Christ of the Celts: The Healing of Creation
by J. Philip Newell
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Book Summary Information
Author: J. Philip NewellEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-02
ISBN: 0470183500
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Book Reviews of Christ of the Celts: The Healing of Creation
Book Review: An Evangelical Voice from a Distant Land Calls Us to Remember the Goodness of God's Creation
Summary: 5 Stars
For far more than 1,000 years, Celtic Christians have been evangelists from a distant land, bringing fresh insights to the faithful around the world -- and sometimes finding themselves harshly rebuffed for their effort. Throughout the 20th Century, in fact, the Celtic revival flowered and began to re-seed Christendom -- even before similar movements took hold in the U.S.
Millions of Americans are familiar with Jim Wallis, the best-selling author of "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It (Plus)" and founder of Sojourners. But, in Scotland in 1938, 10 years before Wallis' birth in 1948, the Rev. George MacLeod founded the Iona Community with principles that are a first cousin to what Wallis shaped decades later.
Millions of Americans are aware of a renewed interest in the Orthodox realm of Christianity -- rediscovering the beauty of icons, the seemingly fresh perspectives of Orthodox theology and the way that Orthodox worship engages all the senses. MacLeod was making this connection in the 1930s.
Millions of Americans love the hauntingly beautiful Celtic music that's everywhere these days. But the Celtic musical revival in worship really is the full flowering of a generation of Iona leadership in which J. Philip Newell ran the historic abbey in the far west of Scotland and talented musicians like John L. Bell literally were producing a whole new hymnal and book of liturgy.
Countless Americans already know Newell's inspirational voice -- calling to them to re-engage their spiritual senses through popular books like "Listening for the Heartbeat of God: A Celtic Spirituality." Now, Newell takes a startlingly different approach toward readers and offers a full-fledged manifesto that seeks to reshape the way most Western Christians think about the core of their faith.
This isn't the first time Americans have heard this appeal to a Creation-based spirituality -- and an abandonment of the original-sin-and-redemption approach to the faith. In 1983, for instance, American theologian Matthew Fox published, "Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality Presented in Four Paths, Twenty-Six Themes, and Two Questions," a milestone in the rebirth of this strain of spirituality.
In his earlier books, Newell already has been reflecting these themes. But "Christ of the Celts" -- weighing in at a remarkably slim 161 pages -- is really Newell's full-fledged Christology.
And, since timing is everything in our rapidly churning global culture -- Newell couldn't be hitting American bookstores at a more opportune time. Everywhere readers look these days, American evangelicals are engaged in vigorous -- sometimes even angry -- debate over the future of Christianity.
From the traditional end of the spectrum, Wheaton College English professor Alan Jacobs has a brand-new book appearing this month, "Original Sin: A Cultural History" trying to remind Americans that the traditional original-sin approach to faith still serves a very good purpose. The book proclaims that "original sin" is nothing short of "the cornerstone of our self understanding."
Then, at this precise moment, here's this slender, smiling pilgrim from Scotland, his curly hair perennially windblown from hiking the highlands, stepping onto the global stage and telling Jacobs -- and all of those arguing American evangelicals: "Sorry, friends. You've got a few things wrong."
Whether you agree with Newell -- or regard him as a heretic, as many surely will -- his spiritual message is powerful. He calls to weary men, women and young people and asks them simply to: Remember God's goodness within you.
He says: At the core of our lives is goodness, not original sin.
He says: At the core of the Earth community, there is goodness. And, as God says in Genesis, the Earth itself is -- good.
This is a voice you cannot afford to miss in the historic debate on Christianity's future. This is a book that, if your small group tackles its 8 chapters, you'll be overflowing with discussion for a couple of months -- and, likely, more.
Summary of Christ of the Celts: The Healing of Creation
Christ of the Celts"I explore the Celtic image of Christ as the Memory of what we have forgotten. He remembers the dance of the universe and the harmony that is deep within all things. He is the Memory also of who we are."
--from the Prelude
"Diagnosing the human soul with a longing for peace in the face of fear and fragmentation nurtured by global political forces and fundamentalisms, Newell offers the ancient traditions of Celtic Christianity as a way forward in healing humankind and the earth."
--Publishers Weekly
"This graceful, wise, and important book is a superb introduction to the treasures of Celtic Christianity for our time."
--Marcus Borg, author, The Heart of Christianity
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