{"id":4959,"date":"2020-11-03T01:23:24","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T01:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learn.elca.org\/jle\/?p=4959"},"modified":"2020-11-03T01:24:03","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T01:24:03","slug":"review-christ-of-the-celts-by-j-philip-newell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learn.elca.org\/jle\/review-christ-of-the-celts-by-j-philip-newell\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Christ of the Celts, by J. Philip Newell"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
[1]\u00a0 J. Philip Newell’s book, Christ of the Celts\u00a0<\/em>is not a new book but its endorsement of Celtic Christianity can remind us that “the matter of creation is a holy and living energy born from the hidden depths of God.” (xiv) \u00a0At the center of his argument is the conviction rooted in Celtic Christianity that grace “is given to save our nature, not to save us from our nature” (68) because “nature and grace flow together from God. \u00a0They are both sacred gifts.” (9)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

[2] In his concern to see all of creation as centered in God, Newell is convinced that Celtic Christianity can serve as a corrective in a number of areas to traditional teachings. \u00a0For example, he argues against the notion of original sin because it “teaches that what is deepest in us is opposed to God rather than of God.” (19) He would say rather that “at the core off the gospel is the truth that we are most deeply divine precisely when we are most deeply human.” (27)<\/p>\n

[3] Against the doctrine of “creatio ex nihilo,” his conviction is that “creation does not come out of nothing; it comes out of God.” (53)\u00a0 And against the notion of substitutionary atonement, he affirms that there is real suffering in the cross, but it is “not a payment to God; [but rather] a disclosure of God. \u00a0Not a purchasing of love; [rather] the manifestation of love.” (90)<\/p>\n

[4] Finally, in his postlude, Newell sums up his understanding of Celtic Christianity in the following way. \u00a0“Christ comes from the heart of creation rather than from beyond creation; reconnects us to our true nature instead of saving us from our nature.” (127)<\/p>\n

[5] As the many quotes above indicate, this short book provides more than enough material to provoke and challenge and to encourage a consideration of how the Celtic tradition can inform and potentially reform both the dominant Christian tradition and our faith.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[1]\u00a0 J. Philip Newell’s book, Christ of the Celts\u00a0is not a new book but its endorsement of Celtic Christianity can remind us that “the matter of creation is a holy and living energy born from the hidden depths of God.” (xiv) \u00a0At the center of his argument is the conviction rooted in Celtic Christianity that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","category-europe"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Christ of the Celts, by J. 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Philip Newell’s book, Christ of the Celts\u00a0is not a new book but its endorsement of Celtic Christianity can remind us that “the matter of creation is a holy and living energy born from the hidden depths of God.” (xiv) \u00a0At the center of his argument is the conviction rooted in Celtic Christianity that […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/learn.elca.org\/jle\/review-christ-of-the-celts-by-j-philip-newell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Journal of Lutheran Ethics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-03T01:23:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-11-03T01:24:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/learn.elca.org\/jle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/01\/Journal_of_Lutheran_Ethics_Logo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Denise Rector\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Denise Rector\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/learn.elca.org\/jle\/review-christ-of-the-celts-by-j-philip-newell\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/learn.elca.org\/jle\/review-christ-of-the-celts-by-j-philip-newell\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Denise Rector\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/learn.elca.org\/jle\/#\/schema\/person\/1d1a38a7727af6291bbff14ba363351c\"},\"headline\":\"Review: Christ of the Celts, by J. 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