Religions

The religious council was gathered the next day. Everyone was happy because of last night’s festivity. Most of the colony was busy cleaning up, so the council could discuss religious issues in undisturbed. Thorvald wanted the atmosphere to be as relaxed as possible and let them talk about anything for a while, as long as it was friendly and not religious. In half an hour, they seemed to be finished small talking. Peter addressed Thorvald and said; now please tell us what you want from us.

Thorvald was glad he did not have to interrupt and said; I want you to tell me about your religions so we all know what they really are. Next, I want to clear up disagreements so we can agree on what’s acceptable for all. Finally, and most important of all, I will declare freedom of religion in the colony. He saw the unease reactions of the council. Everyone was prepared to fight for a superior position and did not want freedom for anyone else. Thorvald rose and said, I have changed my mind, and I will not finally declare religious freedom. He waited for complete stillness before he stated: I hereby declare religious freedom at this new found land.

Thorvald sat down and let the council realize what had happened and the implications of it. After a while he added; that is not a discussion, it is the reality from now on. Now I will let you tell me what your beliefs are in your own way, without personal affection. I want it to be objective and friendly. I will also let someone to tell about the Vanirs in addition to the Asirs. Now Hans rose with an angry look. He was the priest of the Norse clan and represented a considerable authority. You should know better than to split the Norse into two fractions, Thorvald. Before the unity, there was war, and that is not what you want. Do not put us in a two fractions at war. Thorvald noticed the sincerity of Hans and recognized the risk of misinterpretation of religious freedom. I will not form any religious group or fraction, Thorvald said. But I have to know the cultures from the sources in order to solve any differences. By the way, Thorvald continued, I hope it is in order to name the followers Asirs and Vanirs, even though that is the clans of the gods. There were no objections to that.

Now please let us start the presentation, Thorvald said. Peter you are first for an uninterrupted presentation of Christianity. Peter rose and said; well you all know religion is about realities beyond our understanding. This is not so easy to explain, but I will try to put it as simple as acceptable in this limited time. First of all, there are two books that are called the Old and the New Testament. For us the New Testament is most important, although the old one is the foundation. The Old Testament tells about a tribe that lived well in Gods garden until an evil snake tempted the women and all were expelled. It is a dramatic story where the tribe ends up as thralls in an empire of pyramids. They manage to escape, get God’s 10 laws and in the end find their own land. In the New Testament, the land is occupied by a new empire called Roma. This empire has beaten the original empire, formed in the garden, and will ally with the pyramid empire. The only one that can save the tribe squeezed between the three empires is a savior, a son of God, the Christ. He comes and saves the people spiritually. That was a nine hundreds years ago, and Christianity has grown ever since and has now reached these northern parts. Now, Peter said with a long break. It has changed during the time. Christ has been united with the only God, and the Holy Spirit. They all have become one. Those who believe that Christ and God is the same are called Catholics and those who believe they are not the same, are called Arians. Personally I suspect a rivalry between Catholics and Arians will come one day. He took another pause before concluding, but White Christ is the savior for all, including us.

Peter’s presentation gave the council a lot to think about. They hadn’t really heard the story in that way before. Coming from one of their own made the religion a lot more acceptable. Thorvald rose and thanked Peter for his presentation. However, he said, I have three questions that I will ask all of you three. Is that acceptable, he asked. Peter hesitated, not quite he said. As mentioned, religion is a complex issue. I need some advisor and should be allowed to get it. That’s in order Thorvald said, we will hear all the presentations first. Then you get a break to gather your advisors. After the break you will answer the questions.

Next is Hans to present the Norse religion, with focus on the Asirs. Hans hesitated and said; it will not be so easy to present the religion restricted to merely half of it. I guess it is like presenting the New Testament without the Old; Hans said and looked at Peter. But I will try. The Asirs are the new generation of divine beings. They were mistakenly called gods when the Christianity arrived. The Asirs are superior beings and live above us in another world called Asgard. We humans live in Midgard, the world in the middle. There is evil beneath Midgard that is guarded by Hell. This is rather common with all religions, even Christianity. We call the divine beings Asirs and the Christians call them Angels. The difference is that the Norse embraces their angels, while … Hans stopped himself in provoking Peter. The social structure of the Asirs is rather common to our structure of a human tribe, which is natural since we are so influenced by them. The Asirs have even relatives here in Midgard in every of the three casts; the noble, the free men and the thralls. Yes, even the thralls, he added. He waited a little before saying, no offence, but wasn’t the angels very engaged in the birth of Christ? Too pity they were not that engaged when he was executed. This is an outrage, Peter shouted. You are out of line here, Thorvald said. Either you present your religion or you stop right now. Well let me add a few things. In the resent centuries we have practiced a rather liberal poetic policy. It has added a lot to our religion, but it has also degraded it. Remember, Loki is a lying trickster and much of the scripts are directly related to his telling. Therefore, not all of our scripts are reliable. Finally, I think I should say something about Surt. It was quite with anticipation in the council. Hans said; Surt is not a part of the Norse mythology. I do not know where he came from and what his motives are. He is merely patiently waiting underground to set the worlds on fire, like some angel of death.

Thorvald rose and thanked Hans for the presentation. Although I see you fight on two fronts, I must stress that this council is for enlightening, friendly settlements and not disputes. I am sure however, that we will have some of them later, he added with a grin. That loosened up the mood a little. Hans rose; I apologize for any offence I might have made. Peter looked at him and nodded in approval. Good, Thorvald said. Now I need to do a little explaining. I can understand the reactions when presenting both parts of the Norse religion separately. It is not my intention to take part or to divide any groups. But after what I saw yesterday, it seemed that the Norse is already about to split. Who will tell us about the Vanirs, he asked. After a while, an unfamiliar man entered the room and said; I will.

My name is George and I come from Ireland, he said. The council members looked at each other in wonder. I know you mainly consider the Vanirs to be Norse. But remember, they are ancient; they ruled long before the Asirs came to Asgard. There was a war between them which lead to a union between the two. But it should not be forgotten that their differences had a simple reason, - they were, and they are, very different by nature. While the Asirs were dominant rulers of strength and knowledge, the Vanirs were powerful creators of the nature and masters of magical powers. That magic is basically potions, spells and mind control. The Asirs joined them for a single reason; they could not beat them, they still cannot, and they never will. However, this is not a call for division. It is a call for mutual respect. Unfortunately, I must say that the Asirs have been too dominating and the Christians too alien. I fear that we will vanish due to ignorance. If so, you will not be able to deal with the true threats in time. He made a pause and continued. You might wonder what the Irish people have to do with the Vanirs. Well, we realized some time ago that the Vanir culture is rather similar to our ancient Celtic and druid culture. This means that the Norse religion is far richer than you realize. Embrace the Vanirs and you embrace the druids. He waited a while, wanted to add something more, but said instead; thank you for listening.

They all sat there for a while, thinking. Thorvald wanted to keep his lead of the meeting and started out. I don’t know about you, but the more I hear about your religions, the more become certain some important things. First, it is refreshing to hear religion in this way. Second, there distinct differences can not, and should not, be unified. We simply can not understand what will be lost in the process. Third, therefore I consider the mutual religious respect as more important than ever. He waited a little and added; I hope you all can put your differences aside and realize that. It does not happen often, but this time they all stood up and applauded. Thorvald was touched and gained new hope. He let them applaud him to the end. Then he said, now there is time for a break, and remember get your advisors, two for each at the most.

The council gathered again after the break. The advisors waited outside. There was some arguing amongst the council members. That worried Thorvald a bit. They could not be alone for half an hour before the disagreements broke loose, he thought. But he decided to ignore that and continue with the meeting. As mentioned, I have three questions for you that will be answered by all. I am certain there are different opinions. But remember, this is about mutual respect for different opinions. First I ask you Peter, what is God. Peter said; this is a fundamental and ancient question, which basically refers to the Old Testament. Please allow me to get my assistant. He went out and called for the person. There was some hesitation. Peter had to ask several times, and then he had to excuse himself for leaving the room.

The others looked at each other in wonder. Hans could not hold it back and asked; he should get the advisor, not the god, right? Thorvald ignored that comment. Be patient, he will be back soon. Just as he said that, the door opened and Peter came in. He sat down by the table and excused the delay. A slight misunderstanding, he added. He saw Hans had a hard time holding back his comments. Soon the door opened again and in came a guard with a small and old woman in chains.

Hans and George rose up and shouted out in anger; this is outrageous, no less than a scandal. Peter and Thorvald though they were overreacting. Thorvald calmed them down and waited for the thrall to sit down beside Peter. Hans and George were still upset and could not hold keep quite. Thorvald could not ignore their behavior and tried to calm them down. Please, he started; do not make such fuzz about this. There are thralls in our colony. Sometimes they even have to be bound. But most of all, they have a secure life and are free of responsibilities. This council is not about thralldom, it is about religious questions. We have agreed on a peaceful discussion, - remember that, he added. He waited for the council to calm down. Hans, can you please tell me what your objection is? He rose up, and pointed at the thrall and said; this is my religious advisor. George could not sit still. What? This is my religious advisor. Thorvald wanted to laugh about it, but found the situation crucial. He ordered them to be still, looked at them and asked, do you all claim that this single person is the religious advisor for each of you. Reluctantly, they all nodded.

Thorvald leaned back, waited a while and asked the thrall; who are you anyway? She looked down and said; my name is Rafka and I am the servant of the Dan household. You mean Dan that is in the council, Thorvald asked. Yes master, she answered. And what have put you in such a religious position. People listen when I talk; she answered. Yes I can see that, Thorvald said and look at all the three religious leaders. They were at unease. Rise up and come here, he said to her. She did. Do not be afraid, we will not harm you. But we will get the truth. Who are you really, and what is your religious background. Now sit down beside me and tell us all about it.

Rafka knew that lying at this council was risky. She also knew that they expected to hear it all. On the other hand, she thought they should not be bothered with irrelevant issues. This was a religious council after all. I am from the tribe described in the Old Testament. She waited a little and added, but we do not recognize the New Testament. She looked at Peter and said; that is why I know so much about God. It is originally our religion.

She looked down and continued. Our tribe was nearly destroyed by the empires. Our fraction escaped westwards, through Africa, Spain, France and to Scotland. For generations we learned about the Celtic way of life and religions. We find no indifference in nature and religion. She looked at George and said; the reason why I know so much about Vanirs religion is because I am Celtic. She looked down again; our religion has many angels that help us. Although different, there are many similarities to the Asirs. She looked up at Hans and said; you should know more about the similarities between the Babylonian angels and the Norse Asirs. She waited a while and added; maybe then you won’t be so scared by screaming of Surt. She looked down again and waited a little until finalizing. However, our main objective is to find the Promised Land. She waited a little longer and added; or else we will take Eden back, at any cost.

It was quite for a long time. The council had much to think about. I think we should have another break and let you find your very own advisors this time. It should not be necessary to mention, but I stress, your own advisor. The priest went out and left Rafka inside. Thorvald turned to her and asked. There is a question you were supposed to answer for the three priests. Now you can’t do that. However, I still would like to hear it in your own words; what is god. Rafka raised her head and looked him in the eyes and said; I know a lot and I am not always true. But one thing I most certainly know and can tell you truly; I don’t know. She felt free to leave and walked towards the door. Halfway there, she turned around and added; but I do believe. She left Thorvald wondering.

The priest returned after the break. Thorvald stopped them before they reached the table. This time, he said, I would like you to get your advisors first and clearly state that they are recognized by all. The priest got their advisors and sat them down beside themselves. Peter, Thorvald said, do you recognize the other advisors. There was no problem in that. The two other priests also recognized all that were present. Good, eventually we can get on with the final questions. Peter, you are free to take you time. Thorvald asked; what is god? That’s an easy one, Peter said. God is the only and almighty one. Thorvald waited, but finally had to add, can you elaborate on that. Not really, he hesitated. It is as simple as that, God is The One, and there is no one else. I am curious, Thorvald said, you mentioned two fractions of Christianity and now we have learned that the creators of the Old Testament reject the Christ of the New Testament. How come? That is easy as well, they are wrong, Peter said. There is the trinity, the holy union of God, Christ and the Spirit. It might be hard to understand, but it includes all people, even though they don’t believe in it. Thorvald thought that was as much he could get out of Peter by now.

He turned to Hans and asked what about your belief. Well it certainly is not that simple as the monotheisms. Our belief is pantheistic. That means we respect the idea of one overall superior god. But we are not that certain of how it is. The reason God is not that focused in our religion, is not because we ignore him. We find God to great and complex to even mention. We also find it ignorant trying to describe God in details. No offence, he hurried to say to Peter once again. Our main focus is the Asirs, - or angels as others like to call them. They are the messengers and executers of God’s will. They are in-between God and man, and they try to do well. As we know, that is not easy and errors are made. They are not perfect either. We can only hope and pray they do their best and that it is good enough. Hans did not have more to say and concluded; that is it.

George, Thorvald said. Now I am curious about the Vanir view on God. Yes, he started, in fact, we are too. It might be easier to think about the monotheistic and the pantheistic explanation to understand the polytheistic view. God is simply too hard to explain. We have admitted that, so we focus on what is possible to understand. We see the nature, the earth and the stars. All this is part of a universe. But since the universe is too great to embrace and understand, we start with the simple pieces it consists of, what we are able to relate to. We are aware that there are souls, we know much about the magic in nature and we believe we are all part of a divine world. When an herb can be magical, and when a man can have soul, cannot an animal be divine as well? Such ideas are the fundament of our polytheism. Not disrespect for mono- or pantheism, but we focus on its parts.

Thorvald understood that George had finished and sat back. Thank you all for some very fine explanations. I hope you can hear what I hear. The council was curious. I hear you say it all. Now I really would like you, not merely hear it all, but listen to it all as I have done. You could not do that, because you were so preoccupied in presenting your personal views. Therefore I will ask you to go home, think about what you all have said. Then I am certain that you will solve you differences. He rose as if to go, but stopped himself. Remember one more thing, he said, knowledge is about facts, but religion is about belief. Do not mix that up. You tell your people what this is about.

They all left the room a lot more relieved that evening than when they came that morning.