Paganism, were passionate for sharing the gospel. They provide models of acculturation and examples of contextualization, while maintaining what was believed everywhere, always and by all. They did all this without the backing of a formal religious hierarchy or state finances (Latourette 1965: 331), but with an egalitarian view of humanity (see Markus 1997: 45-55) and an environmental consciousness that what God had created was good. It was a movement of regular people who desired “Christ in the eye of all who see me, Christ in the ear of all who hear me”(Davies, trans. 1999a: 120).

The purpose of this article is to examine the missiological methods of Celtic Christianity. Upon examination application will be made to the current climate of western culture. The thesis of the article is that Celtic Christianity might provide answers to the questions on the minds of those living in a post-Christian context.

Much debate lies around the origin of the Celtic peoples, but it is evident that an ethnically identifiable people existed a century before their migration. The Celts migrated from central Europe at the end of the fifth century B.C. to the south, crossing the Alpine passes into the Po valley and to the east into Transdanubia and Transylvania. The histories of Polybius and Livy record that the Celts destroyed much of Rome in 390 BC. They were known to have inhabited a track of land from western Europe in Iberia to the Upper Danube. It is widely accepted that as early as the sixth century BC the Celtic language, Indo-European in nature, was spoken in Iberia, Ireland and around the Italian Lakes (Cunliffe 1997: 18-22; Jones and Pennick 1995: 79). Known as the Keltoi (Celts) to the Greeks, the Galli (Gauls) by the Romans and later as the Galatae (Galatians) to both Greek and Roman writers, they were a formidable force that settled most of central and southern Europe until their defeat by Julius Caesar (Chadwick 1971: 54-55).

As a result of their defeat they were forced to retreat to what was considered the edge of the world (modern day England, Scotland and Ireland). While Caesar made two reconnaissance missions to southern Britain, no attempt was made to occupy the area. It was not until under Claudius in 43 AD that there was a permanent Roman presence that ultimately reached southern Scotland prior to 410 AD when the Roman law was rescinded and the army pulled out due in part to the collapsing empire. Overall, according to Nora Chadwick, Roman civilization made little impact on the islands (Ibid.: 68-72).

Much of what is known about the Celts comes from Greek and Roman written sources as well as archeology. The Celts relied on oral tradition to pass on their cultural patterns from generation to generation. They employed an advanced oral technique as a means to transmit their thoughts through artistic speech. To them, physical strength was not as valued as eloquence in speech (Ibid.: 51). The responsibility of the intellectual life of the Celts resided with the literate Druids and the Vates. Chadwick described their teaching as “on a lofty plane and included such subjects as the stars and their motions, the nature and greatness of our earth, the power and majesty of the immortal gods, and other matters which comprised natural and moral philosophy” (Ibid.).

To Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick, the Celts fall into the broad grouping of Pagan religions that were nature venerating, polytheistic and observant of female deities (Jones and Pennick 1995: 81). Celtic religion seemed to be tribally focused with no real congruence of the gods and goddesses. The cult of a deity was identified with a location whether a spring, lake, river or forest. The deities communicated with humanity in the context of nature. Oliver Davies suggests that “We see among the Celts, therefore, the interpenetration of religion and landscape in a way that surpasses anything we might find in the late classical world” (Davies 1994: 10). It is almost impossible to identify the Celtic pantheon in any precise manner; however, Chadwick surmises that “devotees might have sought from their deities such benefits as protection in war, succour in distress and guidance in life generally” (Chadwick 1971: 147).

Information about the Celtic priests, called Druids, is obscure since theirs was an oral tradition. However, it appears that a general knowledge of the Druids existed among the Greeks and Romans. The Druids were wandering preachers who traveled around, passing on their teaching to whomever would receive it (Jones and Pennick 1995: 85). The Druids taught that the soul was immortal and a part of the deity. Instead of being extinguished at death, the soul passed on to another body perhaps in several stages until it reached its original state of perfection (Nicholson 1995: 402). They had a strong belief in the after-life and this gave credence to accounts of their fearlessness in the face of death (Chadwick 1971: 154).

While the Celts had sacred enclosures or temples for lay-people, the Druid central places of worship were situated in the natural environments. Greek and Roman writers suggested that the Druids worshiped gods in uninhabited groves of trees. They were considered sacred places held in great awe and only approachable by the Druids (Jones and Pennick 1995: 81). For them, everything pertaining to nature was good and it was humanity’s responsibility to assure that it would remain such. The Druids seemingly held direct political power of some sort emphasizing justice and morality (Nicholson 1995: 401). They were considered the scientists and moral philosophers of the people as well as judges and arbitrators in public and private disputes (Jones and Pennick 1995: 81).

The provenance of Christianity in Celtic lands is difficult if not impossible to trace with any certainty. Popular Celtic legends suggest that Druids were present at the crucifixion “in spirit,” but it can hardly be validated. Joseph of Arimathea is said to have settled in Glastonbury bringing with him twelve companions and the Holy Grail. Tradition states that Joseph was a tin merchant and while there is evidence of a north-south tin trade route, the Joseph legend cannot be substantiated (Bamford 1983: 66, 69). W. B. Yeats notes that on the day of crucifixion King Conchubar and Bucrach the Leinster Druid were sitting together. The king noted what might have been the darkness that fell over the world during the events of the crucifixion and asked the Druid of their cause. Bucrach replied, “Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is now being crucified by the Jews” (Yeats 1956: 56, as quoted in Bamford 1983: 67). The sixth century Welsh bard, Taliesin claimed, “Christ, the Word from the beginning, was from the beginning our Teacher, and we never lost His teaching. Christianity was in Asia a new thing; but there never was a time when the Druids of Britain held not its doctrine” (Wyatt 1963 as quoted in Bamford 1983: 67). Indifferent of the validity of these legends, the point can be made that Christianity penetrated the religious vernacular of Celtic people.

Considering that the Galatians had Celtic origins, it can be suggested that the Apostle Paul was the first missionary to the Celts. Whether the Galatians had contact with their Celtic brethren in Gaul or beyond is doubtful. Nonetheless, Johannes Knudsen suggests that Irenaeus (130-200), born on the coast of Asia Minor, was a Celt, but this is contested (see Von Campenhausen, 1959: 16-24). Whether or not Irenaeus was a Celt or not, he assuredly moved to Gaul and used the Celtic language. Knudsen states:

Irenaeus must have known his people, and I am sure that he traveled among them. He says that the Christian faith is spread all over the earth, including Celts and Germans; and he says that the gospel is the same everywhere, even among people that have no written language but have to preach the gospel by word of mouth. For hundreds of years the Celts preached the gospel without a Bible in the vernacular (Knudsen 1983: 57).

Christianity was most definitely thought of as spreading to the British Isles by 200 AD. Tertullian writes that the gospel was preached in the parts of the islands that Rome had not touched and Origen suggests that Christianity was a unifying factor among the Britons. Whatever the case, Christianity spread from Gaul to the islands. By 314 AD Christianity was firmly established in Britain by evidence of the presence of three British bishops at the Council of Arles. In 325 Athanasius states that the British church accepted the decrees of the Council of Nicea. However, the survival of Celtic Paganism into the latter half of the fourth century suggests that Christians were in the minority (Chadwick 1971: 194-195).

In 431 Pope Celestine sent Palladius, a missionary bishop to Ireland, but little is know of his exploits. Muirchu suggests that he died in Britain on his way back to Rome, having failed at his mission (Life of Patrick 8). Following him was Patrick in 432. Many legends and myths surround Patrick, but what can be ascertained about him comes from his own hand. Born around 390, he was brought up in a Christian family, his father being a deacon and his grandfather a priest in the church. At the age of sixteen he was kidnapped by Celtic raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave (Declaration 1). It was while he was in captivity that he came to understand his unbelief and turned to God (Declaration 2).

Patrick was held in captivity for six years as a shepherd. It was during this time that he grew in faith, praying a hundred times a day and about as much at night (Declaration 16). Ultimately, he escaped by ship and traveled three days until he made land and another twenty-eight days by foot through a desert (Declaration 19). Subsequently, he was kidnapped a second time, but for only thirty days. From here he departed for his homeland (Declaration 21, 22). It was while he was with his family that he had a revelation that convinced him to return to Ireland as a missionary (Declaration 23). Muirchu reports that before going to Ireland, Patrick went to Rome for preparation. On his way he met Germanus and stayed with him as a student, never arriving to his original destination (Life of Patrick 5). It was from there that he ultimately left for Ireland, being ordained along the way while still on the continent (Life of Patrick 8).

Patrick testifies to having baptized thousands and having ordained many to the ministry in Ireland (Declaration 14). More than likely Patrick did not leave behind a diocesan church per se, but rather a community of believers. Chadwick suggests that Patrick did indeed leave churches, but the structure apparently did not last due to the tribal nature of the society (Chadwick 1971: 207). However, R. P. C. Hanson recognizes that to suggest a Patrician contribution to establishing parishes is anachronistic because of the parochial system of the culture (Hanson 1995: 42). Whether Patrick truly understood Roman Christianity is unclear; however, it can be stated with a degree of certainty that he did not understand Roman ecclesiology, or if he did, he did not apply it to his context. Whatever the case, Patrick is undoubtedly the missionary bishop who established Christianity in Ireland.

Characteristics of Celtic Christianity

“Christianity in word and deed, missionary zeal for Christ, an originally untainted soul given individual freedom by its Creator, inpeccantia leading to celestial reward” (Nicholson 1995: 410). That is the description of Celtic Christianity given by M. Forthomme Nicholson. Celtic Christianity was deeply Trinitarian, a fact which may reflect the Druids’ fascination with triads. There is no hint of Arianism or Nestorianism in Celtic Christianity. Patrick states, “This is who we confess and adore, One God in Trinity of sacred name” (Declaration 4). The Trinity gave the Celts an example of what it meant to live in community. “Patrick’s Breastplate,” most likely not written by the Irish saint, poetically emphasizes the Celtic understanding:

I rise today: In power’s strength, invoking the Trinity, Believing in threeness, Confessing the oneness, Of Creation’s Creator. (Davie, trans. 1999a: 118)

Community to the Celts was not separated by supernatural/natural dichotomy as hinted at in Augustine and later modern writers. To them, the communities of the heavenly and earthly realms were an ever-present reality. Ian Bradely states, “The Celts saw the Trinity as a family . . . for them it showed the love that lay at the very heart of the Godhead and the sanctity of family and community ties” (Bradeley 1993: 44, as quoted in Wilkinson 1998:46). Again, “Patrick’s Breastplate” gives a glimpse of this continuity:

I rise today: In the power of the love of Cherubim, In the obedience of angels, In hope of rising to receive the reward, In the prayers of the Patriarchs, In the predictions of the prophets, In the preaching of the Apostles, In the faith of confessors, In the innocence of holy virgins, In the deeds of the righteous (Davie, trans., 1999a:118).

Celtic Christians knew their inadequacy and inability to achieve salvation on their own. Patrick held a rich understanding of Christ as “our Lord and God” (Declaration 4). In two of his extant works he identifies himself as a sinner (Declaration 1; Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus 1) and saw himself as fully dependent upon God for salvation. However, like the church in the East, he saw Eve’s actions in the Garden as giving death to humanity as an everlasting penalty (Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus 3).

In this, he was similar to Pelagius his fellow countryman, but his Christianity and that of the Celts was far from Pelagianism. For in fact, Pelagius himself was not the author of the heresy that bears his name (see Rees 1988). Pelagius, like Patrick, saw himself as “a sinner first and last.” According to Pelagius, people

wished to die therefore by sinning, while he [God] wishes you to live by conversion. How foolish, irreverent, and ungrateful you are since you do not yield to God in this though he wishes to take pity on you, and prefers to save you by his mercy than that you should die on account of your sins (On the Christian Life II).

The Celtic Christians believed that since God commanded holiness, it was possible to achieve holiness. They had every confidence that what God created was good and that included humanity. To the Celt, if you were a Christian there was an expected correlation to your attitudes and actions. In their view of humanity, the Celts were in agreement with the Greek Fathers, understanding that if humanity inherited anything it was Adam’s mortality and not his sin. Chrysostom recognized that the consequences of Adam’s sin went even further beyond mortality and ultimately death. Now, humanity would experience shame, loss of honor and authority, fear, suffering, and lusts (Papageorgiou 1995: 366). In their view, God’s punishment was not retributive but pedagogical. It was better for humanity to die than to eat from the tree of life and live in his “monstrous condition” for eternity (Tsirpanlis 1991: 53). According to Chrysostom, this was for humanity’s own good: “Surely, the presence of death and the expectation of dying ourselves persuade us to be moderate, to practice self-control, to be subdued, and to keep ourselves away from all wickedness and evil” (Homily 10, III, 25). Papageorgiou adds: “It is designed to bring us back to our original love for God, to sanctify us, and to make us worthy of the blessings of the Kingdom” (Papageorgiou 1995: 368).

Joseph Cahill sees a “positive orientation to the world, to nature, and therefore to the creator” (Cahill 1992: 17). Celtic Christianity did not see Platonic dualism in creation as it related to pre-Christian Celts. Instead, it affirmed the goodness of the created world as a gift of God. A. M. Allchin states that “There is good deal of evidence to suggest that the Celtic Christian world had a very strong awareness of the goodness, indeed the sacredness of the material world” (Allchin 1994: 20). And Cornick notes that a distinguishing characteristic of Celtic poetry and spiritually was its focus on delighting in creation (Cornick 1997: 47). For example, the author of “The Scribe in the Woods” writes,

A hedge of trees surrounds me, a blackbird’s lay sings to me, praise I shall not conceal, Above my lined book the trilling of the birds sings to me. A clear-voiced cuckoo sings to me in a gray cloak from the tops of bushes, May the Lord save me from Judgment; well do I write under the greenwood (Davies, trans. 1999b: 259-260).

Nicholson sums up why Christianity had such an impact in the Pagan society of the Celts by stating: “It was easy for them [Druids] to relate to a good God that created everyone in his image and to those whose Divinity all returned if they followed Christ’s precept: ‘be perfect’” (Nicholson 1995: 402).

While Patrick was establishing Christianity in the Celtic land of Ireland, events had already taken place that would ultimately set in motion a missionary thrust from the British Isles to the one-time “Christianized” continent. The so-called “barbarians” were making their way from the East and North through the heartland of the Roman Empire. Previous attempts to convert these “barbarians” were only marginally successful. Many maintained their Pagan way of life while others adopted Arian Christianity (Winter 1981: 144-145).

The Visigoth invasion of the Roman Empire in the fifth century culminated with the sack of Rome by Alaric in 410. Precipitated in part by the lack of morality that Pelagius saw in Rome, Roman Christians were turning back to Paganism. Augustine saw this as nonsense and began writing The City of God, arguing that the Pagan gods did not help Rome before and they would not help Rome now. Augustine saw the “barbarian” invasion as an instrument of God’s providence (Frend 1984: 700-701).

Meanwhile, the monastic movement in Ireland was born and was unique from the outset. By the late 400s, Patrick speaks of the sons and daughters of Celtic leaders becoming monks and virgins of Christ during his ministry (Declaration 41). As previously mentioned, because of the social system of the tribal societies, a diocesan structure never solidified. Instead, a form of monasticism, unique to Ireland, took shape and ultimately became the impetus of the Celtic missionary movement. Gradually, the abbot became the prominent figure in Celtic Christianity rather than the bishop. Davies describes the Celtic monastic tradition as representing a “curious combination of laxity and rigor, inclusiveness and vocation” (Davies 1999: 38). Celtic monasticism was indelibly influenced by the Egyptian desert monastics with its emphasis on confession to an anmchara (soul-friend), the idea of eight deadly sins and healing (Ibid.: 39).

Tomas O’ Fiaich calls these missionary monks, “the most important religious and cultural influence which was at work within the future Carolingian Empire” (O’Fiaich 1995: 101). They were wanderers for Christ, “the man who for his soul’s welfare abandoned his homeland for good or at least for many years” (Ibid.: 101) who desired an ascetical life while spreading Christ’s kingdom. Cahill posits that “While many Europeans, with good reason, were deeply fearful of its barbarian invaders, it was the Celtic background of Columbanus which had taught him to appreciate the rude elegance of the Pagan mind and the wisdom latent in very divergent cultural forms” (Cahill 1992: 16).

One of the first Irish monks was Colmcille (a.k.a. Columba) who established his first monastery at Derry from where he launched his missionary journey and established some three hundred churches in Ireland. After being exiled from Ireland in 563, Colmcille, with twelve disciples, established a second monastery off the coast of Scotland on the island Iona that was responsible for evangelizing the Picts and Scots. Iona evolved into a great missionary monastery evangelizing most of England and Scotland and sending peregrinatio pro Christo (wanderers for Christ) to the continent (Bamford 1983: 74).

One of the most notable peregrini pro Christo was Columban. While he was not the first Irish missionary to reach the continent he was without question the one who inspired missionary monks to take the gospel abroad. He was ultimately responsible for establishing monasteries all across the continent from Austria to France until his death at Bobio in 615. His missionary recruits from the regions where he established monasteries continued his work in Northern France, Belgium and Germany. They brought not only Scripture, but also scholarship to the new inhabitants of the former empire. O’Fiaich writes:

A nation which was in all centuries prepared for foreign travel, adventure and self-improvement was never without individuals who were raised to a supernatural level by God’s grace and the desire to abandon all worldly things for Christ. In God’s design they were enabled to produce what was surely the greatest achievement of the Irish Church and people (O’Fiaich 1995: 135).

To a certain extent, that tradition has continued into the twenty-first century as Ireland sends more missionaries per million Christians than any other country in the world (Jaffarian 2002: 27).

It appears evident from what has been presented above that Celtic Christian theology was a contextualized theology to the Pagan Celts. It hit at the heart of the Celtic religion of the Druids. Celtic theology was characterized by its view of the goodness of humanity and nature, its emphasis on justice and morality and the uncontaminated soul with its divine destiny (Nicholson 1995: 401-402). These attributes echoed the early church’s beliefs before Augustine, and continued to echo the Eastern Church’s beliefs thereafter.

In addition, there are three overarching points that can be made about Celtic missions: it was evangelical, contextual and social. Patrick’s example of reaching the Celts remarkably exhibited these characteristics. As previously mentioned, he claimed to have baptized thousands of people and ordained many to the ministry. Unlike bishops in the Roman church who were administrators and chaplains, Patrick perceived his mission as one to evangelize the Celts. Presumably this caused problems for Patrick when British bishops challenged his episcopate and essentially ostracized him. Nevertheless, it did not prevent him from fulfilling his mission by giving his life if necessary (Declaration 37; Hunter 2000: 24).

So it is right and proper that we should fish well and carefully–as the Lord warns and teaches us saying: “Come after me and I shall make you fishers of men.” And again he says through the prophets: “Behold! I send out fishermen and many hunters says God,” and so forth. So truly it is our task to cast our nets and catch “a great multitude” and crowd for God; and [to make sure] that there are clergy everywhere to baptize and preach to a people who are in want and in need (Declaration 40).

Following a Druidic custom, Patrick often became an anmchara to the sons of Celtic leaders taking them with him as he ministered. In this way, bonds of friendship and obligation were created for the sake of the gospel (Declaration 51-52). He would also follow the custom of paying the price of a slave in order to seek favor with judges and assure his liberty in ministry. Louis Gougaud has suggested that Patrick first of all set himself to convert Celtic leaders. Because the leaders owned all the property, Patrick needed their favor to establish churches (Gougaud 1932: 38-39 as quoted in Hunter 2000: 124). Columban who, once receiving approval from rulers chose sites with religious significance for his monasteries, employed a similar tactic (O’Fiaich 1995: 108).

For Patrick in Ireland and the Celtic monks who went to the continent, the gospel was always communicated in the vernacular. This was quite different from their Roman contemporaries. The Roman church insisted that if the Pagans and barbarians were to become Christianized then they must first become civilized. Consequently there was very little missionary activity from the fourth century on. George Hunter states: “By now, the Church assumed that reaching the barbarians was impossible; a population, by definition, had to be literate and rational enough to understand Christianity, and cultured and civil enough to become real Christians if they did understand it” (Hunter 2000: 17).

The Celtic mission, on the other hand, did not force the Roman form of Christianity on their audience. Instead, Christianity was fused with the society and produced new spiritual, cultural and religious patterns (Davies 1999: 15). James Mackey writes:

We know from their earliest art that the wandering Celts had an inherent ability to assimilate and to enrich whatever the peoples they encountered had to offer, while leaving all essential differences intact. They could make quite distinctively their own forms borrowed from others, and contribute to the richness of the cultures of others without attempting to suppress these (Mackey 1995: 19).

The social aspect of Celtic missions was equally as important. It has already been suggested that a focus on scholarship and nature were characteristic of Irish monks. But other issues proved as significant. Probably due to his personal experience, Patrick was firmly against slavery. Precipitated possibly by the withdraw of the Roman army from Britain, warlords and raiders ravaged the countryside killing and capturing people into slavery. After one such raid in the area of Patrick’s ministry, Coroticus and his soldiers killed and/or took captive many of Patrick’s disciples. The acts of Coroticus, a nominal Christian, were harshly condemned as satanic, and Patrick demanded the return of his disciples. Such actions could not be tolerated by the “holy and humble of heart” and Patrick insisted that Christians disassociate themselves with those who supported barbarous acts (Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus 7).

Pelagius has already been mentioned as an example of a Celtic theologian. However, his theology went deeper into the personal life. Unlike Augustine who utilized the dichotomy of sacred and secular as signifying God’s providence, no such dichotomy was present in Celtic Christianity. The outcome of Alaric’s campaign against Rome resulted in the collapse of the empire. Pelagius would have undoubtedly seen this as the result of the moral laxity he observed among the Roman Christians (Rees 1988: 20). His heart was to see those who were called Christian act as a Christian: “But if you wish to be a Christian, then do those things that are of Christ and worthily bear the name of Christian” (On the Christian Life I). For him, and for those who followed him, there was no middle ground.

Resurgent Paganism in Western Culture

The discussion regarding Celtic Christianity is important due to what many are seeing as a resurgence of Paganism in western culture (Dumas 1985;Carr-Gomm 1996; Jones 1998;Beyer 1998;Luckmann 1999; Kranenborg 2001; Cooper forthcoming). Religious indicators in western culture suggest that religious belief has remained strong and may in fact be increasing; nevertheless, participation in religious institutions remains low. For example, in spite of the perceived affiliations that more than sixty percent of West Europeans have with a Christian church, attendance in services is low (Bruce 1996; Davie 1999; see Stark, 2001). These “statistical Christians,” according to W. A. Visser’t Hooft, continue to be on the roll of the church, but “their lives are controlled by non-Christian convictions.” (Visser’t Hooft 1977: 350). He saw that it is among these statistical Christians that we find Pagans.

William Edgar comments that “We are beginning to realize that Christianity is not being replaced by materialism, but by a sort of Neopaganism” (Edgar 1983: 307). Rodney Stark indicates the evidence “leads to the conclusion that secularization will not usher in a post-religious era. Instead, it will repeatedly lead to a resupply of vigorous otherworldly religious organizations by prompting revival” (Stark 1985: 146). This revival is primarily focused in religious movements that make a strong stance against secularization. Loren Wilkinson’s assessment is that secularization has produced an inner Angst resulting in a search for meaning instead of a modern society that has no need of religion. This inner Angst has precipitated a resurgence of Paganism (Wilkinson 1998: 28-29).

Contemporary Paganism has risen in a post-Christian context from pre-Christian traditions. Having been integrated into the church during the Middle Ages, many Pagan beliefs and traditions were never completely extinguished. In one sense, it is incorrect to talk of a resurgence of Paganism; however, since the turn of the twentieth century Paganism has increasingly gained a voice in the academy and popular culture. Stating Alain de Benoist’s position Edgar writes: “Paganism has never been very far away from us, both in history and in the sub-conscious mind, as well as in ritual, in literature, and so forth” (Edgar 1983: 308).

Jones and Pennick define the Paganism that is resurging in western culture with three characteristics. First, Paganism is polytheistic. It recognizes a multiplicity of spiritual beings that may or may not act as avatars. Second, Paganism views nature as a theophany. It is a manifestation of divinity rather than a “fallen” creation of the divine. Third, Paganism recognizes the Goddess (with a deliberate use of capital “G”) as the principle female divinity. She is distinguished from other geographically particular goddesses. Similarly, Paganism recognizes the God (here not meant to be the Judeo-Christian concept of God) in addition to or in place of the Goddess (Jones and Pennick 1995: 2).

To Pagans, Christianity has been an oppressive force that has stifled the position of women and disregarded the environment. Thus, Jones and Pennick assert that the impetus for the resurgence of Paganism has been a response to the desire to put humanity back in a general context. That context is one that is physical and chronological: physical in the sense that the natural world is an indispensable part of life and chronological in the sense of continuity with ancient philosophies (Ibid.: 3).

Jones and Pennick suggest that there are three driving forces in Paganism (Ibid.). First, Pagans hold a more egalitarian view of humanity. They search for a religion that recognizes “the Goddess” and thus confers on both women and men the dignity of beings with characteristics of the divinity. Second, they hold a greater respect for the environment and a desire to live in harmony with nature. Finally, their recognition of religious others, particularly Oriental philosophies, have given new rationale to practices that were once considered superstitious.

Marc Spindler has stated that “For a significant number of people, European neo-Paganism is an ideology of resistance against global systems, drawing upon mythical elements in the pre-Christian tradition of European cultures” (Spindler 1987: 10). Western culture appears to be in a situation not all that dissimilar from the Middle Ages. In fact, Andrew Greeley has asserted that medieval peasants are no less religious and no more superstitious than contemporary westerners (Greeley 1993: 6). With the resurgence of Paganism, Celtic Christianity provides a model for missions in post-Christian western culture.

Western theology is increasingly thought of as inadequate in answering the questions of post-Christian West Europeans. Lesslie Newbigin suggests that the West needs to consider how it is viewed by religious others in order to formulate an appropriate response to its search for meaning (Newbigin 1987: 7). In 1982 fifty delegates from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands met to consider their theological task at the Third World Theologians’ Consultation in Seoul, Korea. In the resulting document, “The Seoul Declaration Toward an Evangelical Theology for the Third World,” the delegates recognized their

indebtedness to the creeds of the Early Church, the confessions of the European Reformation, and the spiritual awakenings of the revival movements of modern times. We recognise the contributions of western churches and missionary agencies in the birth and growth of churches in many parts of the Third World (Nicholls, 1983: 8).

The fifty delegates correctly and graciously recognized that the western approach to theology is couched in the Enlightenment and is incapable of articulating its theology in a way that meets the needs of people living in contexts of “religious pluralism, secularism, resurgent Islam or Marxist totalitarianism” (Ibid.: 8-9). To these evangelical Third World theologians, if evangelical theology is to be efficacious it must be liberated from the “captivity to the individualism and rationalism of Western theology. . .” (Ibid.: 9).

Newbigin has suggested that western Paganism, indifferent of its expression, is “born out of a rejection of Christianity” and it is far more resistant to the gospel than religions in other parts of the world (Newbigin 1987: 7; see Willimon 1999). Wilbert Shenk asserts that western theology from the fourth century on has “pursued an inward-focused, intellectual and pastoral agenda rather than an outward-looking evangelistic and missional agenda” (Shenk 2001: 98). Ever since the conversion of Constantine and the Edict of Milan, Christianity has been in a position of privilege based not so much on a society’s commitment to Christ, but on the notion of the superiority of a Christianized culture. The privileged position of Christianity summarily oppressed religious others. Eighty years after Constantine’s conversion, Augustine’s theological justification for the use of force to convert heretics set the agenda for the advancement of Christianity in the world. Thomas Aquinas, who correctly understood Augustine, thought that this justified the use of force against those who opposed the Catholic Church. Quoting Augustine as the theological basis for the use of violence to convert heretics, Aquinas affirms the Augustinian position:

None of us wishes any heretic to perish. But the house of David did not deserve to have peace, unless his son Absalom had been killed in the war which he had raised against his father. Thus if the Catholic Church gathers together some to the perdition of others, she heals the sorrow of her maternal heart by the delivery of so many nations (Summa Theologiae II.II.10.8.ad 4).

Western Christianity is characterized as having an emphasis on the primacy of the male as normative for humanity. Similarly, it is characterized by its emphasis on reason at the expense of the imagination, not to mention its disregard for nature in the name of progress (Davies 1999: 24). Phillip Carr-Gomm asserts that Christianity has failed to meet the spiritual needs of western culture. According to him, the environmental crisis that the world is experiencing is directly connected to the dualism and authoritarianism of formal religions (Carr-Gomm, 1996:4).

However, there was a time during the so-called “barbarian” invasion of Western Europe when western Christianity confronted Pagan religions and it is here that we turn our attention to Celtic Christianity. Joseph Cahill states:

It seems relatively clear that we have three major forms of Christianity, each one of which may contain a wide series of different arrangements and, more significantly, varied structures of epigenetically differentiated consciousness: the Latin, with its known accomplishments, its generally patriarchal and structured heirarchy, its defined dogmas, particularly that of original sin; the Greek, with its more collegial structure, its emphasis on the Deus pro nobis, its heavenly-earthly typological imagery reconciling the political and spiritual spheres, its patriarchates, and its long liturgical history; the Celtic, with its independent, non hierarchical, mystical thrust in which what we call the supernatural is somehow present in the natural and in which perhaps the highest good is individual moral freedom (Cahill 1992: 18).

Newbigin set out six points of an agenda for the conversion of the West (Newbigin 1987: 7). These six points offer a suggestion for addressing the Pagan criticism of western Christianity and an adaptation of Celtic Christianity might be the means for engagement. First, he suggested a declericalizing of theology. Christianity must come out of the established church to engage the culture on every level. Second, he suggested the need for the recovery of an apocalyptic teaching of the New Testament. That is, what has been hidden in the privatization of religion must now be revealed to engage the culture and give a hope not only for the individual but also for the world. Third, Newbigin asserted that there is a need for a doctrine of freedom that rests on the gospel. It is the difference between pretending that we have the truth (an Enlightenment illusion) and witnessing to the truth. Fourth, in order for the West to be converted there needs to be a break from denominationalism, an institutional form of privatized religion. Fifth, there needs to be an honest critique by Christian others. Western Christianity is laden with western culture and blinders have formed that must be taken off. Finally, Newbigin called for courage. Christians must understand the reality of a spiritual battle that calls for “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

Celtic Christianity provides a model of Christianity that engages the culture on every level. It offers a Christianity that exemplifies faith and works, not as a dichotomy, but as a unity. It presents a holistic view of the gospel incorporating the goodness of creation and the goodness of humanity created in the image of God. It exhibits a communitarian, rather than a denominational, perspective of the church. It demonstrates the value of the cultures of social others while maintaining the Christian distinctives. Finally, it is courageous in that it confronts the gods of this world with the message of hope in Christ.