I am thinking of converting to hethonism and the ancient norse beliefs. Before you roll your eyes and shake your head in dejected dismay I would like you to take a moment and listen to how this came about.
The reason I am writing this tonight is because I just spent the night at an old friend's house. We were really close in school but drifted apart after graduation, and this was the first time we had met in a long time. She had invited me for dinner with some of her friends, and when I asked how they all knew eachother the answer had come quickly and hardly surprising - they all attended the same church.
If there is anything that was associated with Ellie when we were young, it was her Christian faith. It was as unseparatable from her as her arm or her leg. Probably even more so, if you believe some of the old Christian martyrs. We spent most of our young adulthood debating the windlings and dwindlings of religious and ethical subjects; she from her Christian point of veiw, me from a more philosophical yet to be defined but nevertheless more pagan angle.
Ironically I also believe that she was one of the main factors why I came to reject her faith for my own part. When it all came down to it, I could not accept a God that welcomed or even recognized the concept of "sin".
Now, more than ten years later, on finding out this particular bit of news I jokingly asked if I was supposed to get nervous being surrounded by such a number of them, she laughed quietly and replied that it was hardly no worries.
"You are the only heathen here. We should probably be more afraid of you."
As she said it, I knew it was true. I was a heathen, and have always been. I felt more safe with the gray hat of Oden, more comforted by the Hammer than by the cross. It made me start thinking.
You see, it is all about traditions. I like traditions. At least the ones you choose yourself. I love Christmas, because I every year chose where to go. I also like the thought that there is something deeper, more profound, than the uninspired preachings echoing among the dusty chapels around the country, something which can define the outlines of a faith which now has no name nor shape. I like the hedonic heritage in my native land with Midsummer celebrations, the Lucia wake and the great Valborg fires in late april that nobody can with good concience can refer to any old Christian tradition supposedly introduced with the increasing amount of immigrating missionaries in the 7th century.
Nothing good came out of that, really.
Now, I don't believe in a literal Midgrd or a gray-clad and one-eyed Oden with his two ravens more than most people in this secular country believes in an old man in a long white beard. But I would rather have my children read the Edda than the Bible, and I would rather have them give praise to Hel than to God.
Not that I mind God, really. He just lacks character.
This is what I like, and have always liket about the Norse Gods. They have character. They are not perfect - sometimes they are downright ridiculous - but they always have character. Thor is strong, Odin is wise, Loke is shrewd and intelligent, but Thor is also hot-tempered, Odin sometimes boarding on cruel and Loke downright mischievious. They all have these wonderful, complex personalities and the love of it is that they accept this. They do not supress, deny or condemn their weaknesses. They simply accept them.
Whilst they are all that, God is just... love. God is just a constantly benevolent judge who forgives people of their sins supposedly committed to, oh, himself.
You only have to read Paradise Lost to realize his hypocricy.
The Norse Gods may be corrupted, but they are honest. They may not be perfect, but they have character - and in the end that is what it is all about. I don't believe in an old man in a gray hat - but I do believe in the importance of a clear an analystic mind and of the constant search for knowledge. I don't believe in a constantly smiling busty woman - but I do believe in the appreciation of sexual intimacy and in my freedom to enjoy it. I don't believe in a dark-haired evil crook - but I do belive in the importance of accepting the element of chaos, and the vital experiences it brings, in freedom and the importance of not being afraid of facing - or having - different perspectives
The Norse Gods may not be the divine deities that are described in the Edda, but they symbolize things I do believe in.
That is good enough.
The reason I am writing this tonight is because I just spent the night at an old friend's house. We were really close in school but drifted apart after graduation, and this was the first time we had met in a long time. She had invited me for dinner with some of her friends, and when I asked how they all knew eachother the answer had come quickly and hardly surprising - they all attended the same church.
If there is anything that was associated with Ellie when we were young, it was her Christian faith. It was as unseparatable from her as her arm or her leg. Probably even more so, if you believe some of the old Christian martyrs. We spent most of our young adulthood debating the windlings and dwindlings of religious and ethical subjects; she from her Christian point of veiw, me from a more philosophical yet to be defined but nevertheless more pagan angle.
Ironically I also believe that she was one of the main factors why I came to reject her faith for my own part. When it all came down to it, I could not accept a God that welcomed or even recognized the concept of "sin".
Now, more than ten years later, on finding out this particular bit of news I jokingly asked if I was supposed to get nervous being surrounded by such a number of them, she laughed quietly and replied that it was hardly no worries.
"You are the only heathen here. We should probably be more afraid of you."
As she said it, I knew it was true. I was a heathen, and have always been. I felt more safe with the gray hat of Oden, more comforted by the Hammer than by the cross. It made me start thinking.
You see, it is all about traditions. I like traditions. At least the ones you choose yourself. I love Christmas, because I every year chose where to go. I also like the thought that there is something deeper, more profound, than the uninspired preachings echoing among the dusty chapels around the country, something which can define the outlines of a faith which now has no name nor shape. I like the hedonic heritage in my native land with Midsummer celebrations, the Lucia wake and the great Valborg fires in late april that nobody can with good concience can refer to any old Christian tradition supposedly introduced with the increasing amount of immigrating missionaries in the 7th century.
Nothing good came out of that, really.
Now, I don't believe in a literal Midgrd or a gray-clad and one-eyed Oden with his two ravens more than most people in this secular country believes in an old man in a long white beard. But I would rather have my children read the Edda than the Bible, and I would rather have them give praise to Hel than to God.
Not that I mind God, really. He just lacks character.
This is what I like, and have always liket about the Norse Gods. They have character. They are not perfect - sometimes they are downright ridiculous - but they always have character. Thor is strong, Odin is wise, Loke is shrewd and intelligent, but Thor is also hot-tempered, Odin sometimes boarding on cruel and Loke downright mischievious. They all have these wonderful, complex personalities and the love of it is that they accept this. They do not supress, deny or condemn their weaknesses. They simply accept them.
Whilst they are all that, God is just... love. God is just a constantly benevolent judge who forgives people of their sins supposedly committed to, oh, himself.
You only have to read Paradise Lost to realize his hypocricy.
The Norse Gods may be corrupted, but they are honest. They may not be perfect, but they have character - and in the end that is what it is all about. I don't believe in an old man in a gray hat - but I do believe in the importance of a clear an analystic mind and of the constant search for knowledge. I don't believe in a constantly smiling busty woman - but I do believe in the appreciation of sexual intimacy and in my freedom to enjoy it. I don't believe in a dark-haired evil crook - but I do belive in the importance of accepting the element of chaos, and the vital experiences it brings, in freedom and the importance of not being afraid of facing - or having - different perspectives
The Norse Gods may not be the divine deities that are described in the Edda, but they symbolize things I do believe in.
That is good enough.
the_matt79:
I have been thinking I should read the Edda,perhaps you just convinced me to bump it up the to read list.
the_matt79:
So which version would you suggest I seek out then?