CELTIC CHURCH IN BRITAIN #5

 The Celtic Church in Britain #5

Basic Celtic Doctrines

by Leslie Hardinge (1972)     

     

MAJOR DOCTRINES

The object of this chapter is to sketch the principal doctrines

of the Celts, beginning with the time of Patrick and ending at

the period when the last segment of the Celtic Church conformed

to Roman usages.

The Celtic Christian's devotion to the Scriptures has been

demonstrated from his writings and from the records of his

contemporaries. From the Bible Patrick derived his understanding

of what should be believed and practised. He took his duties as

the apostle of Ireland very seriously, affirming "that according

to the rule of faith in the Trinity, I should define doctrine,

and make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation,

without being held back by danger, and spread everywhere the 

name of God without fear, confidently". And so he later came to 

be regarded as "the father of teaching and faith for Irishmen"

Irish missionaries disseminated Patrick's teachings across

Britain and into the Continent. This chapter is partly based on

passages in the Lives and ancient laws and penitentials which

bear on theology, but its conclusions are derived mainly from the

almost twelve

* No systematic study of Celtic doctrines has been carried out

from the sources. Since the topics covered in this chapter are so

wide, discussion of each doctrine is kept very brief in this

initial investigation.

Thousand Old-Irish glosses on passages from the Psalms, part of

the Gospels, and the Epistles of St Paul. These constitute a

remarkable window into the Celt's mind. J. F. Kenney assigns the

earliest comments to the seventh century, and the major portion

to the eighth. They seemingly reflect the views of the Irish

scholars uninfluenced by the dogmas of the Roman party, and,

although written by two or three hands, form a homogeneous body

of Celtic Christian thought.

(So we must remember that this history of Celtic theology is way

after true Christianity came to the Britain in the first century

AD - hence some truth had in part become lost - Keith Hunt)

DOCTRINE OF GOD

The Celtic view of Deity was trinitarian, but there was no

speculation, for as the commentator remarked, "we know little of

the mysteries of God". God was eternal, without beginning, and

omniscient. He upheld the universes and might predict events,

thus revealing his omnipotence," and worthiness to be adored.

Arianism was believed to have made inroads among early British

Christians. Evidence for this has been drawn from the fact that

mention of the names of the Father, Son, and Spirit were omitted

from the baptismal formula. But arguments based on silence form a

perilous platform. That the Celtic Christians were aware of

Arianism appears from the attempt to extract trinitarian meanings

from less obvious texts. Commenting on St Paul's statement: "Now

our Lord Jesus Christ, himself, and God, even our Father, ...

comfort your hearts", the Old-Irish theologian noted: "He

indicates the Trinity here: the Son, when he says, 'our Lord';

the Father, when he says, 'God'; and the Holy Ghost when he

speaks of 'a Comforter'." He evidently was on the lookout for

trinitarian passages!

(The "trinity" doctrine has many forms as I have explained

elsewhere on this website. You have the "nothingness of God"

teaching by some - no form or shape, cannot be thought of as form

and shape; you have the "ONE but can be three or two or one, at

any time" teaching; you have the trinity of "three persons, with

form and shape - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" teaching. So the

word "trinity" means different things to different people.

Certain we know from the Bible, as clear as a cloudless day, 

there is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But understanding them

correctly....well that takes all of the Bible to understand,

which I have given you on this website in various studies - 

Keith Hunt)

 

Columba, so the tradition goes, was reproved by Pope Gregory, to

whom he had sent a copy of "Altus Prosator", because it failed to

stress belief in the Trinity. But this is probably a comminatory

story to establish Roman connections. Disbelief in the Trinity,

however, is certainly not discernible from the sources. The gloss

on St Mark corrects a quaint view, mooted by some unknown student

The quaternity, i .e. that our belief should not be thus, that we

* These have been conveniently collected and translated by W.

Stokes and J. Strachan in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus. In the

references which will be given the relevant Scripture will be

noted first, as the essential root from which the comment sprang.

For the Celtic baptismal practices see chapter 4 below,

should deem different the Person of the Son of God and [that of]

the Son of Man, i.e. so that it should be a belief in four

persons with us, i.e. a Person of the Father, and of the Son of

God, and of the Son of Man, and of the Holy Ghost.

(Well of course Jesus did become man, but while retaining His

divinity. Hence I guess the argument, Father, Son of God, Son of

man, the Holy Spirit - Keith Hunt)

The supreme governmental authority of God, exhibited in

disciplining his people, was often noted. Punishment, it was

believed, was always administered in order to correct sin, and

never in spite or anger, because God gave his Son to justify and

not to condemn fallen man.

The Celt was absorbed in Christ's character and ministry and

produced a large and beautiful devotional literature on this

theme, but made no attempt to deal with the mystery of his

nature. Patrick affirmed that while Christ "always existed with

the Father", He was also "begotten before the beginning of

anything", suggesting that the saint had slight Arian leanings.

This tendency is also indicated by the gloss on St Paul's

statement, "Today have I begotten thee", that this referred to

"the day of the existence of God". Christ's coming into being was

thus definitely stated as following God's, and hence would fit in

with semi-Arian arguments. Yet the Deity "gives equal honour with

himself and with the Godhead of the Son to the Manhood of the

Son", for Christ was equal with the Father in might and majesty.

But with uncritical statements such as these the Celt ceased to

discuss the matter, terming it a "mystery"," and leaving it at

that.

(We see here some had as stated a leaning towards Christ Jesus

being created at some point by the Father. This is Arian teaching. 

It is INCORRECT! The Bible gives both the Father and

the Son to be ETERNAL - all proved in other studies on my

website. The Scriptural statement "Today have I begotten you" is

in regard to Christ becoming a human flesh and blood being -

Keith Hunt)

 

Christ's equality with God was unaffected by his humanity. There

evidently arose some discussion as to whether our Lord maintained

his own divine status as a man, or whether he received divinity

as a gift from his Father. The commentator sighed: "Whether it be

from the Godhead of the Son or from the Godhead of the Father

that the Manhood of the Son assumed that which he hath assumed,

it matters not." But then he noted tensions caused by wisps of

Arian heresy:

     It is from the Father that the Son hath received power, i.e.

     this is what the heretics say, that the Godhead of the Son

     is less than the Godhead of the Father, for it is from the

     Father that the Son hath received power; he then who

     receives is less than he from whom it is received, and he

     who is endowed than he who bestows it.

(Jesus said Himself that all He had as a human being was from 

the Father - all in the gospel of John. But Jesus was still Immanuel

- God with us - an eternal member of the Godhead became flesh and

blood. Jesus was both human and divine. After His resurrection he

was back in the eternal Godhead, but went to the Father's right

hand, not inside him, not on top of Him, but on His right hand.

The NT gives everything the Father so also is the Son, but only

in ONE area is there a difference; the Father has the ultimate

AUTHORITY over everyone and everything - see 1 Cor. 11:1-3. 

Jesus is on the Father's RIGHT HAND, hence the Father is on 

the throne of heaven as the book of Revelation makes very clear - 

Keith Hunt)

He was certain, however, that the Godhead was never subject to

the manhood of Christ. Christ was the true image of God , and

held to be eternal, manifesting fully the nature of God, having

"the same form and substance " as the Father. Regarding Christ as

very God, the glossator warned against those who maintain "that

the Godhead of the Son is less than the Godhead of the Father,

which, however, is a heresy". He failed to note that, when he

acknowledged that the Son's being followed that of the Father, he

was in a measure denying the strict coeternity of the two

Persons. However, he might counter in the words, God granted his

Son equality of honour with himself.

(However people want to argue, the Scriptures are clear on the

matter - the Son (Christ Jesus) is God. The Father is God. Both

are the Godhead, both have been from eternity. But the one we

know today as the Father is GREATER in AUTHORITY. He is 

the ONE on the heaven throne, the Son is at His right hand - all

expounded in other studies on my website - Keith Hunt)

Appreciation for the great love Christ manifested in taking human

nature in order to die for the fallen race is often noted His

advent and his entire ministry of reconciliation fulfilled the

Old Testament predictions and types. But in the works of Patrick

and other Celtic writers, including the glossators, there is no

mention of the virgin birth, nor is there any conscious effort to

suppress the fact. Faith is simply expressed in his birth. But in

the Lives, written after union with the Roman party had been

achieved, there are many allusions to the virgin birth, and some

strangely superstitious notions: he was born through the crown of

the Virgin , while Mary was impregnated by the breath of the

Third Person.

(Obviously the Celts had lost the truth of the "virgin birth" as

they never mentioned it until falling in with the Roman church,

and then strange ideas from Rome came into the virgin birth -

Keith Hunt)

 

Because man's sin resulted in his condemnation and separation

from God, Christ went "to foreign parts" to help the human race,

and to rescue lost mankind by striking it from the grasp in which

the Devil held it, who was ready to mete "penal death" to the

finally unrepentant. This death, the Celt believed with Pelagius,

was different from the common death of mankind, which later, in

the context, seems to suggest final annihilation. There would

evidently be no eternally burning hell. Eternal life, lost to the

human race by Adam, could be restored to the victorious sinner

only through Christ, who suffered, not for one or two persons

only, but for all. This salvation was accomplished through

Christ's "material blood" which poured from his side as he hung

on Calvary, and became effective in the case of the individual

sinner through his faith.

(Interesting to note, the Celtic teaching was final annihilation,

and no eternally burning hell fire. Of course it was so, because

it was the Roman church that brought in the "immortal soul"

doctrine and the eternal burning hell fire teaching - Keith Hunt)

The resurrection of Christ is often alluded to in the glosses.

When he ascended to glory he was immortal and in the fullness of

Deity. A belief in this truth was regarded as of vital

consequence, for the commentator remarked: "it is manifest that

unless you believe the resurrectlon of Christ from among the

dead, your faith will not sanctify you in that wise, and will not

save you from your sins." Man's existence in that case would be

confined to this present world. When Christ was "received up" to

his Father, he was enthroned above all powers in heaven and

earth, and began his ministry as the mediator between "himself

and man". This was possible because Christ had procured the

atonement, which the glossator pleasantly defined as "peace with

God through faith in Christ". This relationship came about as the

result of no afterthought on the part of God, but sprang from

"the secret counsels of Deity", which brought about the

forgiveness of sine, and the restoration of the broken communion

between God and the sinner. There is no hint of any other

intermediary--angel, saint, or priest - between God and fallen

man in the writings of Patrick and for three centuries after his

day. Christ alone was regarded as making "intercession - he

mediates, i.e. the manhood which he received from us makes

supplication to the Deity that we may not die". For the Celt

faith laid hold on his resurrected Lord with the petition, "May

Christ prepare my pleadings". This view must be set against that

held in Roman Christianity with its many intercessors.

Celtic literature is pervaded by devotional expressions of

adoration. But perhaps the most beautiful invocation of the Lord

Jesus Christ, in all his attributes, is the magnificent prayer,

part of which now follows:

     Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; 

     Naught is all else to me, save that Thou art, 

     Thou my best thought, by day and by night, 

     Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

     Be Thou my Wisdom, Thou my true Word; 

     I ever with Thee, Thou with me, Lord. 

     Thou my great Father, I Thy dear son; 

     Thou in me dwelling, I with Thee one....

     With the High King of heaven, after victory won, 

     May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun! 

     Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

     Still be my Vision, 0 Ruler of all.

The attitude of Celtic theologians to the problems connected with

the conflicts and tensions of Christology is reflected by the

terms in which they described aspects of the ministry of Christ:

the salvation of man was a mystery, as was the incarnation and

birth of Christ, and the cross on which he suffered. The theme of

Calvary, the glossator warned, would be obscured were the

preacher to indulge his eloquence; simplicity must be the way of

its presentation. Even then, the preacher should never forget

that he is proclaiming a mystery. The spirit of the glosses is

simple and sincere, with the purpose of stressing the practical

force of Christian teaching with no attempt at defining its

mysteries.

(The apostle Paul was inspired to tell is that the mysteries of

God hidden, were now revealed in the NT age. All that is

important to know about the Godhead, salvation, the age to come,

the judgment of the dead, and our eternal abode on the new earth,

is all now revealed to us in the Scriptures - both old and new -

Keith Hunt)

No question arose regarding the deity of the Spirit. Patrick and

the commentator both regarded him as one of the Trinity. But

while he breathes in the Father and the Son, Patrick noted that

it was Christ alone who shed on the believer the gift of the

Spirit as the earnest of salvation. The Nicene Creed, on the

other hand, affirmed that the Spirit proceeds from both the

Father and the Son. Patrick apparently did not know this formula,

or chose not to adhere to it.

(Patrick was right, that Christ gave the gift of the Spirit as the

earnest of salvation; but it is also correct that the Spirit does

indeed proceed from both the Father and the Son. The Spirit is

NOT a third literal form and shape being in the throne room of

heaven. The Spirit is the very nature and power that comes from

the Father and Son. All fully explained in other studies on this

website - Keith Hunt)

The Holy Spirit was believed to have spoken through the prophets

of the Old Testament and the writers of the New. This would, of

course, account for the veneration with which the two Testaments

were regarded in the Celtic Church. Not, only did the Spirit

manifest himself by inspiring the writers of the Bible, he also

poured "gifts" upon the faithful." Among these the glossator

mentioned the gift of healing, explaining this as power bestowed

upon the missioner to attend the sick as physicians do. This was

the notion of Pelagius also, and has nothing of the miraculous in

it. Another gift of the Spirit was teaching, a ministry, carried

out amazingly well by Celtic evangelists for many centuries.

The Spirit was also believed to inspire belief which resulted in

salvation, inducing men to obey the divine laws, and enabling

them to become sons of God and joint heirs with Christ. The

Spirit placed his sign on the faithful so that they might be

recorded as being in unity with Christ, through their drinking

great draughts of the grace of the Spirit. Thus the Spirit helped

to restore in man's fallen nature the divine ideal which he had

lost at the fall. Patrick noted the same thought, remarking that

it was the Spirit who dwelt in his heart and who had brought

about the change in his character. The Christian's mind was

termed "the guest-house of the Spirit", and with him abiding

within it was easy for the disciple to do what was good.

The Spirit also enables man to discover truth by illuminating his

mind through grace; and directing his prayers, which were held to

be ineffectual without the inspiration of the Spirit. This

illumination will bring about "the resurrection" or new birth

through baptism, (the new birth in actuality is at the time of

the resurrection, or being made immortal, at the last trump when

Jesus shall literally come back to earth - the new birth is fully

explained in a study on this website - Keith Hunt) which results

in the believer's possessing "the mind or desires of the Spirit",

for it is the Spirit who places holy aspirations in the soul of

man. An Old-Irish poem epitomized the longing for the in-dwelling

of the Holy Spirit:

     The Holy Spirit to inhabit our body and our souls, to

     protect us speedily ...

     O Jesus, may it sanctify us, May Thy Spirit free us!

From the fragmentary evidence which comes from the Old-Irish

period the semi-Arian view of Christ's birth and the single

procession of the Spirit from Christ alone are the peculiar

emphases of the Celtic doctrine of the Trinity.

(The Celtic teachers of this late date DID NOT have all the truth

that the first centuries of Christianity in Britain did - some truth

had become lost, and more and more truth would still become lost

as Celtic Christianity was taken over by the church of Rome -

Keith Hunt)

DOCTRINE OF CREATIONISM

Celtic cosmological views were based on a literal interpretation

of the story of Genesis. The elements which make up the material

universe came into being as the result of a fiat creation ,

through the agency of Jesus Christ and by his power. One of the

purposes, stressed by the commentators, for which the world was

brought into being, was that the character of God might be

learned through a study of it. For instance: "Not less does the

disposition of the elements set forth concerning God and manifest

Him than though it were a teacher who set forth and preached it

with his lips." While it is true that there was no spoken

language through which nature communicated with men, the Celtic

mystic felt that "without art of learning and practice by anyone,

it is understood in every nation the way in which the elements

sound and show forth the knowledge of God through the work that

they do and the alteration that is on them". It was probably this

appreciation of nature's revelation of the character of God that

led to the production of so much beautiful mystic nature poetry.

But following the time of the Danish invasions Celtic writers

more and more formulated running stories of Creation, the Fall,

and the working out of the plan of salvation based on

speculation. The "Salthair na Rann" appears to have anticipated

the plan of Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. In this ancient

poem the universe was pictured as consisting of seven heavens

surrounded by coloured and fettered winds, with the sun passing

through the open windows of the twelve divisions of the heavens.

This curious concept of the heavens was matched by an equally

interesting concept of the earth surrounded by a firmament, like

a shell around an egg, and constituting the centre of the

universe. These views are in marked contrast with the Old-Irish

records which hold to a literal interpretation of the scriptural

narrative. The later views were themselves modified into highly

speculative, poetic fantasies such as are contained in the "Ever

New Tongues"

(The Roman church was making inroads into the Celtic theology, as

that this earth was the center of the universe, just as was

taught for centuries that the sun travelled around this earth -

all Roman Catholic teaching through the so-called "dark ages" -

dark in many ways - Keith Hunt)

DOCTRINE OF MAN

As already noted, Celtic Christians accepted the story of the

beginnings of the human race as recorded in Genesis. Formed by

God, from whom all things have their origin, first created Adam

was put as ruler over birds, fish, and all beasts. Man himself

was understood to be constituted in the threefold designation of

the Apostle, body, soul, and spirit. The commentator has left

these two definitions: "The soul and spirit are one part, and the

flesh is another, but the division of them is understood by the

Word of God ... The soul itself is the animal life; the spirit is

the spiritual reason in the souls' Spirit - the primary part of

the soul, by which we understand." But by the term spirit he

appears to have understood the mind of man, while "it is the soul

that is ready to fulfil the law of God, and not the body".

(The Celtics were close to being correct here. We are in the soul

as is the animal, but we have a "spirit in man" that the Bible

talks about, which is far above the spirit of the beast. The

"spirit in man" is explained in a study on this website - Keith

Hunt)

Although created perfect, man's first parents, having been

attacked by the Devil and seduced, fell into sins. It is in his

body that man "sinned from Adam". His immortality, the Celt felt,

was contingent on his obedience to the law of God. This should be

stressed. Man was mortal and after punishment the sinner would be

annihilated. If he lived merely for pleasure, he resembled the

quadruped, but should he overcome, an immortal dwelling would be

set down around him from heaven, and the victor would be granted

eternal life when the deeds of the flesh had been mortified. Here

again stress upon the divine requirements should be noted, as

another instance in which Pelagius was followed. Man's nature is

immortal only on condition of his obedience to God's law.

(Interesting is the last sentence, for it reiterates Jesus' words

to the young rich man in Matthew 19. The keeping of the

commandments of God does not give you eternal life, but if you

are not willing to keep them, you will not be saved by grace. My

in-depth study called "Saved by Grace" puts it all together for

you; makes the salvation topic clear - Keith Hunt)

The Celtic Christian seems to have regarded himself as a part of

the divine scheme of things; his life was under the guidance of

God. Patrick, for instance, was confident that he had been

foreordained by providence: "I make no false claim. I have part

with those whom he called and predestinated to preach the Gospel

amidst no small persecutions, even unto the end of the earth."

The glossator attempted to explain this doctrine of

predestination in the context of God's dealings with the Jews and

the Gentiles: "God's purpose was the election of one [the Jew]

through mercy, and the condemnation of the other [the Gentile] by

a just judgment",  but notwithstanding, being the one God over

all, he desires the salvation of all mankind. The commentator

equated adoption and election in his estimate of the meaning of

the Apostle's statement that God has predestinated man to be his

children, "sons by election, not by nature."

(The subject of "predestination" is fully covered in a study on

my website - Keith Hunt)

The Celt set out to find the solution of the age-old question,

Why, if God desires the salvation of all men, are not all men

saved?

The answer is not difficult: Because no one is constrained

against his will; or, a part is put for the whole, for there is

no race or language in the world, of which some one was not

saved; or, it was those only whom he desired to save that he did

save, i.e., "who will have all men to be saved", that is,

Augustine says, as much as to say, no one can be saved except him

whom he wills.

(Well for sure the NT teaches that none can come to the Father

unless the Father draws him with His Spirit. See my study called

"Called and Chosen - When?" and the study "The Great White Throne

Judgment" - Keith Hunt)

While he remarked that the answer was not difficult, the presence

of no fewer than five different explanations reflects the

existence of the grave difficulty which has confronted all

theologians in their discussions of the dealings of God with man.

The first answer was by Pelagius, who stressed man's free choice.

Later comments, showing dissatisfaction with this answer,

indicate a quest for others. In God's plan, the glossator noted,

all men were in the same state through their unbelief. This was

not because God arbitrarily decided to condemn mankind, but is

perfectly reasonable, since all men have sinned. No one has any

advantage over another, and "to boast of one's merits is of no

avail here, so that it was by God's mercy that they were saved".

The expression "a law of providence" recurs in the glosses. It

seems to mean an overruling divine purpose. Some argued that

there was no such providence, and that "might was right". Others

contended that, when the poor or weak were under the rich or

powerful, God was carrying out his plan to help them. Eventually

God will vindicate all who trust in him, for those who are

disciplined by tribulation are often much more ready to be

grateful for God's help, and become eager to pray for it. The

Pelagian point of view is here manifest. Man's freedom of will,

modified by trials, should be exercised in choosing God's way.

Thus the operation of grace would bring about man's ultimate

well-being. But nowhere was there any peculiarly Celtic view

stated.

(Much truth did the Celtic Christian have here - Keith Hunt)

Secondus' concept of man's human nature was an exalted one.

Nowhere in the commentaries of Old-Irish writers was there any

stress on the worthlessness of the body. Secundus sang of

Patrick: His "flesh he hath prepared as a temple for the Holy

Spirit; by whom, in pure activities, it is continually possessed;

and he doth offer it to God as a living and acceptable

sacrifice". But Patrick himself was all too aware of his own

human weaknesses:

     I do not trust myself as long as I am in the body of this

     death, because he is strong who daily endeavours to turn me

     away from the faith, and from that chastity of unfeigned

     religion which I have purposed to keep to the end of my life

     for Christ my Lord. But the flesh, the enemy, is ever

     dragging us unto death, that is, to do that which is

     forbidden.

Only God's empowering grace, he felt, would turn this impotence

into victory, but final glorification of man would be attained

only after the resurrection at the last day:

     Most surely I deem that if this should happen to me, I have

     gained my soul as well as my body, because without any doubt

     we shall rise on that day, in the clear shining of the sun,

     that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus our Redeemer, as sons

     of the living God, and joint heirs with Christ, and

     conformed to his image, that will be; since of him and

     through him and in him we shall reign.

But besides this notion of the resurrection of the body in the

last days, other views were also mooted. Some wondered whether by

the idea of the resurrection was meant "sons succeeding their

fathers", or even the coming out of bondage and tribulation of

God's people.

But whatever the road, the goal of godly living was eternal life

in future glory, to the attaining of which the Celtic preacher

constantly urged his hearers. Patrick, too, looked forward to

this ultimate consummation of life's hopes: "We, on the other

hand, who believe in and worship the true sun, Christ - who will

never perish, nor will any one who doeth his will; but he will

abide for ever, as Christ will abide for ever, who reigneth with

God the Father Almighty, and with the Holy Spirit, before the

worlds, and now, and for ever and ever." While the belief was

held that the righteous will be resurrected on the last day, the

wicked would then be destroyed in hell. Patrick's declaration

illustrated this point regarding "those whom the devil grievously

ensnared. In everlasting punishment they will become slaves of

hell along with him; for verily whosoever committeth sin is a

bondservant of sin, and is called a son of the devil." The crux

of the relationship between fallen man and God's grace was human

choice. Placed on the side of divine providence it made possible

the outworking of God's purpose on behalf of the sinner. In the

emphasis placed on the need for man to exercise his will to do

right Pelagian overtones are detectable.

(As far as is given to us by Hardinge, we have seen the Celtic

teaching was immortal glory for the Christian and eternal death

for the unrepented sinner, and not a burning in hell-fire for all

eternity - Keith Hunt)

DOCTRINE OF DUTY

Celtic interest in the Decalogue has been noted. This section

considers the theological implications of this attitude. The term

law, loosely applied by Celtic writers to the entire message of

God, meant:

     These four laws are recognized in judicature. The law of

     nature, i.e. the rule which Adam had. The patriarchal law,

     i.e. this was the rule which his Pater, his Father, spoke to

     Moses. Law of the prophets, i.e. Isaias, &c.; The law of the

     New Testament, i.e. this is the rule of the testament from

     the birth of Christ to the present day.'

But more specifically the word law pointed to the Decalogue.

Through the law of Moses sin was defined to the believer, who

discovered that it ultimately brought about death. Sin cannot be

discerned without law, and the very Decalogue is called the "law

of sin because it makes sins manifest". To those who see sin

through the ministry of law, and who then purpose to carry out

its requirements, all the rewards which God has promised will be

granted, and the very law itself will prove to be a delight. This

enjoyment of the commandments by the Christian himself

constitutes a proof that it is good. In these emphases on the

function of law further Pelagian overtones are to be seen.

All who disobey will be condemned by the Decalogue which they

have outraged, and suffer the vengeance which has been

threatened. Those, on the other hand, who fulfil all its

requirements will attain to all the blessedness promised in the

Bible. In none of the writings of Celtic theologians is any

antinomian view to be found. But there is indication that this

enthusiasm for the Decalogue was deprecated by detractors who

"used to count as a reproach to us that we should be subject to

Law". But in spite of a high regard for the law the commentator

was well aware of its limitation in not being able to "completely

accomplish justification"; since it was obvious the law could

make no one perfect. Its weaknesses were shadowed forth by the

ritual of the ancient Hebrews, and yet these very transitory

ceremonies of the law adumbrated Christ's sacrifice and

mediation: "for it is he that hath been figured in the Law and

declared in the Gospel; to bring you from the gospel into the ten

commandments of the Law". This is an interesting point of view:

the Old Testament laws with their ritual and sacrifices pointed

to Christ as the fulfilment of their hopes; Christ and the gospel

turned the Christian back to the Old Testament Decalogue to find

out why his Lord needed to die. Having discovered this the

Christian is more ready to accept what his Saviour has done for

him. In exposing sin the law drives the penitent to Christ, who

empowers him to live according to the divine standard, and then

the Christian comes back to the Ten Commandments to check his own

progress in righteousness. Prohibition clarifies sin, and

underlines guilt. The knowledge of the law then increases

responsibility.

(Ah so far the Celtic theology was right on the button - Keith

Hunt)

The role of the Decalogue in the life of the Celtic Christian was

of great importance. It modified the old tribal regulations and

made the sentences for crimes less barbarous. It was reflected in

the observances of many of the Old Testament regulations, and

moulded theological attitudes towards sin and righteousness.

(Yes, it was for them as Jesus said, man was not to live by

physical bread alone, but by every word that came from the mouth

of God - Keith Hunt)

DOCTRINE OF SALVATION

Since the human race was ungodly because of the Fall, man was

believed to be helpless until he became a follower of Christ.

Left to his own resources he could not serve God. Only by the

empowering of divine grace could man accomplish any good. Patrick

was conscious of the working of this heavenly impulse in his

life: "The Lord opened the understanding of my unbelief that,

even though late, I might call my faults to remembrance, and that

I might turn with all my heart to the Lord my God", and it is

thus that God "makes those who believe and obey to become

children of God the Father and joint heirs with Christ". So man

is saved, not by the merits of his deeds, "but by God and His

grace." This Celtic viewpoint was again stressed by the

Reformers.

The merits of Christ were felt by Celtic theologians to be vital

to salvation. Imputed by the Saviour to the believer, they

procured his acceptance by God. The sinner could claim no other

goodness, his own or the works of the law, as the basis of his

salvation. Through belief in his heart the sinner was regarded as

righteous. By his confession of faith he was made "safe".

"Through these two means a man becomes righteous, and is saved,

so that he may be so forever." By an act of will the penitent

places himself on the side of Christ and righteousness. The sin

he served he regards as dead. He then is about to cry exultantly,

"I am only alive because Christ is in me." So man is justified,

the glossator noted, "by faith only, i.e. by faith on belief in

Jesus Christ".

(Again, they had it correct! - Keith Hunt)

The question evidently arose, Does grace abrogate law? To this

the commentator responded, "We establish it [the law] while we

prove the truth of God's promise." The Christian must rest his

faith in God in the same way in which Abraham did, for even in

the Christian era "it is the righteousness of Christ that

justifies, and not the righteousness of the law". Not only did

faith justify, it was the sole basis for sanctification of the

Christian's life which followed his justification. As the

repentant sinner day by day seeks to carry out the will of God as

revealed in his law, he becomes sanctified through empowering

grace. So Patrick affirmed, "Most surely I deem that from God I

have received what I am",  adding, "I am only worth what he

himself has given to me." There is no stress in the glosses, as

there is none in the writings of Patrick and other writers of the

Celtic period, on works of merit. The basis of salvation is the

grace of Christ accepted by faith on the part of the Christian,

and operating in his life to bring about conformity to the will

of God as revealed in his law.

(My oh yes, they had it CORRECT! - Keith Hunt)

The commentator appears to have been confused regarding the

nature of the sin inherited by man. St Paul's term, "the old

man", he defined as "the mass of old sins: or, Adam with his

deed." Explaining the Apostle's statement that humanity was "sold

under sin", he noted that it is "Adam; or, my carnal will sold me

so that I am under bondage to sin". Then, on the implications of

Adam's transgression, he observed, "I say it was not imputed."

This was the view of Pelagius, who understood that each man was

condemned because of his personal sin, and not through any

inherited guilt. There was no such thing as "original sin." But

there was a question whether Adam's guilt was "imputed" to man.

Some argued that if Adam's sin infected all men, then Christ's

righteousness should benefit all men also. But this view was

regarded as heretical. The doctrine of sin was simply left with

the remark that upon humanity "judgment is through one sin by

Adam; grace of many offences, by Jesus Christ, unto me". But

there was an important proviso in the mind of the commentator,

who declared that we have sinned not "from the nature of original

creation, but it is from our sinful nature that we have

transgressed since Adam". This is significant as indicating that

some felt that Adam's sinful nature had passed to his posterity,

while others considered that each man sinned through his own

volition without reference to any potential to sin through his

heredity.

(The latter is the correct understanding. We sin not by

inheriting sins from others of the past. We sin, because we have

sinned - missed the mark, broken at some point in our time, the

commandments of God. We all have human nature, and sooner or

later our human nature leads us to sin. The Bible teaches only

Christ Jesus NEVER sinned. Everyone else has sinned - Keith Hunt)

Because of Adam's transgression death passed on all. With

Pelagius the Celt differentiated between two kinds of death.

Natural death was "the separation of body and soul". This was the

common death," of all humanity. "Penal death", on the other hand,

would overtake the wicked only. It was this death which Christ

suffered on Calvary, bearing the punishment which should have

been meted to the sinner. But the commentator was unable to

decide whether the view of Pelagius was correct: that sin

resulted in the individual by the exercise of his choice, and did

not originate from Adam's sin through an hereditary succession.

But of the fact that Celtic views on sin were affected by

Pelagius there would seem little doubt.

(Pelagius was correct, the other one was the way the Roman church

came to teach it - Keith Hunt)

Prayer was a marked and vital characteristic of the Celt. Patrick

used to pray as many as one hundred prayers each night. A spirit

of reverent devotion breathes through the brief, epigrammatical

petitions of the Old-Irish glossators:

     I dare to entreat thee that thou hear me. I bind my thoughts

     to thee, I pray that thou forgive me what I pray for to

     thee. I am compelled to pray for them to thee.

     It is best grateful in thy eyes, O God, to offer to thee the

     service of well-doing, for it is that which thou deemest the

     best that is offered to thee.

     Every praise wherewith I have been praised, O God, has been

     wrought through thee.

     My purification is lacking, if thou purify me not, O God.

Scores of these petitions exist. It was evidently a predilection

of Celtic clerics to improvise prayers. Later they were accused

of spoiling the Divine Office with too many! Petitions were

addressed to God, and to Christ, with the understanding that what

was contrary to salvation would be denied by God, in spite of

many prayers. The Christian was warned against a mere repetition

of empty words. "Whosoever, therefore, merely prays with his lips

and belies his prayers by his conduct, procures scorn for

himself; nay, renders himself hateful rather than pleasing to the

Lord. Therefore, they only are wont to be heard by the Lord who

seek a thing by prayer and ensure it by good conduct." To this

careful intention to pray with sincerity must be added diligence,

for prayers from "slothful and sleepy" petitioners are powerless.

Christians were also recommended to pray for each other, for

"mutual intercession" is a necessary part of the life of piety.

The ideas regarding prayer, held in the community in which the

glossator lived at the end of the eighth century, are of

considerable interest in showing his attitude towards the

canonical hours

     Question: What is prayer without ceasing? The answer is not

     difficult. Some say it is celebrating the canonical hours,

     but this is not the true meaning. But it is when all the

     members (of the body) are inclined to good deeds, and evil

     deeds are put away from them. Then, when doing good, they

     are praying to God, that is, they incline their eyes to see

     what is good, as Job says, "I made a covenant with mine

     eyes"

There are traces in the writings of Columbanus and Adamnan that

set hours for prayer were observed, but there is no evidence that

the same practices were followed in other localities by all

Celtic Christians. In fact, one of the reforms achieved by

Malachy was the establishment of the regular canonical hours,

"for there was not such thing before, not even in the city" of

Armagh prior to the twelfth centnry.

There is no indication that Patrick, or Celtic Christians for two

centuries after him, invoked saints or angels. As was seen above,

Christ was regarded as the only Mediator. But following the

acceptance of the Roman Easter and other eighth-century Western

Christian views, hagiographers recorded many petitions addressed

to various saints, angels, martyrs, and the Virgin. Comminatory

stories were told to establish this belief, and later litanies

were fathered on early Celtic saints, including Adamnan, to gain

authority for these changes. Some traces of petitions on behalf

of the dead are found as early as the sixth century, but they

consist of single invocations carved on grave-stones.

Notwithstanding this, a canon attributed to Patrick sought to

show the futility of prayer for the dead:

     Of offering for the dead - Hearken unto the Apostle when he

     saith: "There is a sin unto death, for that I say not that

     any man ask." And to the Lord: "Give not that which is holy

     to dogs." For he who did not in his life deserve to receive

     the sacrifice, how shall it be able to help him after death.

But the Old-Irish Penitential (c. eighth century), reflecting a

Roman influence, represents a modification of this point of view:

     Anyone who kills himself while insane, prayers are said for

     him, and alms are given for his soul, if he was previously

     pious. If he has killed himself in despair or for any other

     reason, he must be left to the judgement of God, for men

     dare not offer prayers for him - that is, a Mass - unless it

     be some other prayer, and almsgiving to the poor and

     miserable.

This simple philosophy of prayer was later changed when the

doctrine of an intermediary state between heaven and hell was

accepted by Celtic Christians, and an involved technique for

rescuing the dead devised.

(Ah yes, when Celtic Christianity was overcome and infiltrated by

the false teachings of the Roman church - Keith Hunt)

 

DOCTRINE OF ANGELS

From Patrick's simple allusions to angels, their position and

function became more prominent and complex in later writers who

accepted the views of the Romans. Every reference by Patrick to

the functioning of angels was a biblical quotation. The Wurtzburg

glossator gave his view thus: "It is the angels of God who will

be engaged in guarding the righteous man, and their substance is

nobler, and their creation is prior to men, and therefore they

guard him, that the trials of the Devil may not reach him." The

later hagiographers frequently refer to the nine orders of angels

who did not rebel with the Devi1, and who constitute the quire of

the household of heaven. But some of the loyal angels, who make

up the "household of heaven", rebelled and became "fugitive". The

Altus Prosator paints a vivid picture of this concept:

     From the summit of the kingdom of heaven, of angelic rank

     From the brightness of effulgence, from the loveliness of

     beauty, 

     Lucifer, whom God had made, fell by being proud,

     And the apostate angels, with the same mournful fall 

     Of the author of vain-glory, and of obstinate envy; 

     The rest remaining in their Principalities.

     The Dragon, great, most foul, terrible and old, ... 

     Drew with him the third part of the stars,

     Into the pit of infernal places, and of diverse prisons,

     Deserters of the true Light, cast headlong by the parasite.

These evil angels were believed to be able even to "preach

another gospel" to the unwary. Fantastic stories were invented

after the tenth century to prove the prowess of angels. One

helped Patrick to clean his hearth; another was midwife to

Senan's mother; others assisted Ciaran to grind his corn; changed

oats into wheat; brought an epistle to Patrick's dictated "the

whole sacred ecclesiastical Rule" to Brenainn; showed Findian

where to build a church in Leinster; in the form of white virgins

fostered Brenainn;" and came for saints on their death-beds.

Comminatory stories using angels as authority for practices which

sprang up later were often told. Angels placed a veil over the

head of a consecrated virgin; taught Patrick and Secundus to sing

the hymn Sancti venite, Christi corpus; inaugurated funeral

wakes; and even became patron angels: "Because Michael was the

angel of the race of the Hebrews, so Victor was of the Irish.

Hence he cared for them by means of Patrick.

Patrick accepted the possibility of man's having personal

encounters with the Devil; he had had such himself:

     Now on that same night, when I was sleeping, Satan assailed

     me mightily, in such sort as I shall remember as long as I

     am in this body. And he fell upon me as it were a huge rock,

     and I had no power over my limbs ... I believe that I was

     helped by Christ my Lord, and that his Spirit was even then

     calling aloud on my behalf.

The glossator believed that the Devil rebelled, and, with his

followers, was cast out of heaven to this earth, and henceforward

ranged himself in opposition to Christ and his followers: "As

Christ works in the righteous, according to what St Paul says:

'God worketh in you,' so does the devil work in the children of

unbelief. Sons, then, are those by works, not by nature. The

children of unbelief or despair are they who despaired of their

salvation through Christ's passions." "Despair" was a concept of

Pelagius. Notwithstanding the power of evil, God always helps

those who cry to him, so that "we are not deceived, that is,

through despair, for he [Satan] is cunning in persuading the sin

so that it is complete; after its completion, he persuades the

sinner to despair". The Devil tempted Juliana in the shape of an

angel, but the advice of the commentator was, "Let him not come

into your heart instead of God". This simple dualism later

degenerated into fabulous tales of the work of the Devil, who

passed through the air to carry off the souls of the wicked.

Brigit was made to see "Satan beside the table, his head down and

his feet up, his smoke and his flame out of his gullet, and out

of his nose"; Brenainn was believed to have observed the Devil,

"awful, hideous, foul, hellish", "Squirting the waters from him,

and killing those who would drink them". Pagan and superstitious

views of angels were encrusted around the earlier, simpler

biblical ones by later hagiographers.

DOCTRINE OF LAST THINGS

Patrick and early Celtic Christians believed in the second advent

of Christ. The Apostle of Ireland declared: "We look for his

coming soon as the judge of the quick and the dead", to render

just rewards to all, after "his descent for the judgment of

Doom". Columba also looked for "Christ the Most High Lord coming

down from heaven". The commentator was of the opinion that

Christ's second advent would not be like his first, for Christ

would come the second time with the sound of the trumpet which

accompanied God, as on Mount Sinai. And faithful Christians who

recognized the first advent by the gospel would "know the second

advent by revelation".

The final event in history was believed to be the second advent

"at the last trump". This meant the last invitation to accept the

gospel, "for there will not be any sound of assembly after that".

Then Christ will pour out his judgements upon all sinners, for

"he protects neither those who never heard Him, nor those who

having heard transgress". But when Christ as the true Judge

pronounces the sentence on all, "none will be able to absent

himself", but will be compelled to give an account of even his

smallest sins before the judgement seat of Christ the Lord. The

glossator corroborated Patrick's view, remarking that "God the

Father shall execute judgement by Jesus Christ; that is, the Son

shall judge in the day of judgement, according to our Lord's

words (John 5.22)".

(We see here that the Celtic theology was correct in SOME of the

"last days" teachings, but was INCORRECT in ideas of judgment,

sins, and no salvation after Christ's return. The salvation plan

of God is expounded for you in detail on my website in many

studies - Keith Hunt)

Connected with the second advent was the resurrection of the

dead, not "to be examined, but resurrected in order to receive

the condemnation to which they have been sentenced."  Evidently

there was some belief that judgement had preceded the advent, at

which time the sentence would be meted out. Then every man would

be compelled to answer for himself, for no excuse would be

tolerated by the divine tribunal: "If they reply, 'We did not

recognize him, for his human nature concealed his divinity', the

answer will be, 'You believed in the devil, though he also was

incarnate.' It is right, then, that they who are not admitted to

the glory of Christ share the condemnation of the devil." 

(They had the final resurrection judgment and the final second

death mixed up and did not understand the two of them in the

correct light - which I correctly expound to you on this website

- Keith Hunt)

Patrick and the early Celtic Christians believed that the second

advent of Christ and the end of the world were near at hand. The

glossator remarked that "time is short - that is, the end of the

world". Patrick was certain that he had been called by God to

preach a vital message to the wicked so that they might prepare

for eternity. He believed, in fact, that he was actually living

"in the last days":

     I ought to receive it with an equal mind, and ever render

     thanks to God who showed me that I might trust him

     endlessly, as one that cannot be doubted; and who heard me,

     so that I, ignorant as I am, and in the last days, should be

     bold to undertake this work so holy and so wonderful; so

     that I might imitate in some degree those of whom the Lord

     long ago foretold, when forshewing that his Gospel would be

     for a witness unto all nations before the end of the world.

     And accordingly, as we see, this has been so fulfilled.

     Behold, we are witnesses that the Gospel has been preached

     to the limit beyond which no man dwells.

(Patrick like so many after him, thought they were living in the

days when Jesus would return. The NT shows that from Christ

onward it can be regarded as the "last days" - yet we also have

the word of prophecy, both old and new Testaments, that show

there will be a last days of 42 months, and certain prophecy must

come to pass leading up to and during those last 42 months. Then

and only then will Christ literally return to this earth to

establish the Kingdom of God over all nations - Keith Hunt)

Patrick could therefore affirm, "We look for his coming soon to

be." Columbanus likewise believed that "the world is already in

its last days."

(And so it has been the mistake of so many down through the

centuries, who could not, or did not, understand the many

passages of prophecy, that need to come to pass before Jesus can

return. Those prophetic passages I have expounded to you in depth

on this website. Until those events come to pass, Jesus will not

return. We can see before our eyes the rise of a United Beast

Europe. We can see the freedom from dictators in the Arab world,

who are yet to form the united "king of the south" - it is all

taking shape, but it is still taking shape, and has not yet come

to pass as it will and must be. God the Father is in charge of

world events and He can shorten or lengthen the time as He

chooses, for end time prophecy to reach the last 42 months of

this age. Will end time events come to pass in the next 20, 30

years? Maybe they will. Maybe they will not. But what I have told

you about how the end time events WILL BE, WILL INDEED BE, 

AND WILL EVENTUALLY COME TO PASS. You must keep 

watching world events, for they will come to pass as you have been 

told in studies on this website - Keith Hunt)

CELTIC TEACHINGS

A consideration of these Celtic doctrines reveals a significant

independence of thought and exegesis. There might be here and

there the echo of some phrase coined by a theologian of the West,

but for the most part the Celtic teacher phrased his

understanding of the meaning of the Bible in his own words,

seeking always to apply it to some practical need. Celtic

theology is biblical theology with no patristic emphases. A study

of the Deity was made to reveal qualities of benevolence working

toward the salvation of fallen man. Human redemption was procured

solely by the sacrificed merits of the Son of God without any

works on the part of man to earn his salvation. And yet man was

believed to be required to exercise his will in obeying the

Decalogue, albeit through the generously bestowed grace of God to

empower his efforts. Great stress was laid upon God's law in all

its bearings, especially in its function as the revealer of sin.

Man's personal responsibility for his own sinning, like the

stress laid on the law, is an echo of the teaching of Pelagius.

Angels were held to be celestial assistants to man, while a

simple dualism sets him against the Devil and evil angels. At the

end of human history Christ was believed to return to

re-establish man in that state for which he was originally

created. The reader in the sources of Celtic Christian theology

finds only a simple devotional study of the Scriptures, which,

taken in their most literal sense, form the basis of Celtic

beliefs.

There is no involvement in theological argumentation or in any

attempt to reach definitions of obscure and theoretical terms.

Aloof from the religious stresses of Mediterranean countries the

teachers of the Celtic west went their own ways, seeking to

understand the will of God for them as revealed in the

Scriptures.

..........

To be continued with "The Christian Year."