History's "Vikings" (Season 4)

[hagios]

Originally Posted by Cook

Proselytizing aside, the vikings were not aware of any of this at the time. To them christianity was another god or BS. The pagan and polytheist view was that different people and cultures had their own gods that looked after them or that their gods were the same but with different names. The idea of one god and no others didn't exist in the minds of polytheists and pagans.

Given the times, culture, and lack of exposure you can't really expect them to be any other way towards christians. If anything the christian god appeared weak to let pagans rob his temples and kill his people. A viking of that time encountering the christian god would not risk the wrath of his own gods by taking up worship of a new god that to them would appear weak. I know you yourself don't believe in the viking gods, but they did. It is all they knew. For them it was a matter of their soul's place in the afterlife. Just like you are concerned about your own soul and seek salvation in Christ. If you want to understand a people you need to get inside their head, and see it from their perspective. Looking down on them from your 21 century privaledged christian viewpoint isn't the way to approach history. It doesn't mean you have to approve. I certainly don't approve of the way they treated other people, but I know their motivations for doing so.

And you might be surprised to know that I am a christian. I simply don't expect 9th century vikings who have never encountered christianity to understand its ways or expect them to be cuddly towards Britain. And I am glad to hear you are sticking with the show.

I do not or will not look down on anyone, I will always 4 everyone!