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A Single Ray of the Sun: Religious Speculation in Early ireland
This small volume aims to present the main themes of the early Irish church in an accessible manner to the scholar and the uninitiated alike. Carey avoids technical terms and effectively illustrates how the peculiarities and mysteries of Irish Christiantity enriched the rest of Christendom.
123 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 2, 2023
With tantalizing titles — “The Baptism of the Gods”, “The Ecology of Miracles”, and “The Resurrection of the World” — these three short essays point to the possibility of an expansive worldview in medieval Ireland, at least for some thinkers, underpinned by a theological richness that goes deeper than some contemporary “Celtic” writing, for all its longing for the golden age. The language is clear, direct, and accessible to non-academics, e.g. “Any wizard can defy nature: only the miracle-worker can accomplish wonders in sympathy with it.”
I especially appreciated Professor Carey’s inclusion of the original Old Irish and Latin texts, along with his English translations, allowing those of us with interest in the old languages to pick out significant words here and there.
I especially appreciated Professor Carey’s inclusion of the original Old Irish and Latin texts, along with his English translations, allowing those of us with interest in the old languages to pick out significant words here and there.
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August 24, 2015You know you're truly bored when you decide to do some reading for your dissertation...
But hey, it needed doing. And this book was a good one to start with, because it's nice and thin. The first essay was SO USEFUL and I took like 2000 words of notes; to the relief of my overstrained wrists, the other two were less relevant, so while I picked out a few good ideas from them, I didn't take nearly as many notes.
I like John Carey. His style isn't nearly as obtuse as a lot of academics', and he makes interesting points.
But hey, it needed doing. And this book was a good one to start with, because it's nice and thin. The first essay was SO USEFUL and I took like 2000 words of notes; to the relief of my overstrained wrists, the other two were less relevant, so while I picked out a few good ideas from them, I didn't take nearly as many notes.
I like John Carey. His style isn't nearly as obtuse as a lot of academics', and he makes interesting points.
October 21, 2020
Good. Read it in a day. Very readable. Love the random bits where Carey starts roasting "technocrats" in comparison to the miracles of St Patrick. V interesting ideas in here. Idk how much of it is generally agreed with today but meh. Suppose I'll find out.
May 30, 2026
As Callimachus says: “big book, big bore”, yet this is the rare book I wish were much longer.
The first two essays are fascinating, answering most of the questions I had before I started, but leaving me with about ten times more.
The extent of the baptism of pagan Irish culture is unparalleled in Christian history, creating a composite society that seemingly maintained almost every aspect of its pre-Christian heritage while remaining wholly Christian. The Irish pagan gods are striking in their similarity to Greek and Roman deities – they dwell on the earth but in areas removed from humanity, controlling the weather, the crops, and intervening in battle.
However, unlike the baptism of the Roman Empire, where pagan deities were dismissed as demonic or euhemerised, the Irish seem not to be fully content with these solutions, instead devising explanations for their old gods which enable them to keep their powers, capacities, immortality, and their goodness (or at least non-evilness). The old pantheon is preserved by categorising the deities as “neutral angels” exiled from heaven, or as an ancient advanced race that had developed a near mastery of nature.
While I expect this approach would have been strongly rejected by reformed theologians, it does mesh interestingly with Lewis’s comments on fairies, nymphs, and spirits in The Discarded Image.
In the second chapter Carey covers miracles, particularly the idea that evil can work miracles to defy nature, but “only the true miracle-worker can accomplish wonders in sympathy with it”. Augustinus Hibernicus writes that God does not use miracles to defy the nature of a thing - stones cannot be rightly turned into bread because it would violate the boundaries of nature, but sweetening bitter waters does not. Augustinus does not seek, as many in the modern era do, to remove all wonder from miracles by reducing them to mere science. Instead, he honours the Creator by showing that miracles are performed in accordance with the created order, rather than as blips in an otherwise constant world, as they sometimes may appear to us.
The first two essays are fascinating, answering most of the questions I had before I started, but leaving me with about ten times more.
The extent of the baptism of pagan Irish culture is unparalleled in Christian history, creating a composite society that seemingly maintained almost every aspect of its pre-Christian heritage while remaining wholly Christian. The Irish pagan gods are striking in their similarity to Greek and Roman deities – they dwell on the earth but in areas removed from humanity, controlling the weather, the crops, and intervening in battle.
However, unlike the baptism of the Roman Empire, where pagan deities were dismissed as demonic or euhemerised, the Irish seem not to be fully content with these solutions, instead devising explanations for their old gods which enable them to keep their powers, capacities, immortality, and their goodness (or at least non-evilness). The old pantheon is preserved by categorising the deities as “neutral angels” exiled from heaven, or as an ancient advanced race that had developed a near mastery of nature.
While I expect this approach would have been strongly rejected by reformed theologians, it does mesh interestingly with Lewis’s comments on fairies, nymphs, and spirits in The Discarded Image.
In the second chapter Carey covers miracles, particularly the idea that evil can work miracles to defy nature, but “only the true miracle-worker can accomplish wonders in sympathy with it”. Augustinus Hibernicus writes that God does not use miracles to defy the nature of a thing - stones cannot be rightly turned into bread because it would violate the boundaries of nature, but sweetening bitter waters does not. Augustinus does not seek, as many in the modern era do, to remove all wonder from miracles by reducing them to mere science. Instead, he honours the Creator by showing that miracles are performed in accordance with the created order, rather than as blips in an otherwise constant world, as they sometimes may appear to us.
April 14, 2026
The first essay “The Baptism of the Gods” was incredible - I wish it was longer, and that the rest of the book stayed on a similar line of thought.
The other two essays were alright; moderately interesting, and worth skimming over.
But for a book subtitled “religious speculation in early Ireland” there was very little speculation. Again, I wish he was more daring in discussing what early Irish religion might’ve looked like - he hinted at it a few times, but I wanted more dammit!
The other two essays were alright; moderately interesting, and worth skimming over.
But for a book subtitled “religious speculation in early Ireland” there was very little speculation. Again, I wish he was more daring in discussing what early Irish religion might’ve looked like - he hinted at it a few times, but I wanted more dammit!
July 23, 2015
Three thoughtful, well researched, superbly presented essays on a cohesive early Irish theology. Essays include: (1) The Baptism of the Gods; (2) The Ecology of Miracles; (3) The Resurrection of the World.
February 22, 2015
I really loved these three essays. They are about early Christianity in Ireland but the pagan can also glean a lot from them.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews