Many of my fellow Celtic pagans would like to explain away the fairly convincing evidence of human sacrifice (not just punitive but also propitiatory) in Celtic society. I'm of the opinion that the Druids probably did kill folks, but it doesn't mean my spiritual practices are compromised.
And as long as we can reclaim the Celtic spiritual tradition without firing up the ol' "wicker man", maybe we can ease up on Christianity for the Inquisition.
Just a thought.
Afterthought the First:
It occurred to me after posting this that the Celts were far from the only pre-Christian European culture that shed blood in the name of religious rite--ever read Euripides' "The Bacchae"? Religious frenzy is always capable of inspiring mayhem, the secret in many non-Western traditions of long standing, it may well be, is focusing the energy of madness into actions in the spirit realms rather than in the physical world.
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