St. Patrick

Some people think I'm Irish (because of my last name, of course). I'm not, but Thomas Cahill's great book How the Irish Saved Civilization makes me wish I were. [HT to Ted for the recommendation.] Anyhow, one of the most engaging aspects of Cahill's book is his lengthy discussion of St. Patrick, whom he suggests may be the first real missionary after Paul. There were others of course, but Patrick's the most documented--and the most shrouded in legend. A few interesting points ...

• He was initially an involuntary missionary--born a Brit, captured by Irish raiders and dragged to Ireland as a young slave. Later, after escaping, he received a vision from heaven and returned to the land of his captors to evangelize them.
• As a missionary, he actively campaigned against inter-clan violence and the slave trade in Ireland--and saw it abolished in his lifetime, 1300 years before Christian leaders like Wilberforce saw any fruits for their efforts in considerably more "civilized" Britain.
• He baptized an estimated 100,000 converts and planted hundreds of churches in Ireland--all this from a barely-literate swineherd who was turned down the first time he approached his church leaders with his vision of reaching Ireland.

"I am Patrick, a sinner, most uncultivated and least of all the faithful and despised in the eyes of many." - St. Patrick, died A.D. 461

St. Patrick

Some people think I'm Irish (because of my last name, of course). I'm not, but Thomas Cahill's great book How the Irish Saved Civilization makes me wish I were. [HT to Ted for the recommendation.] Anyhow, one of the most engaging aspects of Cahill's book is his lengthy discussion of St. Patrick, whom he suggests may be the first real missionary after Paul. There were others of course, but Patrick's the most documented--and the most shrouded in legend. A few interesting points ...

• He was initially an involuntary missionary--born a Brit, captured by Irish raiders and dragged to Ireland as a young slave. Later, after escaping, he received a vision from heaven and returned to the land of his captors to evangelize them.
• As a missionary, he actively campaigned against inter-clan violence and the slave trade in Ireland--and saw it abolished in his lifetime, 1300 years before Christian leaders like Wilberforce saw any fruits for their efforts in considerably more "civilized" Britain.
• He baptized an estimated 100,000 converts and planted hundreds of churches in Ireland--all this from a barely-literate swineherd who was turned down the first time he approached his church leaders with his vision of reaching Ireland.

"I am Patrick, a sinner, most uncultivated and least of all the faithful and despised in the eyes of many." - St. Patrick, died A.D. 461