The Man Pagans Love to Hate
Monday March 17, 2008
And then there's the man Pagans love to hate: the Catholic St. Patrick, who is widely viewed in the Pagan community as something of an early Hitler, who burned books, chopped down sacred groves, and eradicated Druidry. Patrick's story is an interesting one. According to the official Catholic mythology, Patrick was a slave to a cruel Druid priest who escaped, became a Christian Bishop, and returned home to save his countrymen from the the evil Druids. Modern day Druids tend to view Patrick as a tool of the Church's program to eradicate peaceful pagans from the earth, that the "serpents" he reputedly drove from Ireland were in fact the learned Druid priests. The truth, I'm sure, lies somewhere in between- but one thing is sure, that the Pagans have the last laugh- because the drunken revels that accompany St. Patrick's feast were just the sort of "pagan revel" that infuriated him so to begin with.
Comments
The speculation about St. Patrick’s serpents actually referring to the Druids is interesting, and makes sense, as the serpent (and/or dragon) has long been associated with wisdom/knowledge, and of course the Druids were supposedly, presumably, repositories of knowledge.
I must refresh your memory to the famous parable about the rabbitherd who counted his 99 rabbits and realized one was missing. In truth, the rabbit had run off with a coquetish little doe who had her eyes on his lucky feet. There was a hutch nearby where the old bucks would give you a colored egg for the pair. The rabbitherd found his furry friend moaning, heart broken and lost, but fortunately not footloose…This adventure inspired the rabbitherd to found the organization E radicate A ll S inners T hat E at R abbit, which became the most cited parable in haretic theology.
In reality the early Irish Catholic (Roman) church that Patrick started was very Celtic and pagan in ritual and practices. In fact, the Roman leaders finally had to order the Irish to cease and decist the Celtic elements to the church in Ireland which they eventually and gradually did. You can still see the pagan influences in the artwork in old churches in Celtic lands.
Really interesting topics Jennifer. Kudos to you!
I didnt know that pagans treat st. patrick like a hitler though… to be honest that sounds a bit mental to me.
no.1 the charactor of St. Paddy was created by the Bishop of Armagh when he needed a more evangelical figure to compete with other countries.
Im guess people done know that there were no christian martyrs in Ireland and our native christianity continued our cultures trads preserving them in the written word and even defending them in battle.
YOu can even see it in the real letters from the real St Paddy. The lad defended irish trads from foreign warriors and sent a whole hoarde of them home with curses on their heads for trying it on with us.
Seriously anyone that calls St. Patrick a hitler needs an education. Or a new hobby.