Did the Filli and the Druids have it right?

Question

they kept an oral tradition. they taught the doctrine of their beliefs only to the ones that would become priests(druids).

and kept the populace out of religious doctrine.

this had the advantage of keeping the uneducated populace from placing their own beliefs and fears into religious doctrine.

they were aware of the gods and what they stood for. but not in a position to do anything other than attend rituals and to keep private worship.

when looking at the Christian religion of today which is the exact opposite of the Druidic religion. what differances can you imagine if the Christian people were told just what they needed to know and allowed the doctrine to be the domain of the people that were educated in it's meaning?

the Filli were pretty much the same as Druids, they were slightly differant in form but not in function. most Druids were regarded as magic. where the Filli were seen more as a scholar and historian, and herbal healers.

it is believed that the Filli were an attempt by Celtic Ireland to operate under the radar of the Christian church dictrine against Magic use.
for all intents the Filli filled the role of the druids for about 600 years after the roman invasion of the Gaelic nations.

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another note, the Druids and Native Americans have a very similar religion the main differance being that the Native Americans believed in a single god and the Celts believed in many.

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i am not saying to keep everybody in teh dark, but i am saying that certain people do not have the mental capacity to understand the doctrines of religion and they take it to extremes. would they be better without it?

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ghwiz1052, i think that you have your religions crossed up.

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Da Mick,

Actually they would have a greater opinion for themselves, while unburdoned with dogma. they are then free to have opinions and to question the authority that tells them that this is the way to do things. when i say Uneducated i am speaking in the terms that would apply to the druidic times. Druids were educated in the ways of religion and healing and the masses were not. they understood their gods and goddesses. and what they represented. but did not have the Dogma of religion to shape their lives and beliefs. the druids had teh doctrine of their religion and they followed it. but did not impose it on the common man.

Answer 1

I don't think that this would be possible in our modern world in countries that do not have a definite class/caste system in place. To try to recreate a working system of the priestly class of the Celts, one would necessarily have to include their other classes as well. Of course we have Druids today, but their roles--and attitudes of their communities--have changed.

Yes, the Druids were among the educated of their communities. But today in the US, most people get 13 years of education for free (and most of it is required). The majority of the people are not uneducated, even though they do not have the religious knowledge that the Druids did. In Celtic societies, if a person wanted to learn, they learned from their educated leaders who all had the same culture, priorities, and goals. Today if someone wants to learn, they can learn from a variety of sources--college (private of public), private classes, television (TLC, Discovery, History channel, news channels, etc.), Talk radio, internet, CD's, DVD's and videos, and I'm sure there are many other ways that we get information. In order to recreate the culture that the ancient Druids lived in, we would need to limit all other forms of conflicting information so that the Druids would once again be considered the ultimate source of information. As you know, the Druidic class also consisted of their scientists, doctors, lawyers, and judges. In my culture (the US), it would be impossible to limit a person from learning about these occupations.

I like the idea of a knowledgable priestly class and a less knowledgable (by choice) congregation. Many people simply don't want to take the time and sacrifice that is needed to become clergy. I wish we had an universal term to apply to these people.

Answer 2

So what your saying that the "Uneducated" would not have an honest opinion for themselves. They would be forced an opinion without explanation? What happend if I told them a lie? They would have(according to what your saying) no choice but to believe. 1) Because they could not explore the answer themselves. 2) They would have to put their faith in the person who told the lie. The Druidic way seems a bit flawed to me in this manner. I mean Jesus taught to the poor, not once imposing his wisdom on them.

Answer 3

The "uneducated populace" will have its own beliefs and fears despite what religious doctrine may be. If the doctrine isn't accessible to all, won't it be removed from the wellspring of renewal?

Answer 4

Isn't that exactly what the catholic church tried to do for centuries? If we lived "back in the day" I would be tortured and burned at the stake for owning and BELIEVING my Bible over their traditions! But to answer your question, keeping people ignorant and in the dark is never good!

Answer 5

I don't know the Filli, but the Druids? Definitely.

Note to the parrot squad: there is no evidence that Druids did human sacrifice, so don't even start that nonsense.

Answer 6

I believe the native americans were closer to the truth. Unfortunately they were wiped out by a religion that shall go unnamed.

Answer 7

Yes, them Celts were great that just killed all those who did not follow.

Answer 8

hmm....