These ASK ABOUT topics are focused on INFORMATION about new paths, rather than on sharing our personal journey. Please keep it to one topic per new path. This is a place for SUPPORT and AGREEMENT only, not a place to tell someone their new path is wrong or why we disagree with them.
teresa wrote:Oh my goodness. I didn't realize John O'Donohue's background was Celtic Christianity. He was here in my local area a long time ago to give a talk hosted by someone I knew. I didn't go to the talk but I heard him on the local radio and read some of his poetry. I was pretty conservative at the time and could not relate to what he was saying, but perhaps I would appreciate him more now. I'm sorry to hear of his passing.
Me too. The series is somewhere on DVD. He has several books on DVD. He was quiet gentle Catholic Priest. As is usual if there was something Celtic the Church would acquire it. In Israel there is the Church of the Sepulchre. I believe the Garden tomb was the tomb of Jesus. Jesus was taller than Joseph of Arimathea. The stone bed where he was laid had been chiseled longer. The Church of the Sepulchre was the spot chosen by Constantine's mother. She had to know no doubt. Also the had a door channel for a big stone disk which is near by. It's the right size. The door was sealed with a iron spike. The remains of the spike are in the wall. In Matthew the door was opened by an angel. The women would not have been stong enough. This link details the Roman seal. Not many know about it. The Romans wanted the tomb to remain closed because he said he would rise on the third day. They didn't want the the body to be stolen. The angel that opened the tomb in Matthew easily broke steel pin the steel driven into the rock. The broken spike can even be seen today at the Garden Tomb. The round rock door exists nearby. It fits the door chanel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uwqerdfxgw
faithfyl wrote:I read that England/Ireland/Wales were one of the first European areas to convert to Christianity from paganism. With Scandinavian countries being the last. Is that true?
The history is complicated. When Augustine of Canterbury was commissioned by the Pope to evangelize the British isles, he found Celtic Christian communities most everywhere. There was some dispute as to whether their ritual was acceptable to the Latin church and modern scholars have questioned whether the Celtic Christians were Arians regarding the doctrine of the Trinity. I don't think they were Arian but they may also not have been conversant with the minutiae of Nicene orthodoxy. There is a legend that Joseph of Arimathea himself visited the British Isles in the first century, primarily to work in mining, but naturally bringing the Gospel with him.
As for the Scandinavians, there were multiple attempts to Christianize them. These missions were mostly unsuccessful until well after the time of Rollo, the Viking convert who became the progenitor of the Normans. Of course, Norse religion was to some degree henotheistic and the Norse were willing to accept the Christian God, but were skeptical of rejecting their own pantheon to exclusively embrace Christianity. Most of the Scandinavian lands did not have well established Christian communities until the time of the Protestant Reformation. The Sami were not converted to any significant degree until the 18th century.
faithfyl wrote:I read that England/Ireland/Wales were one of the first European areas to convert to Christianity from paganism. With Scandinavian countries being the last. Is that true?
If I'm remembering correctly, Lithuania was the last holdout of paganism in Europe.
faithfyl wrote:I read that England/Ireland/Wales were one of the first European areas to convert to Christianity from paganism. With Scandinavian countries being the last. Is that true?
If I'm remembering correctly, Lithuania was the last holdout of paganism in Europe.
Interesting!! I am learning about my early pagan roots.
faithfyl wrote:I read that England/Ireland/Wales were one of the first European areas to convert to Christianity from paganism. With Scandinavian countries being the last. Is that true?
If I'm remembering correctly, Lithuania was the last holdout of paganism in Europe.
Looked it up! here's some info on the "Northern Crusades" :
So, the reality is that all of us have forefathers / foremothers who were highjacked into some form of Christianity at some point around 1195 AD...many against their will...many happily pagan.
Tsathoggua wrote:
If I'm remembering correctly, Lithuania was the last holdout of paganism in Europe.
Old religions die hard. I have seen offerings in Hawaii. I think that the old Hawaiian religion is still there in a subdued way. This is not obvious. It is pagan.
