thomas.berubeg
Wandering the World
The Screams of the dying still echoed through the air as King Thorvan turned to the robed man standing next to him. Alrun, every year there are more and more of these Christ-priests spouting their rubbish. The old ways are slowly fading. My own Daughter has gotten it into her head somehow that these Christ-Priests, with their messages of Privation and of a boring heaven, are more holy than our own Priests.
The Old man sat in silence, clutching an amulet in the shape of a raven in flight for so long that the King turned back to the still burning pyre. Finally he spoke The disciples of the White-Christ are agents of the deceivers. I know you have spoken to them before.
King Thorvan quickly interrupted A wise king knows of all the goings on in his lands.
Yes, you demonstrated great wisdom by speaking to them, and not letting their honeyed tongue influence you.
But so many have turned from the Allfather and the Aenir and Vanir.
Tell me, what did they have to say to you?
They told me of their God, White Christ, and his father, whom they merely refer to as the Lord. These two men are one and the same, by their words. They told me some stories that were quite remarkable...
The sacrifice of White Christ unto himself and his father to allow men to enter into his realm beyond the skies, I take it?
Thorvan was baffled.
You know of their stories?
Of course... It is only wise for a priest of the Old Gods to become well-wandered in the sagas and beliefs of the Christians. I have heard their tales and stories.
How did you find them, Seidman? Thorvan asked, leaning inwards, attentively waiting for his answer.
Well, they aren't completely unimpressive, that thing must be admitted, and some of their storytellers and scribes are more than talented skalds. But when you look deeper at their stories, it becomes clear that there is nothing remarkable about them. What they say about Christ, we've been passing down in the stories of the Aesir to our children for many hundreds of winters. Most of the feats they attribute to their God or Gods are no different from the feats performed by the Gods of our fathers, often in a more majestic and glorious way. And of course, there are discrepancies in their sagas. Things that could not be, if they were true.
Such as? Thorvan asked.
Well, consider the saga of White Christ sacrificing himself unto himself, which we have been saying about the Alfather for ages. Odin was sacrificed by his own hands upon the great tree of Yggdrasil. White Christ was sacrificed by men of the ancient kingdom of the Romans. The Christians believe in a god that was slain by mere men. Would you really bow before such a God? Indeed, would you even say that such a God could claim to be a God? Yes his return from death was A godly feat indeed, yet hardly impressive: many of the Aesir have managed that. One day, Balder will return to fight alongside his brethren in Ragnarök. There are sagas which tells of wizards lacking godly blood pulling off that trick. Now a wizard may be more powerful than a man, but that is no reason to bow down before him. In fact, every morning, the Lords and Ladies of Valhalla brings back the swine Sæhrímnir to life to be slain and eaten in the eve. You wouldn't say that a swine could be a God, now could you?
Forgive me Alrun, but I still cannot see. If you and your fellow brethren can so easily find that the claims of the Christians are lies, then why have so many nations in the south already fallen for this false faith. So many wise kings and jarls in so many lands?
Don't get me wrong, son of Eirik. The Christians are cunning, very cunning. But just because they are cunning does not mean their message is one of truth. Remember Loki, remember the God who fell. Loki was more cunning than any other who dwelled in Asgård, yet he seldom spoke the truth.
Then tell me, My friend, How do we quell The spread of these lies?
The answer to that is simple. The greatest Asset of these followers of the White-Christ is that they are organized. They have a lord in faraway Rome who tells them what to do, and he sends out his agents across all the lands, carrying the book of lies with them. We need the same. We need a symbol around which to organize the Faith of the Allfather.
tell me what you need, Alrun, and I will provide it.
OOC: Some of this argument lifted from elsewhere on the interwebs.
The Old man sat in silence, clutching an amulet in the shape of a raven in flight for so long that the King turned back to the still burning pyre. Finally he spoke The disciples of the White-Christ are agents of the deceivers. I know you have spoken to them before.
King Thorvan quickly interrupted A wise king knows of all the goings on in his lands.
Yes, you demonstrated great wisdom by speaking to them, and not letting their honeyed tongue influence you.
But so many have turned from the Allfather and the Aenir and Vanir.
Tell me, what did they have to say to you?
They told me of their God, White Christ, and his father, whom they merely refer to as the Lord. These two men are one and the same, by their words. They told me some stories that were quite remarkable...
The sacrifice of White Christ unto himself and his father to allow men to enter into his realm beyond the skies, I take it?
Thorvan was baffled.
You know of their stories?
Of course... It is only wise for a priest of the Old Gods to become well-wandered in the sagas and beliefs of the Christians. I have heard their tales and stories.
How did you find them, Seidman? Thorvan asked, leaning inwards, attentively waiting for his answer.
Well, they aren't completely unimpressive, that thing must be admitted, and some of their storytellers and scribes are more than talented skalds. But when you look deeper at their stories, it becomes clear that there is nothing remarkable about them. What they say about Christ, we've been passing down in the stories of the Aesir to our children for many hundreds of winters. Most of the feats they attribute to their God or Gods are no different from the feats performed by the Gods of our fathers, often in a more majestic and glorious way. And of course, there are discrepancies in their sagas. Things that could not be, if they were true.
Such as? Thorvan asked.
Well, consider the saga of White Christ sacrificing himself unto himself, which we have been saying about the Alfather for ages. Odin was sacrificed by his own hands upon the great tree of Yggdrasil. White Christ was sacrificed by men of the ancient kingdom of the Romans. The Christians believe in a god that was slain by mere men. Would you really bow before such a God? Indeed, would you even say that such a God could claim to be a God? Yes his return from death was A godly feat indeed, yet hardly impressive: many of the Aesir have managed that. One day, Balder will return to fight alongside his brethren in Ragnarök. There are sagas which tells of wizards lacking godly blood pulling off that trick. Now a wizard may be more powerful than a man, but that is no reason to bow down before him. In fact, every morning, the Lords and Ladies of Valhalla brings back the swine Sæhrímnir to life to be slain and eaten in the eve. You wouldn't say that a swine could be a God, now could you?
Forgive me Alrun, but I still cannot see. If you and your fellow brethren can so easily find that the claims of the Christians are lies, then why have so many nations in the south already fallen for this false faith. So many wise kings and jarls in so many lands?
Don't get me wrong, son of Eirik. The Christians are cunning, very cunning. But just because they are cunning does not mean their message is one of truth. Remember Loki, remember the God who fell. Loki was more cunning than any other who dwelled in Asgård, yet he seldom spoke the truth.
Then tell me, My friend, How do we quell The spread of these lies?
The answer to that is simple. The greatest Asset of these followers of the White-Christ is that they are organized. They have a lord in faraway Rome who tells them what to do, and he sends out his agents across all the lands, carrying the book of lies with them. We need the same. We need a symbol around which to organize the Faith of the Allfather.
tell me what you need, Alrun, and I will provide it.
OOC: Some of this argument lifted from elsewhere on the interwebs.
