The Problems of 'Celtic Theology' (original) (raw)

Celtic Spirituality in the Contemporary Western Context

This work critically analyses the extent to which the Celtic expression of Christianity found in Ireland between the fifth and eleventh centuries can be expressed in a postmodern missional context. To do this it first identities four recurring elements found in literature regarding Celtic Christianity. These are:

New perspectives in Celtic Studies : where shall we go from now on ?

2018

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7232-4894 Abstract: In the last twenty years, there have been large advances in Celtic Studies — be it in Linguistics, Comparative Literature, Media, History, Politics, or Archaeology. These were not only due to new theoretical approaches and further development of interdisciplinary debate, but above all to new discoveries and innovative methods of analysis. The models for a so-called ‘Celtic World’ or a ‘Celtic Society’ have been thoroughly questioned and scholars acknowledge the importance of different local and regional developments. Very few now accept that medieval societies in Ireland and the Celtic-speaking parts of Britain preserve unchanged examples of so-called ‘archaism’. Societies are understood to be dynamic and are viewed in their own terms. Large regional variability is evident, particularly in cross-comparative analyses of Irish and Welsh medieval laws, vernacular literature and archaeology. Drawing from such a debate, we propose th...

Christianities in the Early Modern Celtic World

Christianities in the Early Modern Celtic World, 2014

Click here if your download doesn"t start automatically Christianities in the Early Modern Celtic World Christianities in the Early Modern Celtic World The Celtic west has long been a source of wonder and desire for generations of Christian believers. This book provides a wide-ranging series of essays examining religion as practiced during the early modern period among the main Celtic-language communities of Britain and Ireland. Ranging from devotional poetry to confessional history, across the span of competing religious traditions, the volume addresses the lived faith of diverse communities during the turmoil of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Taken together, they provide a textured understanding of the complexities in religious belief, practice and organization of a series of 'micro-Christianities' which, although sharing a number of common traits and experiences, particularly in the common encounter with the English language and with the British state and its precursors, each evolved in its own individual fashion. The authors seek to place the Celtic societies of the west where they belong, in their own millennia-long history of faith but also in the wider history of religious change in age of Reformations. Download Christianities in the Early Modern Celtic World ...pdf Read Online Christianities in the Early Modern Celtic World ...pdf

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE NATURE, BELIEFS, AND PRACTICES OF THE CELTIC CHURCH

ABSTRACT The purpose of this dissertation is to prove that the Ancient Church in Ireland, Scotland and Western Britain (generically the ‘Celtic Church’, despite its arguably disparate languages and local practices), before the Great Schism of 1054, held an equal place in the one family of Apostolic Catholic Orthodox Churches existing from the early centuries of Christianity. It aims to clarify some aspects of the nature, beliefs, and practices of the Celtic Church. In so doing, it hopes to contribute to dispelling the myths surrounding this period of Church history prevalent in the Celtic Spirituality movements of today. To verify this thesis the liturgical material, theology and practice, and the art of the Celtic Church are specifically compared to those of the Coptic and Orthodox Churches. To put this comparison into context, it is necessary to set the scene historically and include archaeological corroboration. The Synod of Whitby, the Filioque, and the Pelagian controversy are not referred to in detail. Discussion of the attempted recreation of the "Orthodox Celtic Church‟ and similar organisations is excluded from this work.

Celtic Christianity in Ireland: The Quest for the Spirit of Celtic Christianity (BA Honours Thesis)

2018

The primary objective of this thesis is to examine the unique character of Celtic Christianity in Ireland. The central point of this thesis is that which makes Celtic Christianity distinct from other Christianities is the Celtic culture of imagination and Druidic storytelling, catalyzed by the lack of definitive (written) ancient Celtic and early Celtic Christian history. This mystical history, made increasingly vibrant through extrapolation and imagination, has given Celtic Christianity a distinct and fluid spirit that has allowed it to adapt to its environment and remain relevant. The first chapter provides a background on the origins of Celtic culture, as well as the Celtic learned class and how they shaped culture through their shaping of Celtic oral history. This chapter also gives context to the Holy Woman Brigid and her pre-Christian identity, as well as an outline of the nativist and anti-nativist views of early Irish texts. The second chapter investigates the Christianization of Ireland, showing that the Christianization was a story more complex and fluid than just the story of Saint Patrick. The third chapter examines the evolution of the hagiography and traditions of Patrick and Brigid as they evolved in response to their historical contexts. These traditions, like tree rings, will serve as markers of the growth and evolution of Celtic Christianity in Ireland. Thus, in this work I will show how this imaginative and hazy history has led to the evolution and growth of a new strand of tree within the forest of Christianity. Though this tree shares commonalities with the other trees in the forest, it is in a different genus and so also has unique characteristics. This tree has lessons to teach due to the inspiring and adaptive spirit of imagination found within, which has kept the modern strand of Celtic Christianity relevant today.

WAKEFIELD Myths of Celtic Christianity

2013

Gavin Wakefield asks for a careful and critical re-think about what can and cannot be learnt from the historical church of the ‘Celtic’ peoples. He resists the concepts of a ‘Celtic’ and a ‘Roman’ church, describing instead the ways in which the many Christian groups of the time interacted and shared ideas, rituals and liturgies. He considers two specific claims for the Celtic Church: that it was creation-centred and female-affirming. He suggests ‘that much in these emphases are a misinterpretation of historical evidence’. Finally he wonders why it is that these ideas have developed at this time, suggesting it is a mythical re-shaping of the past in changing times.