Monday, March 23, 2009
The Problem of Heathenry Followup
To those who've enjoyed, or haven't enjoyed for that matter, The Problem of Heathenry: there will be a follow up to the first essay in the form of a short article. In that article I will try to evaluate some of the comments and discussions that followed the article. The main line of the article will be in tune with the earlier conclusions, but there are still many things to add. First it will be posted here, and after that at some other places as well.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Reactions to the Problems of Heathenry
I've been getting quite a lot of emails about my essay 'The Problems of Heathenry', which you can read here. Some are positive. And then some not so positive.
In some way people feel that my essay doesn't represent Heathenry accurately. The fact is that I talk little about Modern Heathenry: or at least, the comments never seem to adress the passages on Modern Heathenry.
I used two different words, that somehow might be unclear to people. On one side we have the pre-modern, pre-Christian PAGANS, who are the main subject of the essay. On the other side we have the modern, post-Christian NEO-HEATHENS.
What I did in the essay was compare what pagans did, sometimes why they did it, with what modern people do. I found there to be a wide gap: pagans did all sorts of cruel things, like kill each other (though that can be justified: kill or be killed), have slaves, raid completely innocent villagers, and many other things.
I decided to write the essay because I felt that this is a huge problem. Online you can read many stories about how great our ancestors were, how profound their insights into man and nature, how good their society was, etc.
I believe most of that to be true. But one should not act as if they were being nice to each other, or neighbouring peoples. So Modern Heathens should take a clear look at that, and say "Well, it wasn't all good." And think about their ethical code and what kind of system it had produced in the past (or what kind of system has produced that code). Then, it should be obvious that there should be some "adaption", and a clear rejection of historical reconstructionism, and perhaps even reconstructionism.
In some way people feel that my essay doesn't represent Heathenry accurately. The fact is that I talk little about Modern Heathenry: or at least, the comments never seem to adress the passages on Modern Heathenry.
I used two different words, that somehow might be unclear to people. On one side we have the pre-modern, pre-Christian PAGANS, who are the main subject of the essay. On the other side we have the modern, post-Christian NEO-HEATHENS.
What I did in the essay was compare what pagans did, sometimes why they did it, with what modern people do. I found there to be a wide gap: pagans did all sorts of cruel things, like kill each other (though that can be justified: kill or be killed), have slaves, raid completely innocent villagers, and many other things.
I decided to write the essay because I felt that this is a huge problem. Online you can read many stories about how great our ancestors were, how profound their insights into man and nature, how good their society was, etc.
I believe most of that to be true. But one should not act as if they were being nice to each other, or neighbouring peoples. So Modern Heathens should take a clear look at that, and say "Well, it wasn't all good." And think about their ethical code and what kind of system it had produced in the past (or what kind of system has produced that code). Then, it should be obvious that there should be some "adaption", and a clear rejection of historical reconstructionism, and perhaps even reconstructionism.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
New things
As you can see, I've changed the idea of 'Beyond the Boundary'. Here I will be posting some comments on things that interest me and recent publications.
First of all, I just published an article, called 'The Problems of Heathenry', here. The reactions that came from this article, urged me to start a blog, to keep those who are interested posted and just keep some notes on interesting events and articles.
Also, I've got an upcoming article in Pentacle Magazine (another one) called 'Shape Shifting and the Soul', which explores beliefs surrounding shape shifting in Old Norse Literature and Medieval Witchcraft.
I am currently working on another essay called 'God, Sorcerer, Shaman', which examines the shamanic elements in the mythology surrounding Óðinn. When that is finished I will have to work on the Second Part of The Problems of Heathenry, which will look for the justifications of racism within Heathen lore and modern thought. Also, it will provide a more informed perspective on the extreme right and nationalist populism, than most internet site, who are “against racism”.
First of all, I just published an article, called 'The Problems of Heathenry', here. The reactions that came from this article, urged me to start a blog, to keep those who are interested posted and just keep some notes on interesting events and articles.
Also, I've got an upcoming article in Pentacle Magazine (another one) called 'Shape Shifting and the Soul', which explores beliefs surrounding shape shifting in Old Norse Literature and Medieval Witchcraft.
I am currently working on another essay called 'God, Sorcerer, Shaman', which examines the shamanic elements in the mythology surrounding Óðinn. When that is finished I will have to work on the Second Part of The Problems of Heathenry, which will look for the justifications of racism within Heathen lore and modern thought. Also, it will provide a more informed perspective on the extreme right and nationalist populism, than most internet site, who are “against racism”.
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