Was St. Patrick an Adventist? The Take Back Patrick Movement

This article is meant to be taken in good-clean Adventist banter. Do not get yourself ramfoozled that I may be against the English for I am not! I am a good ole fashioned, of hefty stock and lineage, “Alba gu bràth” shouting Scottish woman! I have done the DNA test and I’ll be singing “Scots Wha Hae” and Flower of Scotland all the way home!

Patrick used the traditional shamrock as an illustration of the triune Godhead

First off, Happy Patrick’s Day (might you note the Saint is lacking)!

I can hear and see it all now!!! Bagpipes echoing over a grassy hillside overlooking a bright green valley with a fort lying in the distance. Men on horses are about me with swords drawn and in hand. Yes, I’m there too going to battle as a woman. Have you not ever heard of the red headed Bouddica? A Scottish female warrior! So yes, we women are warring about on horses in this story too! And you hear William Wallace say “charge!!!!” Definitely the wrong century but when you dream, you dream! With the glint of steel swords shinning in your eye we charge the steely fort. All in a great effort to take back Patrick! To steal him away from the Roman Catholics and take him to the Seventh-day Adventist tower where he will remain for a time and half a times. However, in this here wee modern times we stick a hashtag on it and post it online and that is battle. And thus has began the #takebackPatrickmovement!

Okay, I know the above is a bit rich but maybe we might at least have fun as we mount some sort of resistance to take Patrick’s name back even if it only be a share on Facebook and Instagram here and there. After all, I am as Scottish as they come having had my DNA tested and everything. I am as Scottish as William Wallace’s left toe! Maybe that is why I may be brash and more warrior like by the day. I ride at dawn for mostly any cause! In any case, though I might be a Scottish lady in truth, Saint Patrick was no saint at all and when he rises in the resurrection he is going to be horrified at what happened to his name.

Saint Patrick, often celebrated as the patron saint of Ireland, is traditionally associated with the Roman Catholic Church and a holiday where men and women alike can drink themselves under the table! However, historical evidence suggests that his beliefs and practices may have been more aligned with those of modern Seventh-day Adventists than with contemporary Catholicism.

First off, there are contending stories as to where Patrick originated. Some say Scotland (everyone clap!) and some say Cumbria near Hadrian’s wall in England (everyone boo!). And some theorize he may have haled from Wales (they are okay in my book)!

One of the most compelling aspects of Patrick’s ministry is his adherence to the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday). Historical records indicate that the early Celtic Christian Church, influenced by Patrick, observed the Sabbath on the seventh day, aligning with the Fourth Commandment. This practice is notably distinct from the Roman Catholic tradition, which honors Sunday as the day of worship.

Patrick’s teachings and the Celtic Christian tradition exhibited several practices that diverged from those of the Roman Catholic Church:

  • Health Laws and Baptism: The Celtic Church not only kept the Sabbath but also followed God’s health laws and practiced baptism by immersion which reflects a commitment to sola scriptura and the Adventist adherence to the Eight Laws of Health from the NEWSTART program.

  • Autonomy from Rome: The Celtic Christian Church operated independently of Roman authority and maintained unique traditions and ecclesiastical structures.

  • Alignment with Seventh-day Adventist Beliefs

The practices of Patrick and the early Celtic Christians bear a striking resemblance to those of contemporary Seventh-day Adventists in several ways. First is Sabbath Keeping. Both observe the seventh-day Sabbath, emphasizing adherence to the Ten Commandments. Second is Health Principles. A focus on healthful living and dietary laws is central to both traditions which includes basing one's diet restrictions on the clean and unclean meats of Leviticus 11. Third is baptism by immersion. Both practice baptism by full immersion, symbolizing a profound commitment to Jesus by His death, resurrection, and walking in a new life with everything that baptism symbolizes to us Seventh-day Adventists.

While Saint Patrick is widely recognized within Catholicism, a closer examination of historical records shows that his beliefs and practices were more closely aligned with those of modern Seventh-day Adventists. His commitment to seventh-day Sabbath observance, adherence to biblical health laws, and independence from Roman ecclesiastical authority indicate that Patrick’s legacy is more nuanced than commonly portrayed. This perspective invites a reevaluation of his role in Christian history. Please remember Patrick’s history! In his history we can see a young man so devoted and compelled by the love of Christ that he went back to possible slavery and its tortures!

Patrick's Background

Maewyn Succat, later known as Saint Patrick, was born in Britain in the late 4th century. At sixteen, he was violently abducted by Irish pirates from his family’s estate and thrust into a life of slavery far from the familiarity of his homeland.

During his six years of enslavement, Succat (Patrick) endured grueling conditions as a shepherd in the rugged Irish landscape. Isolated and exposed to the elements, he faced hunger, cold, and the constant threat of violence. This period of profound hardship became a crucible for his faith, leading him to embrace Christianity with fervor.

Guided by a divine vision, Patrick seized an opportunity to escape, embarking on a perilous journey across 200 miles of unfamiliar terrain to reach a port where he secured passage back to Britain. His return was not merely a homecoming but a transformative passage from bondage to spiritual liberation.

Compelled by another vision, Patrick chose to return to the land of his captivity, this time as a missionary. His mission was fraught with peril; he faced opposition from entrenched pagan practices, particularly from Druid priests who wielded significant influence. Despite threats to his life, including beatings and imprisonment, Patrick's resolve to spread Christian teachings remained unshaken.

In a historical irony, the Roman Catholic Church later appropriated Patrick's legacy, canonizing him as Saint Patrick and aligning his narrative with doctrines he neither practiced nor endorsed. The real reason for this seems to be that Patrick made such an impact on Irish society that anyone who criticized Patrick, such as Catholic priests who came to evangelize the Irish, immediately received the cold shoulder as soon as they spoke against Patrick. In order to proselytize the Irish at all, the Roman Catholic Church had to make Patrick's legacy a Catholic one. This posthumous assimilation distorts his true legacy, masking the authentic story of a man whose faith and mission were shaped by personal suffering and unwavering conviction, independent of the institution that now claims him as its own.

Patrick Today

Recognizing the true narrative of Maewyn Succat is essential to honor his enduring impact on Christian history. His role should NOT offer us a legacy that permits worldwide society to have drunken escapades while dying the local river green. His life exemplifies resilience through the faith of Jesus (something that we may all possess) and devotion to Jesus Christ, attributes that should be acknowledged without the veneer of later institutional affiliations.

Let not Patrick be kidnapped again! He was kidnapped in his youth, let not Patrick be kidnapped in his death! He belongs not to the Roman Catholics as a saint but to the Seventh-day Adventists as just a man, totally reliant on God to suffer whatever evil befalls him and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ no matter the consequences! This is what it means to truly devote oneself to a daily life of picking up our cross and following Jesus. Do not let his story be kidnapped but share this far and wide for it is the true story of Patrick, just a Scottish man who endured the toughest circumstances and found that life cannot be lived without the hope of Jesus Christ and thus, his love for Jesus compelled him to risk enslavement once more just to have the privilege to share Jesus’ name.

An Empty Stall

Today, Proverbs provides a profound lesson for us as mothers.

"Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox." ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14:4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬.

This verse basically means that we may have achieved our goal to clean the stall but at what cost? This verse means that we have gained no blessing in the achievement of our goals. The achievement is an empty one because the reason for the achievement has been lost.

Practically applied this means that I may have cleaned the house or accomplished my goals for the day but who did I have to trample on or lose to accomplish it? Solomon is indeed saying that the mess that comes from having "a full stall of oxen" should be overlooked. It means that one day, my life won't be so busy with the children and, on that day, the quiet cleanliness and order of life will mean they have all grown up and gone. I must remember not to put goals above what really matters. Solomon is saying that the blessing of increase comes from the oxen but the oxen of life also causes a mess. There is time enough to clean it but not at the cost of the oxen.

There are other applications also. In cleaning the stall were the oxen let loose or chased away? In accomplishing a task or goal do I put that task above people? This Proverb is about priorities. It states that human beings are very guilty of prioritizing the wrong things. The oxen are what is important. The oxen are what bring the blessings of life and, so, it is foolish to prioritize a clean stall over the maintaining of the oxen.

Just a few verses earlier in Proverbs 14:1 Solomon writes, "The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands." Proverbs‬ ‭14:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬. This verse is talking about the mother in the home. The Hebrew for the word "builds" means "gaining children." This can mean one child or many children. The amount of children is not important but rather the "building" of them. The latter part of the verse is referencing the shocking scene of a woman using her own hands, her own power and position in the home, to destroy it. This verse is stating that a wise woman will look at her children as a literal structure to be built up.

A little while later Solomon states that the home can be purified (this can be rules, tasks, chores, goals, career, money, religion, etc.) but at what cost? There are so many applications of this verse that can apply to time, goals, career, money, religion, a loveless religious experience, etc. that one hardly knows where to start so I'll simply say this:

In everything that we do with our children we are either building or destroying our house. To our children, the effect of our influence is very black and white. We as mothers must remember to take the time to make sure that in prioritizing our priorities we are not missing the highest priority of all. We may accomplish much in this life but if we are not building up our children first and foremost then we are wasting our time on this earth by cleaning an empty stall and missing the blessing of the oxen.

Today, I must pray for the desire and the energy to build my children up first by tuning into their needs (emotional and physical) and, second, accomplish the tasks that I deem important.

The last point I want to make regarding this verse is Solomon's clear vision to see to the Messiah. This verse has parallelism as all Hebrew usually does. The oxen in this verse also are a type of Christ. Our strength comes from Christ. We may leave off our bad habits, sweep our house clean, quit our addictions, have a good diet, keep the Ten Commandments, and do good but, if we are missing the love of Christ in our life, we have an empty stall. The love of Christ is evidenced by the fruits of the Spirit, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Galatians 5:22-23.

If we have a "clean stall" by our own strength and by our own efforts to purify the life without the love of Christ toward others, we are prioritizing everything in the wrong order and we will end up unwisely pulling down our house with our hands.

To prioritize our lives with wisdom as mothers and Christian believers we must put Christ first in our lives. We must come daily to the Cross and admit our inability to order our family and home the right way. We must recognize our need for Jesus and ask for His strength and His victory in our lives. Only then will we have the strength of the ox, the wisdom to prioritize things correctly, and the words and actions to build our family and home with love.