The Christian-Druid Path

[Mesotes]

Thus, Earth-based reverence to Gaia has been appropriated to political machinations. Religious commandments (biblical Ten Commandments) have arisen as an appropriation of the earlier shamanic experiences.

In the sacred Mysteries, as we know, there was the order of Druids who acted cohesively in a hierarchical manner, to educate people. Initiates,"baby Christs," were first guided to train their Minds for clarity. Meditation techniques were abundant. Whether sitting in solitude by the river's edge, or in day to day activities. By the end of the day, you are mindfully "remembering" your day's earlier activities and thoughts. Being self-critical.

This training, included amongst others, such as bodily fasting, prepared one to enter the "temple" whereupon the hierophants and oracles entered into inebriation. It was an extensive ceremony of psychoactives akin to that of Eleusis.

Fascinating statements. Would you please list your source material to help us vet the comments? Thanks!

Sure thing!

On another thread here on The Druid Grove Message Board, I posted a link to what's called "The Pharmacratic Inquisition." I can re-link that, as I think it's relevant to this thread as well.

I'll link the whole playlist so you can choose which version you'd like to view.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... ature=plcp

There is an unusually abundant "subtle" ancient works of art, particularly that of the early Christian era. One great site to check out is Dr. Rush's "Clinical Anthropology. As you scroll down, you can see it's pretty extensive.

http://clinicalanthropology.com/index.html

And, one of my favorite sources, respectfully, is John Lash. His website is:

http://www.metahistory.org/index.php

That website is bundled with a plethora of data via multiple source material.

Another excellent source is Michael Tsarion's work. I recall I posted a thread entitled "The Irish Origins of Civilization."
In dealing with Literalist Christianity, I'll refer you to his work on Aton. The Atonist cult of Akhenaten and beyond. Aton (Adonai) is the precursor of Judaism and Judeo-Christianity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMDw6cNxBy4

Michael Tsarion on the Druids:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5gFIO7bbNM

And finally, here is a magnum opus, as it were, evidencing the widely practiced entheogenic practices, meditation techniques and worldview of the ancient philosophers, who we could call "druids."

http://egodeath.com/EntheogenTheoryOfReligion.htm

Enjoy!

Looking forward to more discussion.

[lancsbard]

I am puzzled, can you tell me more about the Druid-Christian Path, what do you believe? does the Druid-Christian path differ from the Druid pagan path? Is it insular christianity ? do you practice the same rituals ? I really don't understand the Druid-Christian path please tell me more

Bright Blessings
/|\

[Aoife]

Druid-ism isn't a religion. It's a spirituality/philosophy.

(Amazingly there IS a difference between being religious and being spiritual...at least to an extent. They are admittedly similar)

[treegod]

I am puzzled, can you tell me more about the Druid-Christian Path, what do you believe? does the Druid-Christian path differ from the Druid pagan path? Is it insular christianity ? do you practice the same rituals ? I really don't understand the Druid-Christian path please tell me more

Bright Blessings
/|\

Druidry is a many varied thing, with different traditions. Even two Pagan Druids can differ from each other as much as they differ from a Christian Druid, for example, in belief, practice and tradition.

OBOD accepts members of any religion, and it doesn't describe itself as a religion, nor do its members. All OBOD druids are taught the same rituals, whatever the religion. What we do with those rituals is really up to us.
Other Druid groups do describe themselves as a religion.

Not all are "insular Christians", Christian Druids don't necessarily belong to the same church. Some are Catholic or Anglican, Baptist or Methodist, etc.

Personally, I don't call myself Pagan nor Christian, and as a Druid I am an OBOD Druid (to not generalise the term "druid"); involved with its own brand of teachings of modern Druidry. Paganism and Christianity I consider "ancestral traditions", both of which have had influence on the culture I grew up in, and so have influenced who I am today.

EDIT: there's even a thread on Atheist Druidry round here, lol.

[CleddauGal]

Raised Protestant, converted to Catholicism. I have always felt a connection to nature. I feel closer to God in the woods than in a cathedral. I feel His presence around me, I am a pacifist and I have been searching for ways to combine Druidry with Catholicism or maybe just create my own brand of Druidry with elements of Catholicism. Any ideas on how this might be done? Thanks. "peace"

Fascinating! I was raised Catholic and became Protestant four years ago and am coming to Druidry only now. I think if you look at the prayers attributed to St. Francis, as well as the wealth of material that is loosely categorized as "the Celtic Church" which historically refers to the church before the Synod of Whitby around 600 or so, and now is shared by both Catholic and Protestants with Celtic backgrounds. There is a whole lot out there on Celtic spirituality that makes a nice interface between "in the church" spirituality and "in the woods" spirituality.

Hope this helps.

[CleddauGal]

My story:

once I reached my high school years I started finding out several things about the church that I could not and would not abide.

The first was that Christians believe that other religions are false instead of just another path to enlightenment or indeed, a culture's expression of that divinity we all feel. The second was their stance on homosexuality. I'm not a homosexual but I have friends who are and I didn't appreciate how they would descend in groups upon them like a flock of vultures to "pray the gay away." I believe being homosexual is natural and is not sinful in anyway....

I am not a druid yet but I am researching it and so far this seems to be exactly what I'm looking for.

I guess I was lucky, growing up in the Roman Catholic Church of the 1970s, after Vatican Council II, when some of that nonsense went away. The documents still end up saying "But we're more right than they are" which can be annoying, but they did give other religions a bit of acknowledgement and that is what I was taught in Catholic school, along with the good science of evolutionary theory.

One of the reasons I left the RC church 4 years ago was indeed the anti-gay stance. I have found the Episcopal Church (Anglican Communion) to be very welcoming to everyone--it even has some gay bishops!--and I like that it has women priests as well. My parish is also where I started learning about the Celtic Church, to which I am increasingly turning as I begin my Druid studies.

[Gallobhaí]

The word 'truth' is a derivation of the Saxon word Trewid which meant 'quality of faith' or 'quality of correctness' but literally meant 'Tre Wid' Tree knowledge.
'Dru Wid' meant oak knowledge in Old English (Dru derives from Dar which is the old Goidelic for Oak.)
Therefore the etymology suggests that Druidism is the pursuit of truth, faith and correctness.
The connotations of oak and tree suggest that it is strong, mighty, well rooted, pan-generational (in human terms), living, nurturing and sustaining of all life and balance.

If your pursuit for truth leads you to Judeo-Christianity, Atheism, Islam, Eastern Spirituality, Science then that in itself is a Druidic journey as you are pursuing the tree knowledge of that path in all its numerous limbs, offshoots and branches.

So, In my own understanding, rather than a religion I would categorize it as a pursuit of truth, faith and correctness in a spirit of love, respect and understanding which in turn does lend itself well to any religion or institution which promotes positive morals and ethics, or the uplift and enlightenment of all men and women.


"There is a grey eye that fills with tears when it looks back towards Erin.
While I stand on the oaken deck of my bark I stretch my vision westwards over the briny sea towards Erin."
St. Columcille - Influential Christian Monk and 'likely' Druid from my locality

[Twyrch]

So, In my own understanding, rather than a religion I would categorize it as a pursuit of truth, faith and correctness in a spirit of love, respect and understanding which in turn does lend itself well to any religion or institution which promotes positive morals and ethics, or the uplift and enlightenment of all men and women.

I agree 100%

[Welsh Mythology]

There may be some sign of what very early Christian Drudiry looked like in the teachings of Pelagius. The early British trend of accepting free will as opposed to St Augustine's pre-determined sinners may hint at what the remnants of British druidry looked like after its contact with the early Church. The first period of British saints and the folklore that surrounds them is another sign that Christianity and Drudiry intermingled very early on. Allthough a good chunk of hard historic evidence is missing, there is nothing wrong with making the assumption based on the little we do know. If modern Christian Druidry is looking for a root, I would imagine a study of Pelagius and the early British Saints to be a rich source of nourishment.