Light from Dark Ages? An Evangelical Critique of Celtic Spirituality

The interest in Celtic spirituality may have subsided somewhat since this booklet was published in 2012 but since remnants of it persist in the churches Marian Raikes's critique remains relevant. She engages with the original Celtic sources which reveal a doctrinally orthodox and outward looking, mission focused spirituality and successfully shows how far modern day exponents of Celtic spirituality have drifted from the original Celtic Christian outlook, instead offering up a watered down version that, one imagines, the likes of Patrick or Columba would fail to recognise. As an example, while Celtic Christians delighted in creation they distinguished between creation and Creator and for them creation was the work of the Holy Trinity. In contrast, modern day "Celtic spirituality" can emphasise God's immanence in creation to the point of advocating a monist worldview. Another area in which the moderns differ from their dark age models is that they soft-pedal the reality of sin and the need for repentance, which is something the early Celtic Christians were certainly not shy of expounding. Summing up, if you have an interest in Celtic Christian spirituality, go 'ad fontes' - back to the source - rather than to the rather dubious contemporary exponents. A helpful bibliography of primary and secondary sources is included in this booklet.