William Blake, artist, is perhaps now most remembered for a short poem in the preface to his epic poem Milton dated to 1804. The shorter poem is not actually entitled, but is generally referred to by its opening line, or as Jerusalem, the title of a 1916 hymn that uses Blake’s words, with music by Sir Hubert Parry.
 
What is interesting about the poem is that it speculates that Jesus once walked in England and was presumably inspired by the West Country legends of visits by Jesus in the company of his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea.
 
That William Blake was a passionate man is evident in all of his works. His desire to encourage all to seek truth and fulfil the human potential to build a better world, a heaven on earth, was perhaps an important first light for the revival of the ideals of Celtic Christianity. While this process is still quietly smouldering, Blake prophesised that it would one day burn with a passion within all men.
 
Celtic Christianity predated Roman Christianity by around three hundred years, and was eventually wiped from the record by the later Roman Christian Church in AD 595. Many believe that this resulted in the destruction of the true history and philosophy of Jesus, with the replacement being nothing more than a carefully contrived dogma designed to maintain and promote the ruthless imperialist successor. The historic records of the era, letters to Rome and so on, certainly support this case.