Saxon Christianity: a true account?
Well, I was watching the History Channel a little while ago, and they mentioned something about the view the Anglo-Saxons had of Christianity back in the 9th-10th centuries AD:
That the Saxons saw Christ not as the shepherd, but as a great warrior who overcame death and the cross, as a symbol of manly virtue and courage. There were Saxon poems that compared warriors and kings to Christ as a way of showing the manhood and valor of the man in question by saying he was 'Christlike'.
Also, the Saxons looked on God the Father as a "God of Majesty, God of Power and Might."
I wonder, firstly, if anyone can verify these accounts of Saxon Christianity, and secondly, just what would you say is the usual depiction/understanding of both Christ and God today as presented to males here in the US? "Valor and courage" and "power and might" aren't words I associate with the versions of God and Jesus that were presented to me in Sunday School or church.
Thanks all,
Ardashir
That the Saxons saw Christ not as the shepherd, but as a great warrior who overcame death and the cross, as a symbol of manly virtue and courage. There were Saxon poems that compared warriors and kings to Christ as a way of showing the manhood and valor of the man in question by saying he was 'Christlike'.
Also, the Saxons looked on God the Father as a "God of Majesty, God of Power and Might."
I wonder, firstly, if anyone can verify these accounts of Saxon Christianity, and secondly, just what would you say is the usual depiction/understanding of both Christ and God today as presented to males here in the US? "Valor and courage" and "power and might" aren't words I associate with the versions of God and Jesus that were presented to me in Sunday School or church.
Thanks all,
Ardashir