Liz Babbs Meditation 'Spirit of Creation' - The Celtic Heart

Need a timeout to relax? Watch this.

Does Celtic = Pagan = Evil?

When I attended my first Irish festival and walked among the vendor booths, noticing Celtic knots and symbols on t-shirts, jewelry, lawn ornaments—you name it—I felt a little uneasy. Weren’t those pagan symbols, and aren’t pagan symbols evil?

But then I heard the Celtic music and began to browse the cultural areas. I attended an Irish-themed worship service on Sunday morning. I began to research the ancient Celtic Christians and the Celtic people, and learned that yes, Celts were pagan. That was before St. Patrick, of course. (I’ve been writing about St. Patrick lately—more on that in another blog sometime.) St. Patrick was a Roman Britain, kidnapped when he was 16 and brought to Ireland as a slave. Much later, after he had escaped, he had a dream where a man bearing letters approached him and handed one from “The Voice of the Irish.” It turns out Patrick heard the people in Ireland begging him to come back, and he, trained in the church by now, saw it as a missionary call. We know, of course, that is exactly what it was.

There are lots of places on the Internet and lots of books where you can learn more St. Patrick (one is the Saint Patrick Centre in Northern Ireland. I met the director this past August in Milwaukee), but back to the pagan thing. Of course, it was to the pagans that Patrick would minister. He, and those who came after him—including St. Brigid, the subject of my novel, Brigid of Ireland—turned Ireland into a Christian nation in just a few hundred years. But remarkably this was done without bloodshed, a contrast to the Crusades later. How was that accomplished? They did it not by condemning the people, but by coming alongside them to show that the things that they already believed and held in awe were created by the One True God. Sound familiar?

Acts 17:22-31 (New International Version)
“Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: ‘Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.’”

It was this example Patrick and the early Irish Christians followed. And it’s a great example for us to use today. Were the pagans evil? From what I’ve discovered, they weren’t any more evil than any other group of people. Very early on there were probably human sacrifices, and that’s what scares people off, but I don’t think they were common by Patrick’s time. People could argue with me, but the main point is that the pagans worshipped what they knew. They sensed God in the natural world. And that was a perfectly natural response.

Romans 1: 20 (NLT): “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

I can’t possibly answer all questions on this issue in one blog, but there is a terrific discussion group online where Christians discuss these things. You’ll find me there a lot: Celtic Christian Spirituality

Feel free to leave a comment here also. Drop by my website to learn more about my novel: and sign up for my monthly newsletter.

Rath Dé ort! (The Grace of God Be With You!)

Milwaukee Irish Fest 2007

It was wet, but wonderful. Read my full report here.

Celtic Symbolism/HAPPY ST. BRENDAN

©Cindy Thomson

Many people are curious about Celtic symbols and the meaning behind them. Some Christians are even fearful of them, fearing all Celtic symbols as pagan.

I came across a wonderfully written article by jewerly maker Stephen Walker. The article was written back in 1996, but he has added new information. Anyone interested in this topic should read it. You can find it here.

HAPPY ST. BRENDAN'S DAY!
May 16 is the feast day for St. Brendan, perhaps the first white man to discover North America. Read more about him here.

St. Brendan's Cathedral ©Cindy Thomson

The Night

photo creative commons by Moyan Brenn

Is the nighttime evil?

Lots of people associate nighttime, because it's dark, with a time of evil. But it just cannot be. The Bible tells us that everything God made is good. It also tells us that God made the darkness

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. Genesis 1:1-5 NIV

In ancient times the night was really dark. If the moon didn't shine, the only light you had illuminated an arc around your torch or fire and the rest of the world was black. There were wild animals in the night. You couldn't see where you were going so you could fall and hurt yourself or be killed. So it's no wonder the nighttime could have been viewed as evil.

But I don't think the ancient Celts saw it that way. Darkness is a part of the cycle of life. It brought rest. The stars were wondrous and provided a tool for navigation. Nocturnal animals were well known by the ancient people, their likenesses showing up on manuscripts, so obviously the people didn't hide out at night.

Why give up half of our existence to evil? Look for our creator in all things, not just the things that are easily seen. (It's almost a full moon tonight. Go outside and look!)

What I'm Reading

Anam Cara is philosophical and meaty, but good food for thought. The proverbs are mainly for research, but fun to read. The Quest of Three Abbots is a book I started a while ago and am just getting back to. Now that I'm done some other research, this is falling into place for me.


This is a book written by my writing buddy, Sharon Hinck. Different from what I usually read, but I enjoy Sharon's style and her wit. And she moves me with the serious scenes. Life is not all roses, huh?

We are in Joshua. All the blood and gore in the OT is a little hard to swallow, but the devotionals in this version are helpful in putting it all in prospective.

Humor

photo via creative commons by S G

Ah, 'tis good to have a sense of humor.

I recently purchased a book of Irish children's jokes. Nearly all of them were pretty lame (I know the Irish have better jokes that this!), but here's one I liked:

TEACHER: Explain the following words by using them in short sentences:

Fascinate: Sean has nine buttons but can only fascinate.
Rapture: I rapture parcels.
Office: The priest fell office chair.
Dairy: Dairy be late for school again?
Juicy: Juicy the boy over there?

Can you think of some more? Please share!

Talk About It

photo via creative commons by Erika Thorsen

I imagine that these sheep are communicating somehow. They certainly seem to need each other. Would you feel more comfortable exploring Celtic spirituality in a crowd? There is a place where you can do this and you can listen and never speak at all if you'd like. You can stay at home, too. No crowding together on a twisting road. But you'll still feel connected. Check this out: CCS
Image from freefoto.com

SaveSave