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Pelagius, the Closet Druid A Thought Experiment on
Original Goodness Introduction Pelagius is
remembered in Church history as the heretic who dared to deny Augustine’s
doctrine of original sin. Yet what if Pelagius was not merely a theological
contrarian, but the last flicker of another tradition — a druidic vision of
nature, survival, and freedom? Read this way, Pelagius appears not as
Augustine’s rival in the field of grace, but as a closet druid whose
insights align closely with the modern druid Finn’s affirmations: “Original
Goodness” and “Everyone is born a winner.” 1. The Survival of Druidic Intuition Born on
the edge of the Roman world, Pelagius carried the accent of Britain, perhaps
Ireland into Rome’s cosmopolitan Christianity. His moral rigor, his emphasis
on self-discipline, and his trust in human nature sound less like a Roman
lawyer’s theology than like the echo of an older, earth-bound wisdom. Where
Augustine saw corruption, Pelagius saw life. Where Augustine heard guilt,
Pelagius heard possibility. This stance resonates with Finn’s druidic minim: emergence
itself is good, and every emergent is a victory. 2. On Original Goodness Finn’s
phrase “Original Goodness” expresses the ontological fact that to
emerge at all is already to have prevailed in the contest (i.e. as the
‘fittest’) of existence. Every photon, seed, or newborn is good simply by
being. Pelagius,
in his lost On Nature, voiced the same
in Christian idiom: ·
“We are not born in sin.” ·
“No one is forced by nature to do evil.” ·
“We are born capable of doing good.” This is
not theology as guilt-management, but theology as druidic naturalism: the
affirmation that life itself is trustworthy. 3. Everyone Is Born a Winner Finn
distils his insight further: “Everyone is born a winner.” This means
that the very fact of emergence — against randomness, against nothingness —
is already proof of success. Pelagius
said the same more cautiously: every human begins free, innocent, capable.
Baptism does not save from damnation but marks entrance into a community.
Each child’s cry is not the wail of guilt but the shout of a victor entering
the world. 4. The Clash with Augustine For
Augustine, this was intolerable. His doctrine of original sin ensured every soul
was bound in inherited guilt and dependent on Church and sacrament for
salvation. Pelagius’s teaching broke the monopoly: if everyone is good at
birth, then priestly mediation, as Jesus confirmed, is unnecessary. In
political terms, Pelagius’s druidic intuition was a direct threat to absolute
ecclesiastical power. In spiritual terms, it was liberation. 5. Pelagius as Closet Druid If we
allow ourselves the thought experiment, Pelagius becomes not simply a
Christian monk but a closet druid in Christian robes: ·
He affirmed nature’s goodness. ·
He trusted freedom as natural law. ·
He saw every human birth as a triumph, not a
curse. This is
precisely the ground Finn stands upon. Pelagius’s voice, condemned and
suppressed, was the faint echo of the same druidic wisdom Finn now proclaims
openly: ·
Original Goodness:
emergence is good. ·
Everyone is born a winner: every
life begins in victory. Conclusion The Church
condemned Pelagius for heresy, but in truth it condemned the survival of a
druidic vision of life. His crime was not denying grace but affirming too
much: affirming that life itself is good, free, and victorious. Seen from
this perspective, Pelagius stands not as Augustine’s vanquished opponent but
as Finn’s hidden precursor — the monk who dared whisper what the druid now
declares: existence is victory, and every emergent is good. |