How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill (Random House / 1995)
From the fall of Rome to the rise of Charlemagne- the "dark ages"-
learning, scholarship, and culture disappeared from the European
continent. The great heritage of Western civilization-from the Greek
and Roman classics to Jewish and Christian works-would have been
utterly lost were it not for the holy men and women of the
unconquered Ireland. In this delightful and illuminating look into a
crucial but little-known "hinge" of history, Thomas Cahill takes us
to the "island of saints and scholars," the Ireland of St. Patrick
and the Book of Kells. Here, far from the barbarian despoliton of the
continent, monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, even playfully
preserved the West's written treasury, With the return of stability
in Europe, these Irish scholars were instrumental in spraeading
learning. Thus the Irish not only were conservators of civilization,
but became shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp
on Western culture.
----------------------
Columbans Revolution: Wie irische Mönche Mitteleuropa mit dem
Evangelium erreichten und was wir von ihnen lernen können (Edition
IGW; 90 S.; 9,90)
Eine kurzweilige und trotzdem tiefschürfende Arbeit über das Wirken
der irofränkischen Mönchsbewegung im Frühmittelalter auf die
Gesellschaft in Europa. Lesenswert ist das Buch schon deshalb, weil
es hilft, unsere eigene Haltung in Bezug auf Mission zu reflektieren.
Peter Aschoff: Licht der Sonne, Glanz des Feuers
Die Spiritualität Irlands entdecken
(Brockhaus Verlag, Edition Aufatmen, 96 S., 4,95)
Das Interesse an irischer - genauer gesagt: keltischer -
Spiritualität hat in den letzten Jahren ständig zugenommen. Seit dem
6. Jahrhundert besitzt das irische Christentum eine einzigartige
Ausstrahlung, die bis zum heutigen Tag und bis in unsere Breiten
spürbar ist. In ihr verbinden sich leidenschaftliche Mission und
Toleranz, soziale Gerechtigkeit und Gebet, bewusste Einsamkeit und
Gastfreundschaft, intensives Gemeinschaftsleben und Liebe zur
Schöpfung. Nicht nur das persönliche geistliche Leben, sondern auch
das der Gemeinde erhält so frische Impulse für einen ungezähmten
Glauben, der sich zu neuen Ufern aufmacht.
_____________________
George G. Hunter: The Celtic Way of Evangelism
(Abingdon, 2000, 16 $)
Celtic Christianity - the form of Christian faith that flourished
among the people of Ireland during the Middle Ages - has gained a
great deal of attention lately. What many contemporary Christians do
not realize is that Celtic Christianity was one of the most
successfully evangelistic branches of the church in history. The
Celtic church converted Ireland from paganism to Christianity in a
remarkably short period, and then proceeded to send missionaries
throughout Europe.
Western Culture and much of the world is today in the same situation
as the environment in which the early Celtic preachers found their
mission fields: unfamiliar with the Christian message, yet
spiritually seeking and open to a vibrant new faith. If we are to
spread the gospel in this culture of secular seekers, we would do
well to learn from the Celts. Their ability to work with the beliefs
of those they evangelized, to adapt worship and church life to the
indigenous patterns they encountered, remains unparalleled in
Christian history.
From the fall of Rome to the rise of Charlemagne- the "dark ages"-
learning, scholarship, and culture disappeared from the European
continent. The great heritage of Western civilization-from the Greek
and Roman classics to Jewish and Christian works-would have been
utterly lost were it not for the holy men and women of the
unconquered Ireland. In this delightful and illuminating look into a
crucial but little-known "hinge" of history, Thomas Cahill takes us
to the "island of saints and scholars," the Ireland of St. Patrick
and the Book of Kells. Here, far from the barbarian despoliton of the
continent, monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, even playfully
preserved the West's written treasury, With the return of stability
in Europe, these Irish scholars were instrumental in spraeading
learning. Thus the Irish not only were conservators of civilization,
but became shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp
on Western culture.
----------------------
Columbans Revolution: Wie irische Mönche Mitteleuropa mit dem
Evangelium erreichten und was wir von ihnen lernen können (Edition
IGW; 90 S.; 9,90)
Eine kurzweilige und trotzdem tiefschürfende Arbeit über das Wirken
der irofränkischen Mönchsbewegung im Frühmittelalter auf die
Gesellschaft in Europa. Lesenswert ist das Buch schon deshalb, weil
es hilft, unsere eigene Haltung in Bezug auf Mission zu reflektieren.
Peter Aschoff: Licht der Sonne, Glanz des Feuers
Die Spiritualität Irlands entdecken
(Brockhaus Verlag, Edition Aufatmen, 96 S., 4,95)
Das Interesse an irischer - genauer gesagt: keltischer -
Spiritualität hat in den letzten Jahren ständig zugenommen. Seit dem
6. Jahrhundert besitzt das irische Christentum eine einzigartige
Ausstrahlung, die bis zum heutigen Tag und bis in unsere Breiten
spürbar ist. In ihr verbinden sich leidenschaftliche Mission und
Toleranz, soziale Gerechtigkeit und Gebet, bewusste Einsamkeit und
Gastfreundschaft, intensives Gemeinschaftsleben und Liebe zur
Schöpfung. Nicht nur das persönliche geistliche Leben, sondern auch
das der Gemeinde erhält so frische Impulse für einen ungezähmten
Glauben, der sich zu neuen Ufern aufmacht.
_____________________
George G. Hunter: The Celtic Way of Evangelism
(Abingdon, 2000, 16 $)
Celtic Christianity - the form of Christian faith that flourished
among the people of Ireland during the Middle Ages - has gained a
great deal of attention lately. What many contemporary Christians do
not realize is that Celtic Christianity was one of the most
successfully evangelistic branches of the church in history. The
Celtic church converted Ireland from paganism to Christianity in a
remarkably short period, and then proceeded to send missionaries
throughout Europe.
Western Culture and much of the world is today in the same situation
as the environment in which the early Celtic preachers found their
mission fields: unfamiliar with the Christian message, yet
spiritually seeking and open to a vibrant new faith. If we are to
spread the gospel in this culture of secular seekers, we would do
well to learn from the Celts. Their ability to work with the beliefs
of those they evangelized, to adapt worship and church life to the
indigenous patterns they encountered, remains unparalleled in
Christian history.
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