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Christian Beowulf? // Abbie Hedden

 What makes a Christian hero? It's fairly straightforward. In Biblical literature, a hero is someone who is or acts like Jesus Christ. This can be in his selfless acts, defeat of evil, or sacrificial acts. Jesus selflessly came to earth and ministered to those around him. He will defeat the evil of Satan. He sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins. Naturally, His actions are those of a Christian hero, because He is what Christians strive to be.  I believe that Beowulf does exhibit the characteristics of a Christian hero. He selflessly chose to fight Grendel and Grendel's mother, risking his life. He sacrificed himself at the end against the dragon. I would even argue that he knew he was going to lose - who thinks they're going to win against a dragon? - but chose to go anyway. In a way, he did win: he slaughtered the threat and made sure his people were safe. Like I said, it's pretty straightforward here if you look at those specific points.


PS Emmett and Abigale

Comments

  1. Ian BlairMarch 1, 2021 at 9:11 PM

    I can personally agree with Beowulf being Christ-like in the first two parts of the epic, but as for the dragon fight, I think he did more harm than good by sacrificing himself when he didn't necessarily have to. Beowulf could have probably brought a significant force of men and taken the dragon out while also preserving his own life, which would have prevented the Geats from being left open to attack because of there being no son to pass the royal lineage to. Good post!

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