Early Christian Views on Druids and Pagan Religion
Early Christian writers treated pagan religion as false worship, and the few direct Druid references put Druids with philosophy and magical rites. Hippolytus is the main early witness on Druids by name, while Clement of Alexandria lists them among pagan peoples. Most of the rest of the material speaks more broadly about idols, demons, sacrifices, and superstition than about Druids specifically.
126 early-church witnesses · 229 source quotations · compared with Scripture
What did early Christians believe about druids and Pagan Religion?
Early Christian writers did not treat Druids as harmless folklore; they usually placed them inside pagan religion, often linked with magic, sacrifice, and false worship. Hippolytus is the clearest early witness on Druids, saying they studied Pythagorean philosophy and also practiced magical rites, while Clement of Alexandria simply lists Druids among the pagan peoples.
The wider Christian pattern is very strong against pagan worship in general, with writers like Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Origen, Arnobius, and Lactantius calling idols, sacrifices, and demons false religion. The Druid-specific evidence is thin, though, because most of the material speaks broadly about pagan religion rather than about Druids by name. Many more early Christian quotations, Bible passages, and source links are gathered below so you can study the evidence for yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Hippolytus says the Celtic Druids practiced magical rites and studied philosophy.
- Clement of Alexandria names Druids among the pagan peoples.
- Most early Christian writers attack pagan idols, sacrifices, and demon worship in general, not Druids alone.
Questions Answered by the Sources
What did early Christians say about the Druids?
The clearest early Christian testimony says the Celtic Druids studied or investigated Pythagorean philosophy and also practiced magical rites. One source also places the Druids among the Gauls in a general list of philosophical peoples.
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Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Direct teaching
The Celtic Druids studied Pythagorean philosophy to the highest degree, after Zamolxis, a Thracian by birth and a servant of Pythagoras, became the one who introduced this teaching to them. After the death of Pythagoras, Zamolxis went there and became the one who introduced this philosophy to them. The Celts regard these men as prophets and seers, because by the Pythagorean art they foretold certain events to them through calculations and numbers. We also will not remain silent about the methods of this art, since from these methods some have dared to introduce heresies. But the Druids also practice magical rites.
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Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Supporting witness
...e Lysis and Archippus, and Pythagoras's servant Zamolxis. He is also said to have taught the Celtic Druids to practice the philosophy of Pythagoras. And they claim that Pythagoras learned his system of numbers and measures from the Egyptians. Since he was impressed by the priests' persuasive, imaginative, and not easily disclosed wisdom, he too imitated them: he commanded silence and made his disciples live alone in underground chambers.
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Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Supporting witness
And the Celtic Druids investigated to the very highest point the Pythagorean philosophy, after Zamolxis, by birth a Thracian, a servant of Pythagoras, became to them the originator of this discipline.
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Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Supporting witness
The Brahmins among the Indians, and the Druids among the Celts, and Hesiod (devoted themselves to philosophic pursuits).
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Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Background
and the Chaldeans among the Assyrians; and the Druids among the Gauls;
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Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Background
...demic. This thinker taught that everything is incomprehensible. The Brahmins among the Indians, the Druids among the Celts, and Hesiod also devoted themselves to philosophical pursuits.
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Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Supporting witness
but the Druids resort to magical rites likewise.
How did early Christians describe pagan religion?
Several early Christian writers describe pagan religion as superstition, demon worship, or false religion, and the Bible passages in this set say pagans sacrificed to demons or were led astray to idols. This section shows the broader framework the Druids passages are placed in.
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching
Stay away from all pagan books. What do you have to do with such foreign teachings, laws, or false prophets that overthrow the faith of unstable people? What lack do you find in the law of God, that you should turn to those pagan fables? If you want to read history, you have the books of the Kings. If you want books of wisdom or poetry, you have the books of the Prophets, Job, and Proverbs. In them you will find greater depth of understanding than in all the pagan poets and sophists, because these are the words of the Lord, the only wise God. If you want something to sing, you have the Psalms. If you want the origin of things, you have Genesis. If you want laws and statutes, you have the glorious law of the Lord God. Therefore, completely stay away from all strange and diabolical books. No, when you read the law, do not think that you are required to keep the added precepts, if not all of them, then even some of them. Read those only for the sake of history, so that you may know them and glorify God that He has delivered you from so great and so many bonds. Aim to distinguish which rules came from the law of nature, and which were added afterward, or were additional rules introduce
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Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness
...ing their order, what basis is there for the claim that a plague was brought on the earth after the Christian religion came into the world and revealed the mysteries of hidden truth? "But," my opponents say, "the gods bring pestilences, droughts, wars, famines, locusts, mice, hailstones, and other harmful things on us, things by which the property of men is attacked. They do this because they are angry at your wrongdoings and your transgressions." If it were not foolish to spend time on matters that are already clear and need no defense, I would certainly show, by unfolding the history of past ages, that these evils you speak of were not unknown and did not come suddenly. I would show that plagues did not burst upon us, and that human affairs did not begin to be attacked by many kinds of dangers, from the time that our sect received the honor of this name. For if we are to blame, and if these plagues have been devised against our sin, from where did antiquity know these names for disasters? From where did it give a name to wars? By what understanding could it describe pestilence and hailstorms? Or how could it introduce these terms into its language, by which speech was made cle
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Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness
But someone may say, "He deserved our hatred because He drove religion out of the world, because He kept people from trying to honor the gods." Is He then called the destroyer of religion and the promoter of impiety, when He brought true religion into the world? He opened the gates of piety to people who were blind and truly living in impiety, and He showed them to whom they should bow down. Or is there any religion more true, more helpful, more powerful, and more right than this: to have learned to know the supreme God, and to know how to pray to God Most High, who alone is the source and fountain of all good? He is the creator, founder, and maker of all that continues to exist. By Him all things on earth and all things in heaven are given life and filled with the movement of life. Without Him, there would certainly be nothing that could bear any name or have any substance. But perhaps you doubt whether that ruler of whom we speak exists, and instead are more inclined to believe that Apollo, Diana, Mercury, and Mars exist. Give a true judgment. If anyone looks around at all these things that we see, he would sooner doubt whether all the other gods exist than hesitate about the God
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Tertullian, Apology Supporting witness
...an obstinate refusal to offer sacrifices, he found in their religious services nothing but meetings early in the morning for singing hymns to Christ and God, and sealing their way of life by a united pledge to remain faithful to their religion, forbidding murder, adultery, dishonesty, and other crimes. In reply, Trajan wrote back that Christians were by no means to be sought out. But if they were brought before him, they should be punished. O miserable deliverance. Under the necessities of the case, it is a self-contradiction. It forbids them to be sought out, as innocent, and it commands them to be punished, as guilty. It is at once merciful and cruel. It passes by, and it punishes. Why do you play this game of evasion with yourself, O Judgment? If you condemn, why do you not also inquire? If you do not inquire, why do you not also absolve? Military stations are set throughout all the provinces for tracking robbers. Against traitors and public enemies every man is a soldier. Search is made even for their confederates and accessories. The Christian alone must not be sought, though he may be brought and accused before the judge, as if a search had any other end than that! And so
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Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness
But your religion came before ours by many years, and so, you say, it is truer because it has the support of ancient authority. But what does it matter if it came before ours by as many years as you want, since it began at a certain time? And what are two thousand years compared with so many thousands of ages? Yet, so that we may not seem to harm our own case by staying silent so long, tell me, if it does not trouble you: does Almighty and Supreme God seem to you to be something new? And do those who adore and worship Him seem to you to uphold and introduce a religion that is unheard of, unknown, and new? Is anything older than Him? Or can anything be found that comes before Him in being, time, or name? Is He not alone uncreated, immortal, and everlasting? Who is the source and fountain of all things? Is it not He? To whom does eternity owe its name? Is it not to Him? Is it not because He is everlasting that the ages continue without end? This is beyond doubt, and true: the religion we follow is not new. Rather, we were late in learning what we should follow and revere, and where we should both place our hope of salvation and use the help given to save us. For He had not yet appear
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Minucius Felix, Octavius Supporting witness
Nevertheless, you will say that this very superstition gave, increased, and established the empire of the Romans, since they prevailed not so much by their valor as by their religion and piety. No doubt the famous and noble justice of the Romans had its beginning from the very cradle of their growing empire. Did they not, in their beginning, when they were gathered together and fortified by crime, grow by the terror of their own fierceness? For the first people were assembled as to an asylum. Abandoned people, profligate people, incestuous people, murderers, and traitors had flocked together. And so that Romulus himself, their commander and ruler, might excel his people in guilt, he committed fratricide. These are the first auspices of the religious state! Soon afterward they carried off, violated, and ruined foreign virgins, already betrothed, already destined for husbands, and even some young women from their marriage vows, a thing unexampled. Then they made war with their parents, that is, with their fathers-in-law, and shed the blood of their own relatives. What could be more irreligious? What could be more audacious? What could be safer than the very confidence of crime? To dr
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Minucius Felix, Octavius Supporting witness
Chapter 38. Argument: Christians Abstain from Things Connected with Idol Sacrifices, Lest Any One Should Think Either that They Yield to Demons, or that They are Ashamed of Their Religion.
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Aristides, The Apology Background
For the deities (or religion) of the Barbarians and the Greeks did not suffice for them, but they introduced some also of the nature of the animals, and said thereof that they were gods, and likewise of creeping things which are found on the dry land and in the waters.
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Lactantius, On the Anger of God Supporting witness
...lf be kept or protected without fear? For what is not feared is despised, and what is despised is clearly not revered. So it happens that religion, majesty, and honor exist together with fear. But there is no fear where no one is angry. Therefore, whether you take away from God kindness, or anger, or both, religion must be taken away. Without religion, human life is full of foolishness, wickedness, and outrage. For conscience strongly restrains people if we believe that we are living in God's sight. If we think not only that the actions we do are seen from above, but also that our thoughts and words are heard by God, conscience holds us back. But some think it is useful to believe this, not for the sake of truth, but for usefulness, since laws cannot punish conscience unless some fear from above hangs over us to restrain wrongdoing. Therefore religion is completely false, and there is no divinity. Instead, all these things were invented by clever men, so that they might live more upright and innocent lives. This is a great question, and it is outside the subject we have set before us. But because it necessarily comes up, it ought to be discussed, though briefly.
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
From these things, it is clear how closely wisdom and religion are connected. Wisdom relates to sons, and that relationship requires love. Religion relates to servants, and that relationship requires fear. For just as the first are bound to love and honor their father, so the others are bound to respect and honor their lord. But with respect to God, who alone is one, since He holds the twofold character of both Father and Lord, we are bound both to love Him, since we are sons, and to fear Him, since we are servants. Therefore, religion cannot be divided from wisdom, nor can wisdom be separated from religion. For it is the same God who ought to be understood, which is the part of wisdom, and to be honored, which is the part of religion. But wisdom comes first, and religion follows. For the knowledge of God comes first, and His worship is the result of knowledge. So in these two names there is only one meaning, though it seems different in each case. For the one concerns understanding, and the other concerns action. Yet they are like two streams flowing from one fountain. And the fountain of wisdom and religion is God. If these two streams turn away from Him, they must dry up. For th
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
Therefore, the chief good of man is found only in religion. For the other things, even those that are thought to belong especially to man, are also found in the other animals. For when they recognize and distinguish their own voices among themselves by special marks, they seem to converse. They also appear to have a kind of smile when, with soothed ears, a contracted mouth, and eyes relaxed for play, they fawn upon man, or upon their own mates and young. Do they not also give a greeting that bears some likeness to mutual love and indulgence? Again, those creatures that look ahead and store up food for themselves plainly have foresight. Signs of reason are also found in many of them. For since they desire things useful to themselves, guard against evils, avoid dangers, and prepare for themselves hiding places left open in different locations with various exits, they certainly have some understanding. Can anyone deny that they possess reason, since they often deceive man himself? For those creatures whose task is to produce honey, when they live in the place assigned to them, fortify a camp, build dwellings with unspeakable skill, and obey their king, I do not know whether there is n
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Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness
...remarks in which he tries to show that our teachings are like those given by the priests during the pagan mysteries. He says, "Just as you, good sir, believe in eternal punishments, so do the priests who explain and initiate people into the sacred mysteries. The same punishments with which you threaten others, they threaten you." Now, it is worth examining which of the two is established more firmly as true, since both sides insist with equal confidence that the truth is on their side. But if we ask for proofs, the priests of the pagan gods produce many that seem clear and convincing, partly from wonders done by demons, and partly from answers given by oracles, and from various other kinds of divination. He wants us, then, to believe that both we and the interpreters of the mysteries teach the doctrine of eternal punishment equally, and that it should be examined on which side the truth lies. Now I would say that the truth is with those who are able to lead their hearers to live like people who are convinced that what they have heard is true. But Jews and Christians have been affected in this way by the teachings they hold about what we call the world to come, and the rewards of
More related quotations from this section 24 shown of 103
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1 Corinthians 10:20 Direct teaching
No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
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Mathetes, Epistle to Diognetus Supporting witness
I see thee, most excellent Diognetus, exceedingly desirous to learn the mode of worshipping God prevalent among the Christians, and inquiring very carefully and earnestly concerning them, what God they trust in, and what form of religion they observe, so as all to look down upon the world itself, and despise death, while they neither esteem those to be gods that are reckoned such by the Greeks, nor hold to the superstition of the Jews;
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Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness
...ay. So the name demons is given to those beings who have fallen away from God. Therefore, those who worship God must not serve demons. We can also learn the true nature of demons if we consider what those do who call on them by charms, either to prevent certain things or for many other purposes. For this is the method they use: by incantations and magical arts they call on demons and lead them to help carry out their wishes. Therefore, the worship of all demons would be inconsistent for us who worship the Supreme God. And the service of demons is the service of so-called gods, for all the gods of the heathen are demons. The same thing is also clear from the fact that the dedication of the most famous so-called sacred places, whether temples or statues, was accompanied by elaborate magical incantations, performed by those who eagerly served the demons through magical arts. So we are determined to avoid the worship of demons just as we would avoid death. And we hold that the worship that the Greeks think is offered to gods at altars, images, and temples is really offered to demons.
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Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Supporting witness
...say, however, since you excel all men in understanding, "How does it happen, then, that some of the idols show power, if those to whom we set up the statues are not gods?" For it is not likely that images without life and motion can do anything by themselves unless something moves them. We are very far from denying that, in various places, cities, and nations, certain effects are brought about in the name of idols. Even so, if some have received benefit, and others, on the contrary, have suffered harm, we will not consider those to be gods who have produced the effects in either case. But I have made careful inquiry into both why you think the idols have this power, and who they are that, taking their names, produce these effects. However, in trying to show who they are that produce the effects ascribed to the idols, and that they are not gods, I must call on some witnesses from among the philosophers. First, Thales, as those who have carefully examined his opinions report, divides superior beings into God, demons, and heroes. He recognizes God as the Intelligence of the world. By demons he means beings possessed of soul. By heroes he means the separated souls of men, the good b
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Minucius Felix, Octavius Supporting witness
...parate others from God by bringing in degraded superstitions. The poets know that those spirits are demons. The philosophers speak of them. Socrates knew it too. At the nod and decision of a demon beside him, he either declined actions or undertook them. The Magi also not only know that there are demons, but whatever miracle they claim to perform, they do it by means of demons. By their aspirations and communications, they display their wondrous tricks, making things appear which are not, or making things not appear which are. Of those magicians, Sosthenes, first both in eloquence and in deed, not only describes the true God with fitting majesty, but also the angels who are the ministers and messengers of the true God. And he knew that it enhanced His veneration, that they trembled in awe at the very nod and glance of their Lord. The same man also declared that demons were earthly, wandering, and hostile to humanity. What did Plato say, he who believed that finding God was difficult? Does he not also plainly speak of both angels and demons? And in his Symposium, does he not also try to explain the nature of demons? For he says that a demon is a substance between mortal and immor
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Dionysius of Alexandria, Epistles and Epistolary Fragments Supporting witness
...an enemy of this city, whatever else he may have been, had stirred up and angered the crowds of the heathen against us. He set them on fire again with the zeal of their native superstition. Stirred up by him, and having complete freedom to do evil, they thought that this was the only true piety and service to their demons: to kill us.
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Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness
...make use of the idol offerings and the public sacrifices at public feasts. His words are: "If these idols are nothing, what harm will there be in taking part in the feast? On the other hand, if they are demons, it is certain that they too are God's creatures, and that we must believe in them, sacrifice to them according to the laws, and pray to them that they may be gracious." In response to this statement, it would be useful for us to take up and clearly explain the whole passage of the first Epistle to the Corinthians in which Paul deals with offerings to idols. From the fact that an idol is nothing in the world, the apostle draws the conclusion that it is harmful to use things offered to idols. He shows, to those who have ears to hear on such matters, that whoever takes part in things offered to idols is worse than a murderer, for he destroys his own brothers, for whom Christ died. Further, he maintains that the sacrifices are made to demons. From that he goes on to show that those who join the table of demons become associated with the demons. And he concludes that a man cannot both be a partaker of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. But since it would take a
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
...et them then explain to us the difference between the two kinds, so that we may know what should be worshiped and what should be held in execration, and whether they agree with each other or are truly opposed to one another. If they are joined together by some necessity, how shall we distinguish them? Or how shall we join the honor and worship of each kind? But if, on the other hand, they are enemies, why is it that the demons do not fear the gods, or that the gods cannot drive away the demons? Look, someone stirred by the impulse of a demon is out of his senses, raving, and mad. Let us lead him into the temple of the excellent and mighty Jupiter, or, since Jupiter does not know how to heal men, into the shrine of Aesculapius or Apollo. Let the priest of either one, in the name of his god, command the wicked spirit to come out of the man. That cannot happen in any way. What, then, is the power of the gods, if the demons are not subject to their control? But in truth, these same demons, when they are commanded by the name of the true God, immediately flee. What reason is there why they should fear Christ, but not fear Jupiter, unless those whom the crowd thinks are gods are also
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Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
...dens himself, tell it to the church. But if he refuses to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen man and a tax collector, Matthew 18:17, and no longer receive him into the church as a Christian, but reject him as a heathen. But if he is willing to repent, receive him. For the church does not receive a heathen or a tax collector to communion until each one repents of his former impieties. For our Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, has appointed a place for the acceptance of people upon their repentance.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness
...n additional meaning that shows they are not gods at all. For example, with David: "The gods of the heathen are idols of demons;" and, "You shall not follow other gods." By saying "the gods of the heathen"—while the heathen do not know the true God—and calling them "other gods," he denies their claim to be regarded as gods entirely. But regarding their true nature, he speaks of them, "for they are," he says, "the idols of demons." And Isaiah: "Let all who blaspheme God and carve useless things be ashamed; even I am witness, says God.” He removes them from the category of gods, but uses the word alone for the purpose that we may understand whom he speaks of. Jeremiah also says the same: "The gods that have not made the heavens and earth, let them perish from the earth which is under the heaven." By noting their destruction, he shows them to be no gods at all. Elijah, too, when all Israel was gathered at Mount Carmel, wishing to turn them from idolatry, says to them, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him." And again, at the offering, he addresses the idolatrous priests: "You will call upon the name of your gods, and I will call on the name o
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Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness
..., namely, that it is wrong for those who have dedicated themselves to the Most High God to eat with demons. We have already seen what he brings forward against this view. In our opinion, a man can only be said to eat and drink with demons when he eats the flesh of what are called sacred victims, and when he drinks the wine poured out to the honor of the demons. But Celsus thinks that we cannot eat bread or drink wine in any way whatever, or taste fruits, or even take a draught of water, without eating and drinking with demons. He also adds that the air we breathe is received from demons, and that not even an animal can breathe without receiving air from the demons appointed over the air. If anyone wishes to defend this statement of Celsus, let him show that it is not the divine angels of God, but demons, whose whole race is evil, that have been appointed to communicate all those blessings that have been mentioned. We also maintain, with regard not only to the fruits of the earth, but to every flowing stream and every breath of air, that the ground brings forth those things which are said to grow naturally, that water springs in fountains and refreshes the earth with running stre
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Justin Martyr, The First Apology Supporting witness
...e the accusations made against us. Instead, driven by unreasoning passion and the influence of evil demons, you punish us without consideration or judgment. For the truth must be told: since ancient times, these evil demons, creating apparitions of themselves, defiled women, corrupted boys, and showed such terrifying sights to men that those who did not use reason to judge their actions were struck with terror. Carried away by fear and unaware that these were demons, they called them gods and gave each demon the name it chose for itself. When Socrates tried, through true reason and examination, to expose these truths and free men from the demons, the demons themselves, using men who delighted in iniquity, orchestrated his death, branding him an atheist and a profane person on the charge that "he was introducing new divinities." In our case, they show similar intent. For not only among the Greeks did reason (Logos) prevail to condemn these things through Socrates, but also among the Barbarians were they condemned by Reason (or the Word, the Logos) Himself, who took shape, became man, and was called Jesus Christ. In obedience to Him, we not only deny that those who did such things
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Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen Supporting witness
...e earth with his hand?" Isaiah 40:12. Look at God's greatness, and be filled with amazement. Let us worship Him, of whom the prophet says, "Before Your face the hills shall melt, as wax melts before the fire!" Isaiah 64:1-2. This, he says, is the God whose throne is heaven, and His footstool the earth. And if He opens heaven, trembling will seize you. Isaiah 66:1. Will you hear too what this prophet says about idols? "And they shall be made a spectacle in the face of the sun, and their carcasses shall be food for the birds of heaven and the wild beasts of the earth. And they shall rot before the sun and the moon, which they have loved and served. And their city shall be burned down." He says too that the elements and the world shall be destroyed. "The earth," he says, "shall grow old, and the heaven shall pass away; but the word of the Lord endures forever." What then, when again God wishes to show Himself through Moses: "Behold, behold, that I Am, and there is no other God beside Me. I will kill, and I will make to live. I will strike, and I will heal. And there is none who shall deliver out of My hands." Deuteronomy 32:39. But do you wish to hear another seer? You have the who
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
...h sides, or envy us because we have chosen truth over falsehood? But, they say, the public rites of religion must be defended. Oh, with what honorable zeal these miserable men go astray! They know that nothing among men is more excellent than religion, and that it ought to be defended with all our power. But just as they are deceived about religion itself, so they are also deceived about the way it should be defended. Religion must be defended not by killing, but by dying; not by cruelty, but by patient endurance; not by guilt, but by good faith. The first belong to evils, but the second to goods. What is good must have a place in religion, not what is evil. For if you want to defend religion by bloodshed, tortures, and guilt, it will no longer be defended, but polluted and profaned. For nothing depends so much on free will as religion. If the mind of the worshiper is unwilling, religion is immediately taken away and ceases to exist. Therefore, the right way is to defend religion by patient endurance or by death. In this, preserving the faith is pleasing to God Himself and also gives authority to religion. For if a man in earthly warfare keeps faith with his king in some notable
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Tertullian, Apology Supporting witness
...have answered well enough the charges of the many crimes on which these fierce demands are made for Christian blood. We have fully presented our case. We have shown how we can prove that what we say is true, from the trustworthiness and antiquity of our sacred writings, and also from the confession of the powers of spiritual wickedness themselves. Who will dare to refute us, not with skill in words, but, as we have made our demonstration, on the basis of reality? But while the truth we hold is made clear to all, unbelief meanwhile, even at the very time when it is convinced of the worth of Christianity, now well known both for its benefits and from the intercourse of life, takes up the idea that it is not really something divine, but rather a kind of philosophy. "These are the very things," it says, "that the philosophers advise and profess: innocence, justice, patience, sobriety, and chastity." Why then are we not allowed the same freedom and immunity for our teachings that they have, when we are compared with them in what we teach? Or why are they not also forced to the same acts, by refusing which our lives are put in danger, if they are so much like us? For who forces a phil
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Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Heathen Supporting witness
...se, which Nicander says is blind and uncouth, they are still better than those completely senseless idols and images. For they have at least one sense — for example, hearing, or touch, or something like smell or taste — while images do not have even one sense. There are many creatures that have neither sight, nor hearing, nor speech, such as oysters, and yet they live and grow and are affected by the changes of the moon. But images, being motionless, lifeless, and senseless, are bound, nailed, glued, melted, filed, sawed, polished, and carved. Senseless earth is dishonored by the makers of images, who change it by their skill from its proper nature and lead men to worship it. And the makers of gods worship, not gods and demons, but, in my view, earth and art, which together make up images. For in truth, an image is only dead matter shaped by the craftsman's hand. But we do not have a visible image of visible matter. Instead, we have an image perceived by the mind alone — God, who alone is truly God.
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Origen, Against Celsus Supporting witness
... the instrumentality of demons.” In a former part, Celsus did his utmost to debase our souls to the worship of demons. And now he wishes us to seek the favor of kings and princes, of whom, as the world and all history are full of them, I do not consider it necessary to quote examples.
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Tertullian, Apology Supporting witness
... and He alone, whom we Christians confess. You may also see whether you ought to believe in Him and worship Him according to the manner of our Christian faith and discipline. But at once they will say, "Who is this Christ with his fables? Is he an ordinary man? Is he a sorcerer? Was his body stolen by his disciples from its tomb? Is he now in the world below? Or is he not rather in heaven, from there about to come again, shaking the whole world, filling the earth with dreadful alarms, making all but Christians wail — as the Power of God, and the Spirit of God, as the Word, the Reason, the Wisdom, and the Son of God?" Mock as much as you please. But if you can, get the demons to join you in mocking. Let them deny that Christ is coming to judge every human soul that has existed from the world's beginning, clothing it again with the body it laid aside at death. Let them say before your tribunal that this task has been assigned to Minos and Rhadamanthus, as Plato and the poets agree. Let them at least remove from themselves the mark of disgrace and condemnation. They deny that they are unclean spirits. Yet we must hold this to be proved beyond doubt by their delight in blood and fum
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Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Supporting witness
...d great king who built the Jerusalem temple, none of the psalm's predictions apply to him. No kings worshipped him; he did not rule to the earth's ends; his enemies did not bow and lick the dust before him. Furthermore, I dare to mention what's written in the book of Kings—that he, influenced by a woman, worshipped the idols of Sidon, something which the Gentiles who know God through Jesus refuse to do, enduring torture and death rather than worship idols or eat food offered to them.
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Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Supporting witness
...onomy 5. And so on. These things must be kept, along with whatever else is commanded in reading the Bible. And by Isaiah He commands us: "Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean. Put away wickedness from your souls before my eyes. Learn to do good. Seek judgment. Rescue the wronged. Judge for the orphan, and justify the widow. And come, and let us reason together," says the Lord. And we will find many examples in other places also. For example, about prayer, Scripture says, "Good works are an acceptable prayer to the Lord." And the manner of prayer is described: "If you see the naked, cover him, and do not overlook those who belong to your own seed. Then your light shall break forth early, and your healing shall spring up quickly; and your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall surround you." What, then, is the fruit of such prayer? "Then you shall call, and God will hear you; while you are still speaking, He will say, 'I am here.'"
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Arnobius, Against the Heathen Supporting witness
For they say that these sacred rites were instituted to do honour to the gods of heaven, and that these things which they do, they do to show them honour, and to magnify the powers of the deities by them.
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Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
They consecrate these in their houses, to these they daily pour out libations of wine, and worship the wise demons as gods of the earth, and as averters of those evils which they themselves cause and impose.
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Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Supporting witness
As with David: “The gods of the heathen are idols of demons;” and, “Ye shall not follow other gods.” For in that he says “the gods of the heathen”—but the heathen are ignorant of the true God—and calls them “other gods,” he bars their claim [to be looked upon] as gods at all.
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Deuteronomy 32:17 Supporting witness
They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.
Common Questions
Did early Christians think Druids were part of pagan religion?
Yes. Hippolytus links Druids with magical rites, and Clement of Alexandria lists them among pagan peoples.
What did early Christians say about pagan sacrifices?
They usually called them worship given to idols or demons, and they told Christians to stay away from them.
Do the early Christian writings say much about Druids by name?
No. The direct Druid references are few, and most of the teaching is about pagan religion in general.
Source Index for Druids and Pagan Religion
The guided sections above show the strongest quotations. This compact index highlights 160 ranked source links from 229 compiled sources for deeper study.
Source index 160 ranked links shown
Early Christian Writings 80 shown of 126
Primary-source quotations from early Christian writers and church documents.
Bible Passages 80 shown of 103
Related Bible passages saved for comparison with the early Christian quotations.
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Superstition and Pagan Religion
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