¤[Theme music]¤
00:01:30.05\00:01:40.10
¤[Theme music]¤
00:01:40.10\00:01:47.30
>>John: This is It Is
Written. I'm John Bradshaw.
00:01:49.04\00:01:51.94
Thanks for joining me.
00:01:51.97\00:01:53.24
He's one of the
least-known well-known people
00:01:53.27\00:01:56.14
in all of history.
00:01:56.18\00:01:57.85
On a certain date every year,
00:01:57.88\00:01:59.38
people all around
the world celebrate him,
00:01:59.41\00:02:02.08
without knowing much
of anything about him.
00:02:02.12\00:02:05.15
Here in Ireland, St.
Patrick's Day is huge.
00:02:05.19\00:02:10.39
It's a national
holiday in Ireland.
00:02:10.43\00:02:12.13
On St. Patrick's
Day people wear green,
00:02:12.16\00:02:14.20
and there are often parades and
other celebrations conducted.
00:02:14.23\00:02:18.30
It was in the 17th century
that the Roman Catholic Church
00:02:18.33\00:02:21.30
set aside March 17 as a day
of celebration and remembrance.
00:02:21.34\00:02:26.61
In recent decades, Ireland
has been a land of religious
00:02:26.64\00:02:30.28
and political
tension over the question
00:02:30.31\00:02:32.98
of who should
control Northern Ireland:
00:02:33.01\00:02:36.22
the Irish or Great Britain.
00:02:36.25\00:02:38.82
The dispute goes back
many hundreds of years.
00:02:38.85\00:02:41.62
¤[Bagpipes]¤
00:02:41.66\00:02:48.16
In the 1960s, the Troubles
began in Northern Ireland.
00:02:48.20\00:02:52.33
It was a period marked
by violent clashes between
00:02:52.37\00:02:55.60
unionists and republicans;
00:02:55.64\00:02:58.24
basically, between
Protestants and Catholics.
00:02:58.27\00:03:02.04
More than 3,200 people died
00:03:04.98\00:03:07.68
during the 30
years of the Troubles.
00:03:07.72\00:03:10.15
There were thousands of bombings
00:03:10.19\00:03:12.25
and tens of
thousands of shootings.
00:03:12.29\00:03:14.72
Men like Bobby Sands
are still revered by many
00:03:14.76\00:03:17.93
here in Ireland.
00:03:17.96\00:03:19.49
Sands died in the
notorious Maze Prison
00:03:19.53\00:03:22.26
just outside Belfast,
00:03:22.30\00:03:24.17
following a 66-day-long
hunger strike in 1981.
00:03:24.20\00:03:28.77
In all, ten men died
during that hunger strike,
00:03:28.80\00:03:32.61
men who were committed to
the idea of a united Ireland
00:03:32.64\00:03:36.44
and wanted to
see Northern Ireland
00:03:36.48\00:03:38.48
wrested out of the
control of the British.
00:03:38.51\00:03:40.58
¤[Music]¤
00:03:40.62\00:03:47.06
The tension began to
ease following an agreement
00:03:47.09\00:03:49.72
that was signed in
Belfast on Good Friday of 1998.
00:03:49.76\00:03:54.86
But religious tension goes
back much further in Ireland.
00:03:54.93\00:03:58.97
And the man responsible
for radical religious change
00:03:59.00\00:04:02.10
among the Irish,
00:04:02.14\00:04:03.30
the man responsible for
the Christian evangelization
00:04:03.34\00:04:05.77
of the British Isles,
00:04:05.81\00:04:07.31
is celebrated all
around the world today.
00:04:07.34\00:04:09.91
¤[Music]¤
00:04:09.94\00:04:16.45
During his lifetime, Patrick
was considered a troublemaker.
00:04:16.48\00:04:19.65
He was a disturber of the peace.
00:04:19.69\00:04:21.56
Today, you might call him
a religious lightning rod.
00:04:21.59\00:04:25.43
And there's one
thing Patrick wasn't.
00:04:25.46\00:04:27.96
He wasn't Irish.
00:04:27.96\00:04:30.47
He was born in the year
385 A.D. or thereabouts,
00:04:30.50\00:04:34.64
and he died around 461 A.D.
00:04:34.67\00:04:38.27
At that time, the
British Isles were pagan.
00:04:38.31\00:04:41.78
They were
dominated by the culture
00:04:41.81\00:04:43.51
and the religious
practices of the Druids,
00:04:43.55\00:04:46.51
an elite class that had a
direct line to the occult.
00:04:46.55\00:04:50.75
By the time Patrick
came onto the scene,
00:04:50.79\00:04:52.82
druidism was at the
height of its powers.
00:04:52.85\00:04:56.96
Druid literature
speaks of the magical
00:04:56.99\00:05:00.43
and spiritual
training of the Druid,
00:05:00.46\00:05:03.10
in which he is eaten by a
goddess, enters into her belly,
00:05:03.13\00:05:07.30
and is reborn as the
greatest poet in the land.
00:05:07.34\00:05:11.61
Mention of druidism
evokes images of wizardry.
00:05:11.64\00:05:14.91
And the Druids in
Patrick's day were into magic
00:05:14.94\00:05:17.88
and charms and healing powers.
00:05:17.91\00:05:19.81
They foretold the future.
00:05:19.85\00:05:22.08
And they worshipped
the forces of nature.
00:05:22.12\00:05:24.15
They've been referred to as
magico-religious specialists,
00:05:24.19\00:05:28.69
and it's said that
they could call up a storm
00:05:28.72\00:05:32.19
to ward off invaders.
00:05:32.23\00:05:34.56
Now, while most modern scholars
would not agree with this,
00:05:34.60\00:05:38.30
no less a person
than Julius Caesar
00:05:38.33\00:05:40.60
made the claim that the Druids
practiced human sacrifice,
00:05:40.64\00:05:44.97
burning their victims in a
device known as a “wicker man.”
00:05:45.01\00:05:49.18
Caesar also said that
they believed in reincarnation.
00:05:49.21\00:05:52.61
Modern scholars
say that the Druids
00:05:52.65\00:05:54.48
were essentially
shaman, spiritualists.
00:05:54.52\00:05:58.39
>>Dr. Trim: So the
religious situation in Ireland
00:05:58.42\00:06:00.26
in the 5th century is that it is
the last holdout of the Druids,
00:06:00.29\00:06:04.16
the Druids who had once been the
predominant religious figures
00:06:04.19\00:06:07.46
right across the
British Isles and, indeed,
00:06:07.50\00:06:09.90
the north part of
what we now call France.
00:06:09.93\00:06:12.10
But they had been largely
stamped out by the Romans,
00:06:12.13\00:06:14.44
who found their
religious practices
00:06:14.47\00:06:16.17
such as human
sacrifice objectionable.
00:06:16.20\00:06:18.57
Um, there's very little
evidence of human sacrifice
00:06:18.61\00:06:21.98
being practiced
by Patrick's day,
00:06:22.01\00:06:24.68
but the Druids are there.
00:06:24.71\00:06:25.91
This is a religion
that is really focused on,
00:06:25.95\00:06:28.88
on nature and on spirits.
00:06:28.92\00:06:31.39
Uh, but it is a fairly
sophisticated religion as well.
00:06:31.42\00:06:34.12
They had education;
they were well-educated men
00:06:34.16\00:06:38.16
by the standards of the time.
00:06:38.19\00:06:39.73
And they had reasonably
well worked out cosmology
00:06:39.76\00:06:42.83
and a pantheon of gods.
00:06:42.86\00:06:44.60
Um, but the Druid, druidic
religion, as far as we can tell,
00:06:44.63\00:06:49.30
does seem to be in a little bit
of decline by the 5th century.
00:06:49.34\00:06:52.04
It's past its
heyday, and so, uh,
00:06:52.07\00:06:54.98
there is this
emphasis on spirits.
00:06:55.01\00:06:57.91
Uh, and where therein might
still be some human sacrifice
00:06:57.95\00:07:02.18
is that we know people are
found in the bogs of Ireland,
00:07:02.22\00:07:04.95
in the peat.
00:07:04.99\00:07:06.12
Now, some of them clearly
ended up there accidentally,
00:07:06.15\00:07:08.02
tripped and fell, oh, too bad.
00:07:08.06\00:07:10.09
But others we know, uh,
are offered as sacrifices.
00:07:10.13\00:07:13.83
Because you're
hoping that by doing that,
00:07:13.86\00:07:16.87
you can ensure
you have good weather,
00:07:16.90\00:07:19.27
a good harvest,
00:07:19.30\00:07:20.44
because everything
depends on the harvest,
00:07:20.47\00:07:22.14
and so you want to
appease the natural deities.
00:07:22.17\00:07:25.61
>>John: It was this paganism
that confronted St. Patrick
00:07:26.51\00:07:29.31
during his ministry
to the Irish people.
00:07:29.34\00:07:32.15
Druid magicians hindered the
work Patrick was trying to do.
00:07:32.18\00:07:35.98
The Druids resented Patrick,
00:07:36.02\00:07:37.85
knowing that his ministry
was the beginning of the end
00:07:37.89\00:07:40.62
for druidism.
00:07:40.66\00:07:43.09
Patrick was born in Britain,
00:07:43.12\00:07:44.96
which at the time was
controlled by the Roman Empire.
00:07:44.99\00:07:48.63
Exactly where he was
born no one really knows,
00:07:48.66\00:07:51.37
although it seems likely
that he was born on or near
00:07:51.40\00:07:54.90
England's west coast.
00:07:54.94\00:07:57.41
His family evidently
was reasonably well off.
00:07:57.44\00:07:59.71
Both his father
and his grandfather
00:07:59.74\00:08:01.88
worked in religious service.
00:08:01.91\00:08:03.48
But Patrick, as a young man,
00:08:03.51\00:08:05.71
didn't take
matters of faith seriously.
00:08:05.75\00:08:09.18
When he was 16 years old,
00:08:09.22\00:08:10.89
he was captured by raiders sent
or led by Ireland's King Niall.
00:08:10.92\00:08:16.29
He spent six years
toiling as a shepherd,
00:08:16.32\00:08:19.39
and it was during this
time that he found faith in God
00:08:19.43\00:08:23.70
for himself.
00:08:23.73\00:08:25.07
¤[Music]¤
00:08:25.10\00:08:26.77
God spoke to Patrick and told
him to flee to the Irish coast,
00:08:26.80\00:08:30.84
where he'd find a ship
waiting to take him home.
00:08:30.87\00:08:33.88
So he left his master,
00:08:33.91\00:08:35.44
traveled many miles to a port,
and he found the promised ship.
00:08:35.48\00:08:40.25
He traveled back to England and
made his way back to his family.
00:08:40.28\00:08:43.75
And it was there and then
that he dedicated his life
00:08:43.79\00:08:47.86
to serving God.
00:08:47.89\00:08:50.09
So how did
Patrick, the runaway slave,
00:08:50.13\00:08:53.63
become St. Patrick, known
and loved all the world over?
00:08:53.66\00:08:58.63
And what does Patrick have to do
with the Protestant Reformation?
00:08:58.67\00:09:02.54
I'll tell you
more in just a moment.
00:09:02.57\00:09:04.97
¤[Music]¤
00:09:05.01\00:09:09.74
>>John: We look around the
world and it appears this planet
00:09:11.41\00:09:13.62
is spinning out of
control in many ways.
00:09:13.65\00:09:16.65
The world of today is a far
cry from the world of yesterday.
00:09:16.69\00:09:20.02
Is there hope?
00:09:20.06\00:09:21.26
Yes, there is.
00:09:21.29\00:09:22.39
Our free offer today is
"Hope for a Planet in Crisis."
00:09:22.42\00:09:26.16
Call us on (800) 253-3000,
00:09:26.19\00:09:29.23
or visit us online
at www.itiswritten.com.
00:09:29.26\00:09:34.37
Or you can write to
the address on your screen.
00:09:34.40\00:09:36.97
I'd like you to
receive our free offer,
00:09:37.01\00:09:38.94
"Hope for a Planet in Crisis."
00:09:38.97\00:09:40.88
[Cricketts chirping]
00:09:41.81\00:09:45.88
¤[Music]¤
00:09:45.91\00:09:53.92
[Camera equipment rattling]
00:09:53.96\00:09:56.39
[Rustling in bushes]
00:09:56.42\00:09:59.13
[People talking]
00:09:59.16\00:10:01.50
[Wind blowing]
00:10:01.53\00:10:06.53
¤[Music]¤
00:10:06.57\00:10:16.61
¤[Music]¤
00:10:16.61\00:10:26.39
[Cheering]
00:10:26.42\00:10:34.23
¤[Music]¤
00:10:36.10\00:10:48.71
¤[Irish music]¤
00:10:49.44\00:10:56.02
>>John: Thanks for joining
me today on It Is Written.
00:10:56.05\00:10:58.72
He's known all around the world,
00:10:58.75\00:11:00.49
and he's celebrated
every March the 17th.
00:11:00.52\00:11:03.59
But who was St. Patrick,
00:11:03.63\00:11:05.66
and what did he do
that made him a global icon?
00:11:05.69\00:11:09.23
Well, to begin with, he
wasn't Irish; he was English.
00:11:09.26\00:11:13.37
And he wasn't a Roman Catholic.
00:11:13.40\00:11:15.77
The principles that he
lived by and shared with others
00:11:15.80\00:11:18.01
made him a forerunner of
the Protestant Reformation,
00:11:18.04\00:11:20.81
which would occur
many years after he died.
00:11:20.84\00:11:23.48
He was taken from
his home in England
00:11:23.51\00:11:25.41
by Irish raiders
when he was a boy,
00:11:25.45\00:11:27.68
and he was forced
into slavery in Ireland.
00:11:27.72\00:11:31.35
He eventually escaped,
00:11:31.39\00:11:32.82
and he wrote that
after studying in France
00:11:32.85\00:11:35.19
and returning to
his home in England,
00:11:35.22\00:11:37.89
he had a vision,
00:11:37.93\00:11:39.36
not unlike a vision
Paul had in the book of Acts.
00:11:39.39\00:11:43.30
“I saw a man coming,
as it were from Ireland.
00:11:43.33\00:11:47.04
His name was Victoricus,
and he carried many letters,
00:11:47.07\00:11:51.61
and he gave me one of them.
00:11:51.64\00:11:53.41
I read the headling:
‘The Voice of the Irish.'
00:11:53.44\00:11:57.05
As I began the letter,
00:11:57.08\00:11:58.78
I imagined in that
moment that I heard the voice
00:11:58.81\00:12:01.68
of those very people who
were near the wood of Foclut,
00:12:01.72\00:12:05.42
which is beside the western sea,
00:12:05.45\00:12:07.79
and they cried
out, as with one voice,
00:12:07.82\00:12:10.56
‘We appeal to
you, holy servant boy,
00:12:10.59\00:12:13.03
to come and walk among us.'”
00:12:13.06\00:12:16.73
Eventually, Patrick
acted on the vision he received
00:12:16.77\00:12:19.80
and returned to Ireland
to work as a missionary.
00:12:19.83\00:12:23.34
He landed at the same port from
which he had escaped Ireland,
00:12:23.37\00:12:27.34
and began his ministry in
Tara, just north of Dublin,
00:12:27.38\00:12:31.41
in what today is
the Republic of Ireland.
00:12:31.45\00:12:34.18
And before long, the
son of a powerful chieftain
00:12:34.22\00:12:36.42
in the north of
Ireland was converted
00:12:36.45\00:12:38.92
and joined
Patrick's missionary team.
00:12:38.95\00:12:41.49
Thousands were baptized,
00:12:41.52\00:12:43.12
among them many who
were wealthy and influential.
00:12:43.16\00:12:46.93
Patrick ordained
pastors throughout the island
00:12:46.96\00:12:49.13
to shepherd these new
Christian communities.
00:12:49.16\00:12:52.00
Here's what he said
about the new Irish believers:
00:12:52.03\00:12:55.47
“Never before
did they know of God
00:12:55.50\00:12:57.31
except to serve
idols and unclean things.
00:12:57.34\00:13:01.21
But now, they've 
become the people of the Lord,
00:13:01.24\00:13:04.18
and are called children of God.
00:13:04.21\00:13:07.55
The sons and daughters
of the leaders of the Irish
00:13:07.58\00:13:10.49
are seen to be monks
and virgins of Christ.”
00:13:10.52\00:13:14.46
There's plenty said
about Patrick's life
00:13:14.49\00:13:16.89
that's nothing more than legend.
00:13:16.93\00:13:19.33
No, he didn't chase all
the snakes out of Ireland.
00:13:19.36\00:13:23.13
There'd never been any snakes
in Ireland in the first place.
00:13:23.16\00:13:26.40
They certainly didn't attack him
00:13:26.43\00:13:27.84
after he had fasted for 40 days.
00:13:27.87\00:13:30.51
His walking stick
did not grow into a tree.
00:13:30.54\00:13:34.61
And he never used the
shamrock to teach the Irish
00:13:34.64\00:13:37.28
about the trinity.
00:13:37.31\00:13:39.71
Patrick sailed from near
Drogheda to just outside Belfast
00:13:39.75\00:13:44.15
where he began
sharing the gospel with people
00:13:44.19\00:13:46.15
who for the most part
had zero working knowledge
00:13:46.19\00:13:49.36
of the plan of salvation.
00:13:49.39\00:13:51.09
Now, Patrick wasn't the
first missionary to Ireland,
00:13:51.13\00:13:54.20
but he was the first to gain
any real traction and establish
00:13:54.23\00:13:57.77
an effective, far-reaching work.
00:13:57.80\00:14:01.20
So what was it that drove
00:14:01.24\00:14:03.17
this Bible-believing
missionary forward?
00:14:03.20\00:14:05.84
As the church lost
its focus on the Bible,
00:14:05.87\00:14:09.24
its increasing popularity
within the Roman Empire
00:14:09.28\00:14:11.98
caused it to compromise
its faith and witness.
00:14:12.01\00:14:15.78
However, there were
many Christians who put up
00:14:15.82\00:14:18.45
strong resistance to this new
alliance of church and state.
00:14:18.49\00:14:23.69
During these centuries, the
Celtic Christians set a pattern
00:14:23.73\00:14:27.60
of independence
from the church of Rome.
00:14:27.66\00:14:30.57
Like the reformers
which would follow them later,
00:14:30.60\00:14:33.34
they held to the
Bible as their exclusive
00:14:33.37\00:14:36.17
and supreme spiritual authority.
00:14:36.20\00:14:39.17
Historians had this
to say about Patrick:
00:14:39.21\00:14:42.28
“He never mentions
either Rome or the pope
00:14:42.31\00:14:44.95
or hints that he
was in any way connected
00:14:44.98\00:14:47.22
with the
ecclesiastical capital of Italy.
00:14:47.25\00:14:50.62
He recognizes no other authority
but that of the Word of God.
00:14:50.65\00:14:55.29
If he were sent by Celestine
to the native Christians
00:14:55.32\00:14:58.06
to be their
primate or archbishop,
00:14:58.09\00:15:00.50
no wonder that stout-hearted
Patrick refused to bow his neck
00:15:00.53\00:15:04.50
to any such yoke of bondage.
00:15:04.53\00:15:08.17
There is strong
evidence that Patrick had no
00:15:08.20\00:15:10.31
Roman commission in Ireland,
Patrick's churches in Ireland,
00:15:10.34\00:15:14.11
like their brethren in Britain,
00:15:14.14\00:15:16.14
repudiated the
supremacy of the popes,
00:15:16.18\00:15:19.31
all knowledge of the conversion
of Ireland through his ministry
00:15:19.35\00:15:21.95
must be suppressed.
00:15:21.98\00:15:24.15
There is not a
written word from one of them
00:15:24.19\00:15:25.95
rejoicing over Patrick's
additions to their church,
00:15:25.99\00:15:29.16
showing clearly that he
was not a Roman missionary.”
00:15:29.19\00:15:33.06
>>Dr. Trim: In the 5th century
there is only one church.
00:15:33.09\00:15:36.30
Uh, and there's
still a connection between
00:15:36.33\00:15:38.50
Britain and Rome.
00:15:38.53\00:15:39.70
It's in the middle 5th
century that that gets severed,
00:15:39.73\00:15:41.90
and the British Isles gets
cut off from the Roman Empire.
00:15:41.94\00:15:45.47
Um, but at that point
here is still one church,
00:15:45.51\00:15:47.64
and Patrick is a member of it,
00:15:47.68\00:15:49.24
from all the
evidence we have, um,
00:15:49.28\00:15:52.08
and we know that
that church actually sent,
00:15:52.11\00:15:54.28
sent Germanus to Britain in
429, and one of his colleagues,
00:15:54.32\00:15:58.52
Palladius, is believed
to have gone to Ireland.
00:15:58.55\00:16:01.52
Um, but he seems to
have minimal impact.
00:16:01.56\00:16:03.83
But that's the
church that they're part of.
00:16:03.86\00:16:05.46
But it's really the inheritance
of the primitive church
00:16:05.49\00:16:08.33
of Christ's day.
00:16:08.36\00:16:09.90
Um, if we say
the Catholic Church,
00:16:09.93\00:16:12.67
then people
think of St. Peter's,
00:16:12.70\00:16:14.64
and a whole series of things
00:16:14.67\00:16:17.24
which just don't
exist in the 5th century.
00:16:17.27\00:16:20.71
So to, you know, the
danger of saying that he's
00:16:20.74\00:16:23.98
a Roman Catholic missionary,
it's true in one sense,
00:16:24.01\00:16:27.35
but it's not true in another,
00:16:27.38\00:16:29.35
because it's, it, there
just isn't a church like,
00:16:29.38\00:16:33.52
called the
Roman Catholic Church.
00:16:33.56\00:16:34.86
There is the one
church, which is called Catholic
00:16:34.89\00:16:38.76
at the time to
distinguish it from Arians,
00:16:38.79\00:16:40.90
uh, who don't believe in
the full divinity of Christ.
00:16:40.93\00:16:44.20
That's what Catholic
means in the 5th century;
00:16:44.23\00:16:46.97
it means somebody who
is an orthodox Christian
00:16:47.00\00:16:49.54
on the Trinity.
00:16:49.57\00:16:50.77
And Patrick is definitely that.
00:16:50.81\00:16:53.84
So what we know about Patrick
comes largely from his writings.
00:16:53.88\00:17:00.38
There are stories,
00:17:00.42\00:17:01.52
but most of them were
written down in the 7th century.
00:17:01.55\00:17:04.32
So 200 years after he died.
00:17:04.35\00:17:06.25
So there's probably some
grains of truth left in them,
00:17:06.29\00:17:10.76
but a lot of exaggeration.
00:17:10.79\00:17:12.96
To judge from his own writings,
he's a relatively simple,
00:17:12.99\00:17:16.36
uh, Christian.
00:17:16.40\00:17:17.33
His theology is, is
relatively simplistic.
00:17:17.37\00:17:20.77
And that's not a
criticism; far from it.
00:17:20.80\00:17:23.47
Uh, he's definitely trinitarian;
he believes very strongly,
00:17:23.51\00:17:27.51
uh, in God the Father, God
the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
00:17:27.54\00:17:30.48
and he's very focused on Christ.
00:17:30.51\00:17:31.91
But he has a simple message,
00:17:31.95\00:17:33.08
and he has a burning passion
for the people of Ireland,
00:17:33.11\00:17:36.69
who had enslaved him as a youth.
00:17:36.72\00:17:39.65
But even after he
was free, he recognized,
00:17:39.69\00:17:41.66
these people are
lost in superstition
00:17:41.69\00:17:44.36
and I have good news for them.
00:17:44.39\00:17:45.89
¤[Music]¤
00:17:45.93\00:17:47.10
A century after Patrick,
00:17:47.13\00:17:48.96
the Church of
Rome launched an attack
00:17:49.00\00:17:50.93
on the Celtic
communities of Western Europe,
00:17:50.97\00:17:54.07
because the Irish customs of
the Celtic church were at odds
00:17:54.10\00:17:57.37
with the customs sanctioned
by the Bishop of Rome,
00:17:57.41\00:18:00.14
who by now had become
a very powerful figure.
00:18:00.18\00:18:03.14
But Patrick wasn't the only one
00:18:03.18\00:18:05.48
who was reaching the
world with the gospel.
00:18:05.51\00:18:08.08
After Patrick, there was Aidan,
00:18:08.12\00:18:10.62
who as a
missionary went to England
00:18:10.65\00:18:12.72
and reached not
only the high nobility,
00:18:12.75\00:18:15.56
but also children and slaves.
00:18:15.59\00:18:17.39
And he traveled extensively.
00:18:17.43\00:18:19.43
Like Patrick,
00:18:19.46\00:18:20.43
he wasn't affiliated
with the Roman church.
00:18:20.46\00:18:23.53
Aidan established a cathedral
00:18:23.57\00:18:25.47
off the
northeastern coast of England
00:18:25.50\00:18:27.17
on the island of Lindisfarne,
00:18:27.20\00:18:29.34
and from there he was
greatly influential in reaching
00:18:29.37\00:18:32.64
great numbers of
people for Christ,
00:18:32.67\00:18:34.21
especially in the
region of Northumbria.
00:18:34.24\00:18:38.11
And there was
another who reached
00:18:38.15\00:18:40.48
not only the British Isles,
00:18:40.52\00:18:42.12
but who impacted the world
with the message of the gospel.
00:18:42.15\00:18:46.79
He was from this
island of Ireland,
00:18:46.82\00:18:49.26
and I'll tell you who
he was in just a moment.
00:18:49.29\00:18:52.16
¤[Music]¤
00:18:52.19\00:18:56.33
>>Announcer: Planning
for your financial future
00:18:59.80\00:19:01.60
is a vital aspect of
Christian stewardship.
00:19:01.64\00:19:05.44
For this reason, It Is
Written is pleased to offer
00:19:05.47\00:19:08.21
free planned giving
and estate services.
00:19:08.24\00:19:11.08
For information on
how we can help you,
00:19:11.11\00:19:13.38
please call 800-992-2219.
00:19:13.42\00:19:18.12
Call today, or
visit our website,
00:19:18.15\00:19:20.39
HisLegacy.com.
00:19:20.42\00:19:22.62
Call 800-992-2219.
00:19:22.66\00:19:27.36
>>John: Today I'd like to
ask you to help It Is Written
00:19:33.03\00:19:35.37
open the eyes of the blind.
00:19:35.40\00:19:37.87
India as more blind people
than any country on earth.
00:19:37.91\00:19:41.01
But simple cataract
surgery can make the difference
00:19:41.04\00:19:43.61
between seeing and not
seeing for many people.
00:19:43.65\00:19:47.48
Eyes for India is a
project that's providing
00:19:47.52\00:19:49.82
cataract surgery for
people in desperate need
00:19:49.85\00:19:52.59
of the gift of sight.
00:19:52.62\00:19:54.26
Please help today.
00:19:54.29\00:19:55.49
Call 800-253-3000.
00:19:55.52\00:19:59.16
Eyes for India and It Is Written
are doing the work of Jesus
00:19:59.19\00:20:02.76
in opening the eyes of
the blind and opening hearts
00:20:02.80\00:20:06.47
to the love of God.
00:20:06.50\00:20:08.17
You can also donate
online at ItIsWritten.com.
00:20:08.20\00:20:12.41
Please call 800-253-3000,
00:20:12.44\00:20:15.88
or write to P O Box 6,
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37401.
00:20:15.91\00:20:21.78
Or visit ItIsWritten.com.
00:20:21.82\00:20:27.86
¤[Irish music]¤
00:20:28.16\00:20:36.60
>>John: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
00:20:36.63\00:20:39.40
Right here on this very
spot in Belfast, Ireland,
00:20:39.43\00:20:42.50
there was a hive of activity
a little over 100 years ago.
00:20:42.54\00:20:46.31
Right here is where
the Titanic was built.
00:20:46.34\00:20:49.51
Not only the
Titanic, but its sister ships,
00:20:49.54\00:20:51.65
the Olympic and the Britannic.
00:20:51.68\00:20:53.95
Thousands of workers
labored on this very spot.
00:20:53.98\00:20:56.92
What happened here then
dominated not only this city,
00:20:56.95\00:21:00.66
but went on to impact the world.
00:21:00.69\00:21:03.73
Somebody else
labored here in Ireland
00:21:03.76\00:21:06.09
whose work impacted the world,
00:21:06.13\00:21:07.96
and that was Patrick.
00:21:07.96\00:21:09.73
Patrick was a
dynamic Christian missionary,
00:21:09.76\00:21:12.77
and from Ireland his influence
spread to impact Christians
00:21:12.80\00:21:16.94
and Christianity
all around the world.
00:21:16.97\00:21:20.18
In the time of Patrick,
the church was dominated
00:21:20.21\00:21:22.88
by the popes of Rome,
00:21:22.91\00:21:24.65
and they were not too keen
with what Patrick was doing.
00:21:24.68\00:21:27.68
They saw it as a direct
threat against their authority,
00:21:27.72\00:21:30.79
and they were
committed to getting rid
00:21:30.82\00:21:32.15
of the distinctive
Irish religious practices.
00:21:32.19\00:21:35.96
But it wasn't only
Patrick that impacted the world
00:21:35.99\00:21:39.03
in those days.
00:21:39.06\00:21:40.16
Aidan was an Irish missionary
who traveled to England
00:21:40.20\00:21:44.17
and won many there
to faith in Christ.
00:21:44.20\00:21:47.50
He was sent from the
remote Scottish island of Iona,
00:21:47.54\00:21:51.61
where a
missionary training center
00:21:51.64\00:21:53.14
had been established by
another Irish evangelist,
00:21:53.17\00:21:56.85
a man by the name of Columba.
00:21:56.88\00:22:00.12
Today, Columba is remembered
00:22:00.15\00:22:01.75
as one of the three
chief saints of Ireland,
00:22:01.78\00:22:04.82
along with Patrick
and Brigit of Kildare.
00:22:04.85\00:22:08.32
He was born in Donegal,
in the northwest of Ireland,
00:22:08.36\00:22:11.49
in the year 521.
00:22:11.53\00:22:14.00
When he was about 40 years old
00:22:14.03\00:22:15.50
he set off with several
others to evangelize the Picts.
00:22:15.53\00:22:19.67
He traveled 100 miles to
Iona and built a monastery,
00:22:19.70\00:22:24.54
not as a retreat, but as a
missionary training center.
00:22:24.57\00:22:28.61
The Venerable Bede, the
influential writer and scholar,
00:22:28.64\00:22:32.21
said that Columba “converted the
nation to the faith of Christ,
00:22:32.25\00:22:36.22
by preaching and example.”
00:22:36.25\00:22:39.05
As well as being an
evangelist and a missionary,
00:22:39.09\00:22:41.02
there was something
else that set Columba apart.
00:22:41.06\00:22:44.26
In contrast with
the Church of Rome,
00:22:44.29\00:22:47.13
he observed the
Sabbath on Saturday,
00:22:47.13\00:22:49.80
the seventh day of the week.
00:22:49.83\00:22:51.90
There's no evidence he
ever kept Sunday as the Sabbath.
00:22:51.93\00:22:55.80
Dr. Leslie Hardinge examined
every primary source connected
00:22:55.84\00:22:59.17
with the Celtic church,
00:22:59.21\00:23:00.91
and confirmed this
Celtic-Sabbath connection.
00:23:00.94\00:23:04.75
Just before he
died, Columba said,
00:23:04.78\00:23:07.35
“This day is called in
the sacred books ‘Sabbath,'
00:23:07.38\00:23:11.52
which is interpreted ‘rest.'
00:23:11.55\00:23:13.29
And truly this day
is for me a Sabbath,
00:23:13.32\00:23:17.43
because it is my last day
of this present laborious life.
00:23:17.46\00:23:21.56
In it after my
toilsome labors I keep Sabbath.
00:23:21.60\00:23:26.87
One historian wrote,
00:23:26.90\00:23:28.57
“We find traces in the early
monastic churches of Ireland
00:23:28.60\00:23:32.21
that they held
Saturday to be the Sabbath
00:23:32.24\00:23:34.98
on which they rested
from all their labors.”
00:23:35.01\00:23:39.28
Later, in the 11th century,
Queen Margaret of Scotland
00:23:39.31\00:23:42.75
said this about
Scottish Christians.
00:23:42.78\00:23:44.99
She said, “They work on Sunday,
00:23:45.02\00:23:47.22
but they keep Saturday
after a sabbatical manner.”
00:23:47.26\00:23:51.13
But Queen Margaret,
00:23:51.16\00:23:52.09
later Saint Margaret
in the Catholic Church,
00:23:52.13\00:23:54.60
was committed to
eradicated Sabbath worship
00:23:54.63\00:23:58.10
and replacing it
instead with worship on Sunday.
00:23:58.13\00:24:01.97
The Roman Emperor Constantine,
00:24:02.00\00:24:03.91
who was a pagan sun worshipper
00:24:03.94\00:24:05.97
before his nominal
conversion to Christianity,
00:24:06.01\00:24:09.71
was the first to
degree Sunday worship,
00:24:09.74\00:24:12.68
and he did it
before Patrick's time.
00:24:12.71\00:24:15.18
But the Irish Christians
were not bound by Roman decrees.
00:24:15.22\00:24:21.12
One thousand years
before the beginning
00:24:21.16\00:24:23.22
of the Protestant Reformation,
Patrick was a nonconformist.
00:24:23.26\00:24:27.46
Before there was a reformation,
00:24:27.50\00:24:29.33
Patrick was a Protestant.
00:24:29.36\00:24:33.13
In this way, the
Celtic church formed part of
00:24:33.17\00:24:36.10
what the Bible refers to as
the “Church in the Wilderness”
00:24:36.14\00:24:39.34
during the Middle Ages.
00:24:39.37\00:24:41.14
John wrote about this time of
exile for Christian believers.
00:24:41.18\00:24:44.11
He said in
Revelation 12 and verse 6,
00:24:44.15\00:24:46.92
“And the woman,”
that's the church,
00:24:46.95\00:24:48.88
“fled into the wilderness,
00:24:48.92\00:24:50.55
where she has a
place prepared by God.”
00:24:50.59\00:24:53.82
The Albigenses
of southern France,
00:24:53.86\00:24:55.72
the Waldenses of
Italy and the Alps,
00:24:55.76\00:24:57.83
and others like them,
00:24:57.86\00:24:59.36
chose to base
their faith on the Bible,
00:24:59.39\00:25:01.93
rather than lining up
behind a church that was placing
00:25:01.96\00:25:04.27
such a strong
emphasis on tradition.
00:25:04.30\00:25:06.77
They kept the torch of Christian
faith shining brightly in an era
00:25:06.80\00:25:11.01
of what was some pretty
considerable spiritual darkness.
00:25:11.04\00:25:14.28
¤[Music]¤
00:25:14.31\00:25:18.25
Unfortunately, the Christians
of Ireland and Scotland
00:25:18.28\00:25:21.88
didn't maintain their
religious freedom indefinitely.
00:25:21.92\00:25:25.49
In time, new rulers came
to power in both countries
00:25:25.52\00:25:28.99
who submitted the practices
of both church and state
00:25:29.02\00:25:31.89
to the rule of
the Catholic Church.
00:25:31.93\00:25:34.93
But the legacy of
the Celtic church,
00:25:34.96\00:25:37.17
and Patrick in particular,
was destined to live on.
00:25:37.20\00:25:41.87
The spirit of
independence from Rome
00:25:41.90\00:25:44.31
was nurtured by the
original British church.
00:25:44.34\00:25:47.74
Submission to rules of any
sort on the European continent,
00:25:47.78\00:25:50.65
ecclesiastical or political,
00:25:50.68\00:25:52.78
didn't come easy to
the British or the Irish.
00:25:52.81\00:25:54.58
¤[bagpipes]¤
00:25:54.62\00:25:55.68
When King Henry the Eighth
00:25:55.72\00:25:57.32
declared England
free from the Roman church
00:25:57.35\00:26:00.19
and established the Church of
England, or the Anglican Church,
00:26:00.22\00:26:04.16
he was simply enshrining in
law what in millions of English
00:26:04.19\00:26:07.86
minds had been
true for centuries.
00:26:07.86\00:26:10.67
Speaking prophetically of this
time, the prophet Daniel wrote
00:26:10.70\00:26:13.34
in Daniel 11:32 and 33,
00:26:13.37\00:26:15.77
“The people who know
their God shall be strong
00:26:15.80\00:26:18.67
and carry out great exploits.
00:26:18.71\00:26:21.14
And those of the people that
understand shall instruct many.”
00:26:21.18\00:26:25.01
This is the true
legacy of Patrick,
00:26:25.05\00:26:26.92
and of the Celtic church,
00:26:26.95\00:26:29.22
and those heroes of
faith who held the true gospel
00:26:29.25\00:26:33.36
in the centuries
prior to the Reformation.
00:26:33.39\00:26:36.36
Without this gospel
00:26:36.39\00:26:37.56
seed having been sown and
scattered by Patrick and others,
00:26:37.59\00:26:41.66
the Reformation
might never have happened.
00:26:41.70\00:26:45.60
It's said that
Patrick died on March the 17th
00:26:45.63\00:26:48.74
in the year 461 A.D.,
00:26:48.77\00:26:51.14
and that he's buried right
here outside Down Cathedral in
00:26:51.17\00:26:57.21
Downpatrick in northern Ireland,
00:26:57.25\00:26:59.81
alongside Brigid and Columba,
00:26:59.85\00:27:02.88
two other giants
of Irish history.
00:27:02.92\00:27:06.09
The legend of
Patrick lives on here.
00:27:06.12\00:27:08.92
The truth of his life is even
more impressive than the legend.
00:27:08.96\00:27:13.23
¤[Music]¤
00:27:13.26\00:27:17.80
>>John: I'm John
Bradshaw from It Is Written,
00:27:17.83\00:27:20.67
inviting you to join me for 500,
00:27:20.70\00:27:24.34
nine programs
produced by It Is Written
00:27:24.37\00:27:26.61
taking you deep
into the Reformation.
00:27:26.64\00:27:29.78
This is the 500th
anniversary of the beginning
00:27:29.81\00:27:32.81
of the Reformation,
00:27:32.85\00:27:33.88
when Martin Luther
nailed his 95 theses to the door
00:27:33.92\00:27:36.89
of the Castle church
in Wittenburg, Germany.
00:27:36.92\00:27:39.32
We'll take you to
Wittenburg, and to Belgium,
00:27:39.35\00:27:41.52
to England,
00:27:41.56\00:27:42.39
to Ireland,
00:27:42.42\00:27:43.93
to Rome,
00:27:43.96\00:27:44.76
to the Vatican City,
00:27:44.79\00:27:45.99
and introduce you to the people
who created the Reformation,
00:27:46.03\00:27:49.00
who pushed the
Reformation forward.
00:27:49.03\00:27:51.00
We'll take you to
sites all throughout Europe
00:27:51.03\00:27:52.93
where the reformers
lived and, in some cases, died.
00:27:52.97\00:27:55.80
We'll bring you
back to the United States
00:27:55.84\00:27:57.44
and take you to a little
farm in upstate New York,
00:27:57.47\00:28:00.54
and show you how God
spread the Reformation here.
00:28:00.58\00:28:03.55
Don't miss 500.
00:28:03.58\00:28:05.55
You can own the
500 series on DVD.
00:28:05.58\00:28:08.52
Call us on 888-664-5573,
00:28:08.55\00:28:13.25
or visit us online
at itiswritten.shop.
00:28:13.29\00:28:18.13
>>John: Let's pray together.
00:28:19.29\00:28:20.96
Our Father in Heaven,
00:28:21.00\00:28:22.36
I thank you today for
giant figures of history
00:28:22.40\00:28:25.43
who changed the
world for your glory.
00:28:25.47\00:28:28.60
People like Patrick
and Aiden and Columba,
00:28:28.64\00:28:32.47
who shared the
bible with people,
00:28:32.51\00:28:34.38
and urged them to know
Jesus as their personal savior.
00:28:34.41\00:28:38.28
I pray today for us here, now,
00:28:38.31\00:28:41.35
I pray that we too
would hear the voice of Jesus.
00:28:41.38\00:28:44.25
I pray for that one who is
joining me in prayer right now
00:28:44.29\00:28:48.36
who knows that
she or he must give
00:28:48.39\00:28:50.36
her or his heart
to Jesus Christ now.
00:28:50.39\00:28:52.96
Friend, would you do that?
00:28:52.99\00:28:54.63
Would you reach out to Jesus,
00:28:54.66\00:28:55.76
knowing that He's
reaching out to you,
00:28:55.80\00:28:57.77
and claim Him as
your righteousness
00:28:57.80\00:28:59.80
and as your Lord and Savior?
00:28:59.83\00:29:02.90
Father we thank you
today for the scriptures,
00:29:02.94\00:29:05.41
we thank you for your word and
for Jesus the word made flesh.
00:29:05.44\00:29:10.55
And we pray with
faith and thanks,
00:29:10.58\00:29:13.28
In Jesus' name,
00:29:13.31\00:29:15.28
Amen.
00:29:15.32\00:29:16.95
Thanks so much for joining me.
00:29:16.99\00:29:18.32
I'm looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:29:18.35\00:29:20.89
Until then, remember:
00:29:20.92\00:29:22.79
It Is Written.
00:29:22.82\00:29:24.26
Man shall not
live by bread alone,
00:29:24.29\00:29:26.83
but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God.
00:29:26.86\00:29:30.27
¤[Theme music]¤
00:29:30.30\00:29:45.31