The Similarities Between Norse And Christian Mythology

It is human nature to question our surroundings. Even dating back to the earliest days of mankind, the “caveman,” there are records suggesting our ancestors believed in something bigger than themselves—a life beyond what they could see. This belief carried thousands of years, in many forms, including polytheism and monotheism. Two of these belief systems are those of the Norsemen and those of Christians. Set over a thousand years apart from each other, and in completely different parts of the globe, the highly contrasting traditions and folklore do not have much in common on first glance. However, despite the obvious cultural and spiritual differences between Norse and Christian mythos, a multitude of similarities can be found, mostly

He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. In the beginning, he created the heavens and the earth, and shaped the land and sea together. He caused vegetation to grow, created time, and lit the sky with the sun, moon, and stars before creating living creatures to fill the land, sky, and sea. All of this took God six days, and after this, “he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken,” marking it as a holy day (The New American Bible). Sometime during this, God took up the clay of the ground, molded it in His image and likeness, and breathed life into it, thus giving birth to the first man, Adam. He set him down in a paradise He created for him, the Garden of Eden, and after putting him in a deep sleep, removed one of his ribs, and fashioned it into a woman, Eve, who He gave to Adam as his partner. God gave them dominion over all living creatures, and told them they could eat from any plant but the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, for they would be “doomed to die” if they did (The New American Bible). Tempted by a serpent, which is regarded by most as the devil, Eve ate from the Tree, and made Adam eat from it as well. When God discovered their treachery, they were banished from the garden and sent to live and work in sin and suffering, a fate that is considered to have been passed down to all their descendants — the human

The book of Revelation or Apocalypse in the Catholic Bible has long remained an enigma to scholars, but even so is considered a prophecy of the end times. In addition to this, Jesus foretells much of what is to come in the Gospels, beginning with signs that will be visible as the end approaches. False saviors will appear to try and lead His flock astray; wars and insurrections will arise; earthquakes, famine, and plagues will sweep over the earth; and terrible and mighty signs will come from the sky (The New American Bible). God’s people will be persecuted, and the city of Jerusalem will be surrounded and trampled by Gentile armies. Frightened by the roaring of the sea and the signs in the sky, God’s chosen people will look up to see the Son of Man “coming in a cloud with power and glory,” and they will know that the end is at hand. At this time, the archangel Gabriel, in a move comparable to Heimdall, will blow his trumpet to warn the world that Armageddon is drawing to a close and Judgment Day has arrived.

As in Norse mythology, there is hope for life after death for Christians. The Book of Revelation describes a new heaven and a new earth that will take the place of the earth that had passed away. In this new land, peace and justice will prosper, for God will live among his people, and will “wipe every tear from their eyes and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain”