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A Conviction and A Contradiction// Haylee Lynd

     


    Beowulf, like many stories, makes numerous Biblical references. It may sound dumb but I do geek out a little bit over the fact that Grendel is a descendant of Cain and is not just this random banished ugly creature but is banished as punishment for Cain's killing of Abel. 

    One of my favorite references and quotes is "...The Almighty Judge / of good deeds and bad, the Lord God, / Head of the Heavens and and High King of the World, / was unknown to them. Oh, cursed is he / who in time of trouble has to thrust his soul / in the fire's embrace, forfeiting help; / he has nowhere to turn...(Beowulf 15). The Danes aimlessly sacrificed, built shrines, and prayed to pagan gods. Because they did not know the real God, they had no real source of hope. I think it is important reminder of why it is so important that we as believers share the good news of Christ. We are so blessed with the knowledge and understanding of Christ's death on the cross. We are selfish not to share that knowledge and understanding I once heard someone say that you must truly have to hate someone to not share the gospel with them and send them to Hell. This quote in Beowulf reminded me of that. It convicted me...not what I expected from an old epic poem.

    On a different note, I continued reading the book and got a little confused. The book seems to contradict itself unless only the rich and powerful Danes knew the God.  Later, it says that the noble warrior who led Beowulf and his crew to the King Hrothgar says, "May the Almighty Father keep you and in His kindness watch over your exploits..." (Beowulf 23). In addition, Hrothgar references the "Holy God"(Beowulf 27). Are they just hoping there is one true and good god or are they confident in their knowledge of the Almighty Father? If they are, why do the common people not know of God? Why do they worship pagan idols? Anybody else notice this strange contradiction?


P.S. I commented on Caroline's and Abigayle's posts.

Comments

  1. Caroline TuckerFebruary 15, 2021 at 10:17 PM

    I was confused as well! I remember reading that they did not know God but then later they referenced God. Upon thinking about it, I can think of many possible reasons why it says they did not know Him and then mention God. The first is that it might be similar to the alter to the Unknown God that Paul encounters in Acts 17. The second is that they all knew of God but did not KNOW God. I could be completely wrong and not even close in my guesses but I find it very interesting.

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  2. Emma Kate PattersonFebruary 15, 2021 at 11:59 PM

    I love that you related the quote from the book to our call as Christians to spread the Word of God. I completely agree that it would be selfish of us not to spread the Word of God. As Christians we are called to share the Gospel.

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  3. Abigale BellFebruary 16, 2021 at 11:20 AM

    Hi Haylee! Great post! I think it is interesting that numerous references are made to God. In a world where people worshiped so many other gods, it's amazing that they seem to refer to one as higher than the rest. Maybe this speaks to their humanity; an idea that there is one higher power? This reminds me of references to God in Plato's writings. There are times when he refers to God, but other times when he refers to the gods of his culture. I am perplexed by the contradictions.

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  4. AnonymousFebruary 16, 2021 at 12:51 PM

    Great post. Although I do need to disagree with you when you said, "send them to Hell." I do not believe we, as humans, have the power to send someone to Hell if we do not encourage them about the Gospel. Other than that, I loved your post and also got very excited when Biblical references were pointed out.

    Madalyn Dillard~

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