Christian History articles from November 1998

Christian History archives from November 1998

Did You Know?
November 1, 1998... More popular than Jesus Things Celtic are the rage today, whether it's Celtic spirituality, Celtic music, or Celtic history. A September 1998 search on Amazon.com, an online bookstore, turned up 1,200 books that have something to do with...

Letters to the Editor.
November 1, 1998... Not-so-immaculate editing Christian history wishes to correct and clarify one error that slipped into "The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth" (Issue 59). In "Select Circle," page 32, middle column, second line from the bottom, the...

PATRICK THE SAINT.
November 1, 1998... Behind the fanciful legends of the fifth-century British missionary stands a man worthy of embellishment. A fleet of 50 currachs (longboats) weaved its way toward the shore, where a young Roman Brit and his family walked. His name was...

ENDING HUMAN SACRIFICE.
November 1, 1998... How to Patrick may have convinced the Celts to turn from ritual killings to the one who "died for all." All early peoples sacrificed human beings. One has only to remember Agamemnon's sacrifice to angry Artemis of the most beautiful thing...

ROOTED IN THE TRADITION.(Celtic Christianity)
November 1, 1998... Celtic Christianity is not as theologically unique as many have supposed. Newly emerging churches nearly always recycle old, pre-Christian ideas to serve their new faith, stitching together the pagan past and the Christian present. In...

ASCETIC SUPERSTARS.(Irish nuns and monks)
November 1, 1998... Irish monks and nuns are famous for their spiritual heroics. As a young woman, Ite refused her lunch so often that God sent an angel to bring it from heaven. But the seventh-century Irish abbess was not so easily turned from other ascetic...

IONA'S TOUGH DOVE.(Saint Columba)
November 1, 1998... Though named for a gentle bird, the ascetic Columba wielded enormous influence with chieftains and kings--even after he died. Scion of the most powerful family in the north of Ireland, founder of monasteries, and instigator of missions to...

THE FESTIVE ABBESS.(St. Brigit)
November 1, 1998... Legendary Brigit brought joy and the burning presence of God. I should like a great lake of ale for the King of Kings; I should like the angels of Heaven to be drinking it through time eternal." So begins Brigit's prayer as recorded in an...

I Rise Today.(poem)
November 1, 1998... The most famous Celtic prayer shows why the Celts are known for exalting both creation and the Creator I rise today in the power's strength, invoking the Trinity believing in threeness, confessing the oneness, of...

EXTRAVAGANT TALES OF REMARKABLE FAITH.(includes related article on Columbanus)
November 1, 1998... The legendary exploits of four early Celtic leaders. "The Navigator" Brendan of Clonfert (484-577 or 583) Brendan epitomizes the bittersweet Celtic path of peregrinatio, the passion for pilgrimage piercing the longing for home and...

Be Thou My Vision.
November 1, 1998... One of today's most popular hymns began as a medieval Irish prayer. Millions worldwide have found in the humble prayer text and lyric tune "Be Thou My Vision" a vehicle for praise and worship. It offers a singular voice of fierce devotion...

CULTURE CLASH.
November 1, 1998... What happened when Roman and Celtic Christianity squared off at the Synod of Whitby? In A.D. 603, Celtic Christians of the British Isles had a vexing problem. Augustine, a Christian missionary, had recently arrived on their shores from...

The Fury of the Northmen.
November 1, 1998... The Viking invasions destroyed the glory of Celtic monasticism. Ann. 793--In this year dire forewarnings came over the land of the Northumbrians and miserably terrified the people; these were extraordinary whirlwinds and lightnings, and...

MODERN MYTHS OF THE MEDIEVAL PAST.
November 1, 1998... Much that is heralded as Celtic Christianity today is neither Celtic nor Christian. If you go into any of the larger bookshops and look in the sections designated Religion or Mythology or even New Age, probably you will encounter books on...

Patrick and Celtic Christianity.
November 1, 1998... When it comes to Patrick," wrote Thomas Cahill in his notes for How the Irish Saved Civilization, "no one agrees with anyone about anything.... There is not a datum of Patrick's life that has not been questioned, including his existence. During...