Paralympic Closing Ceremony - thoughts from all denominations please

[worldgonecrazy]

The Paralympics Closing Ceremony lifted some words from a druidic ritual, invoking the four elements. Whilst I and my pagan friends thought this was pretty fabulous to have something so watched be so pagan-inspired, what do those who follow other religions think? Did you even notice?

Isn?t this just referencing the Ancient Greek origins of the olympics and the four elements as described by Plato, Aristotle etc.?

Glad you felt it was pagan-inspired, I just felt it was theatrical rather than any particular religious & as sleepy says harking back to it's greek origins.

Whatever the source it was pretty amazing!

The words were written by modern-day druids and used in the ceremony with their permission.

I agree that the thread of using the four elements can be traced back to Ancient Greece and beyond, but they are a very strong feature in modern day paganism. Many neo-pagan ceremonies begin with an invocation to the four elements in a very similar fashion to the way they were used in the Closing Ceremony.

I did notice, and the four elements are also used in Celtic Christianity. Celtic Christians worshipped God, and praised Him for His creation, many seeing it as a reflection of heaven.