Death and Paganism
You know I'm pretty much a fired up Christian, but I'm not too sure this Beowulf text is really that Godly. It seems rather interested in old Germanic pagan rites, not something that would be uplifting to God. Does this seem like a Christian text to you?
Comments
Well, friend Caedmon, you have had your say
about me. But the question at hand is this:
Is it better to honor your ancestors,
or to honor your God? For if telling my story
offends your God, it's not telling offends my memory.
You remind me of my narrator,
always apologizing for our worship
of our proud gods, calling them
"idols", "pagans" and "devils".
Saying "That was their way"
like we are uncivilized peasants
who know no better.
This happens with other legends too:
Arthur Pendragon is a Celt, not a Christian.
Yet, I suspect that your God
does have some good about him,
that there are places our morals meet
and where we can entreat
Does your God not say:
"Eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,
a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot"?
This strikes me as a fair and just bargain,
one that honors our traditions
of vengence and the death-price.
Surely there are other aspects
where our philosophies intersect.
Posted by: beowulf | June 12, 2007 9:54 AM