Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Celtic Christianity: A Sacred Tradition, a Vision of Hope by Timothy J. Joyce ISBN: 1-57075-176-5 Publisher: Orbis Books Pub. Date: March, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.8 (5 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Lots of History, But...
Comment: The cover blurb of this short book by an American Benedictine monk promises Celtic Spirituality "introduces a mysterious and extraordinary spiritual world (that) developed among the Celtic peoples sixteen centuries ago." Fr. Timothy's book tells something of pre-Christian and early-Christian Celtic social structure, customs and worldview and provides a few examples of Celtic prayers. But this book is primarily the HISTORY (i.e., names, dates, administrative structure) of Christian institutions in Celtic lands and not an exploration of Celtic Christian beliefs and practice or, more specifically, how those beliefs and practices shaped the Celtic people before they came under Norman and English domination.
Fr. Timothy emphasizes that Ireland was the only early-Christian culture in Western Europe never controlled by the Roman Empire. The Celtic Church, while strictly Trinitarian in belief, celebrated God's gifts of nature and humanity in a relatively non-legalistic manner. Then he recounts the history of the Roman church eventually dominating the native Irish, until the 1840s Potato Famine horror destroyed both the economy and any remaining traditional Celtic social structure and laid mid-Nineteenth Century legalistic, conservative, hierarchical Roman Catholicism over impoverished, dysfunctional Irish families. Fr. Timothy asserts the result, today's image of "Irish Catholic", is a foreign, inauthentic Irish Christianity far removed from its Celtic roots.
All of that may be true and interesting, but I finished the book still not knowing exactly what Celtic Christianity is and how, other than making pilgrimages to contemporary retreat centers scattered through Ireland and Britain, one might pursue modern day Celtic spirituality.
Although Ireland's lack of Roman domination is mentioned several times and Fr. Timothy mentions Eastern Orthodox Christianity in passing a couple of times, his Roman Catholic-centered world view never lets him, if you'll allow me a newly popular but already overused phrase, connect the dots. Since St. Patrick and his peers brought Christianity to the Celts at a time, around 400 AD, when all Christians were still "Orthodox" and other books demonstrate direct connections between the Celtic Church and the Eastern Christian monasteries of the Desert Fathers, it seems logical to conclude that Celtic Christianity was the local version of what still lives on as Eastern Orthodoxy.
There is a fairly long bibliography (virtually all for books published in the 1990s) and a list of organizations sponsoring Celtic retreats, revival, etc. (although not a single Internet address is provided). A few black and white photo reproductions are unremarkable.
I enjoyed reading Celtic Spirituality, and recommend it as a short history of Christian Church administration in Celtic cultures but feel one needs to look elsewhere to learn more about Celtic (Orthodox) Christianity itself.
Rating: 5
Summary: Celtic Christianity, A Sacred Tradition, a Vision of Hope.
Comment: A gentle & interesting book for those exploring Celtic &/or Irish roots, & history. It provides valuable insights into understanding and recognising the Celtic traits and spirituality within us. A worthwhile read for Catholics, who, like myself, sometimes wonder! Definitely worth a second read (or more)!
Rating: 5
Summary: 3 in 1
Comment: Father Joyce has written a thoughtful and useful book. It is pure joy
 |
Title: Celtic Spirituality (Classics of Western Spirituality (Paper)) by Oliver Davies, Thomas O'Loughlin ISBN: 0809138948 Publisher: Paulist Press Pub. Date: January, 2000 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
 |
Title: The Celtic Way of Prayer : The Recovery of the Religious Imagination by Esther De Waal ISBN: 0385493746 Publisher: IMAGE Pub. Date: 20 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
 |
Title: Every Earthly Blessing: Rediscovering the Celtic Tradition by Esther De Waal ISBN: 0819218065 Publisher: Morehouse Publishing Pub. Date: 01 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
 |
Title: Listening for the Heartbeat of God: A Celtic Spirituality by J. Philip Newell ISBN: 0809137593 Publisher: Paulist Press Pub. Date: January, 1998 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
 |
Title: Anam Cara : A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'Donohue ISBN: 006092943X Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 01 November, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
