ReiverCorrupter said:
Cherry Cola said:
Let me just put this as clearly as possible: Norse Mythology did not have any moral values to enforce. It had no messages to preach, it had nothing to teach. It is one of the most pointless religions ever to have existed.
So my point still stands: Nobody from Scandinavia has no reason to proclaim their national heritage.
LOL at bolded. If it had no value it wouldn't have existed in the first place. Norse mythology reflected the war-like attitude of the vikings, and like it or not, the vikings were one of the most influential forces in medieval history, not only as conquers but as world class merchants. In fact, despite depictions of them being mindless barbarians they were incredibly skilled craftsmen and actually worked to spread the advances of civilization, especially to Ireland. Britain would be unrecognizable without the vikings (I'm not sure if you're aware of this but the Normans were of viking decent as well).
Are you perchance a Christian, and if so, would I be out of line to assume that you think that Christianity is the only religion that has a worthwhile value system? I hate to break it to you, but it was exactly when Scandinavians became Christians that they stopped having much of an effect on European history.
The idea that the ethics of the norse religion was one of barbarity and bloodshed is quite a commom misconception. The idea that they had no moral values is just plain wrong. Even though the Norse were infamous for raiding and whatnot, they weren't mindless barbarians. The Eddas are full of ethical rules and guidelines, and most of the stories are highly allegorical for the Norse mindset, which actually weren't so far from the christian way of thinking in some ways.
For example, the Hávamál (the central poem regarding Norse morals) starts out by saying that a good man is a generous host to every guest who visits him. The Grimnirsmál tells the story of Odin who suffers at the hand of an evil king, until he is saved by the young prince, who is rewarded with divine knowledge. Replace "Odin" with "Jesus" and it wouldn't seem too out of place in the Bible.
Not to say that the norse religion is really just christianity in disguise, there are plenty of differences - the biggest of them being (in my mind) the fact that the norse heathen's relationship with the gods had roots in his own personal honor and renown, a personal religious view, if you will, whereas the christian values are defined from a collective, over-arching idea of sin and absolution, under which each man's qualities are assimilated. What the best form of religion is, I don't know, but it sure is a difference.
Now, I'm not trying to play clever here, don't get me wrong. ReiverCorrupter, I am sure you know most, if not all, of this already, it was more the blatant ignorance of Cherry Cola that called for a little education : )
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That said, I agree that we scandinavians aren't any more "viking" than anyone else, as the traces of both blood and culture have been long since wiped and warped beyond reckognition. Not that that's necesarilly a bad thing, it's unavoidable, but the link between the modern scandinavian and the ancient viking is very thin indeed these days.
