In Odin’s Warrior Tribe, not only are we reviving the Norse/Germanic faith, but we are engaged in an ancestral cultural revival. It is important for us to not only to understand the Norse/Germanic viewpoint on matters of faith, but the religious viewpoints under other faiths which we might have been raised or educated. That is so we can counter them in order to retrain/reeducate ourselves and keep alien concepts out of our faith. Far too many heathens think that by converting to heathenry they are somehow engaging in heathen salvation or “being saved” that is a Christian concept.
The concept of “Original sin” is a Christian doctrine which states that humans from the moment of birth are sinners – born with a tendency to sin that can only be stopped by salvation. In the Christian Bible in Genesis 3 the sin is explained as original with the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden. Also relevant is the disciple Paul's Epistle to the Romans, 5:12-21 ("Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned").
The Roman Catholic view on Original Sin is expressed as “By his sin Adam, as the first man, lost the original holiness he had received from God, not only for himself but for all humans. Adam and Eve transmitted to their descendants human nature wounded by their own first sin and hence deprived of original holiness and justice; this deprivation is called "original sin".
In our view our first ancestors were created by our Gods, and we are born good though we can lose that and the Norns may spin bad plans for us. As the lore tells us we are not all born equal though. We know that is true from life then and now - life is often not fair - that is its nature. If we live a strong, heroic, honorable, and virtuous life we will be remembered and honored and have a good afterlife - and for most people that is Hel. We seek orðstírr - which really means "word glory." The Vikings not only wanted it, they wanted to be with those who had or also sought orðstírr. As we know in very rare cases an individual who dies in battle or has a certain warrior status may end up in various Halls – think Valhalla and Sessrúmnir in Fólkvangr if it is separate from Valhalla. Still just dying in battle is not a ticket to Valhalla since we know Odin and Freya choose - decide. Also, those that perish at sea join Ran and Aegir in their Hall. Snorri also mentions Gimlé – a Hall where the virtuous will live after Ragnarök. In our faith, if humans commit evil acts, criminal acts, and other perversions then they doom themselves to the judgement of the Gods. The point is you doom yourself you were not born doomed.
We are not descendants of Adam and Eve rather Ask and Embla are our forebears created by the Gods. Our pre-Christian ancestors had codes of behavior – the Havamal for example is a code of behavior attributed to Odin himself. Following the code of behavior kept one on an honorable path. Breaking that code severely could and may earn one status as nīðing. Those that are murderers, oath breakers, engaged in perversions are doomed to an afterlife where Níðhöggr the serpent lives and chews on corpses in Nástrǫnd.
Stanza 77 of the Havamal implies in death both the person’s reputation and judgement not only by those left living and by history but by the Gods themselves (who decide your fate in the afterlife in our Norse heathen faith system).
“Deyr fé,
deyja frændr,
deyr sjalfr it sama,
ek veit einn,
at aldrei deyr:
dómr um dauðan hvern.”
„Cattle die,
kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But I know one thing that never dies,
The glory of the great dead.”
So, it is not an original sin that dooms a person in the Norse/Germanic faith rather the bad acts that they commit from which there is no concept of salvation and for which the Gods can judge them. That said can a person redeem themselves? We believe there is cumulative justice. Through our deeds we seek to live a life of honor and live up to our own virtues and values (expectations) and gain reputation in the eyes of those whom we truly respect our fellow warriors, our fellow heathen warriors, our family, and our Gods. No one is coming to save you, no one is dying for your sins in our path, its up to you.
“A hall she saw standing
remote from the sun
on Dead Body Shore.
Its door looks north.
There fell drops of venom
in through the roof vent.
That hall is woven
of serpents’ spines.
She saw there wading
onerous streams
men perjured
and wolfish murderers
and the one who seduces
another’s close-trusted wife.
There Malice Striker sucked
corpses of the dead,
the wolf tore men.
Do you still seek to know? And what?”
Völuspá
Photos by the Chieftain in Iceland. Wooden poles by the sea and as an older woman there told me they are watching and waiting for the return...
Comments