Celtic Christianity differs from other forms of Christianity fundamentally through its view of Jesus as a fertility figure.
Prevalent throughout the British Isles for four hundred years from the second century AD, Celtic Christianity is believed by scholars to be one of the closest forms of Christianity to the teachings of the Historical Christ.
The Druid cultures that embraced this new mythology recognized in the figure of Christ a fulfillment of their own religion's aims. Celts believed Jesus was an ordinary man, who had achieved mystical enlightenment. Stories of the resurrection were read in the poetic sense that was natural to druid priests, who saw this as a metaphor for change from mere human to Divine consciousness that they themselves sought through mystic practices. A death and rebirth of one's spirit, not of the body, and an echo of the already established death and rebirth understanding of their Nature-based religion.
To express this understanding symbolically, the Celts portrayed the crucified Christ with an erection, poetically rendering both death and rebirth/fertility.
The cynical concept of Original Sin, that Man's natural state is evil and can only be corrected through baptism/initiation into the Roman Catholic Church, was completely alien to the Celtic Christians, who believed Man was born with Original Virtue; that a Divine source existed in all humankind from birth. It was believed Man could achieve redemption and atonement through choices and actions, as opposed to simply accepting the dogma and authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Celtic culture with its harmonious meeting of Eastern Gnostic Christianity and traditional European Pagan religions was wiped out by the Holy Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church around the year six hundred and sixty six (AD666) following the massacre of all Celtic Christian high priests who would not accept the authority of Rome, beheading as many as four thousand in a single day, according to monastic records.
However, the cultural revival of Celtic Christianity by dancer Michael Flatley and traditional Celtic bands has been an important factor in the present-day moves to end the problems of Ireland, allowing a disparate people to recognize a common heritage prior to the complex politics of the Holy Roman Catholic Church and its Protestant schisms.
