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On the relevance of Celtic Christianity to today
I have always had an interest in Celtic Christianity. What is that, you ask? Well, it’s what people like St. Patrick practiced, before Rome ordered them to fall in line with the official way of doing things. Here are some of the tenets they followed, as described in a great post at the Celtic Voices blog by Cindy Thomson:
“· A genuine love of nature and a passion for God’s creation, coupled with a sense of closeness between the natural and supernatural.
· A love of art and poetry, seen within surviving illuminated Gospels and other works.
· Although they seem to have been theologically orthodox, there was a distinct emphasis on the Trinity, respect for Mary the Mother of Christ, the Incarnation and the use within worship of early forms of liturgy.
· Within their religious life we see an emphasis on solitude, pilgrimage and mission, sacred locations and tough penitential acts.
· There were few boundaries between the sacred and the secular
· We see an emphasis on family and kinship ties.
· There seems to have been greater equality for women than we see generally in the Church today.
· A generous hospitality was an important part of everyday life.”
Prayer
Prayers today for the victims and families of the Aurora, CO shooting, and also for the shooter.
Review: Ralph Peters: Looking for Trouble
This weekend I read Ralph Peters’s book Looking for Trouble: Adventures in a Broken World. In the tradition of Robert D. Kaplan, he combines travel writing with political commentary. The major part of the book is given over to his travels through the former Soviet Union in the mid-90s, and includes insight intoGeorgia,Azerbaijan, andArmenia. His prose is beautifully written, and his insights into the situations there, although influenced by hindsight, are thought-provoking. Later he recounts his involvement in the drug war in South and Central America as well as Thailand. The book ends in 1998, when he retires from the army and becomes a civilian. I’m hoping there will be a sequel. Peters is a commentator on Fox news, and it should be noted that he has very strong opinions about things. Overall, I think it’s worth a read for anyone interested in travel, COIN, or international security.
