About Respecting Cultures/Religions that AREN'T Yours
2023 ж. 31 Там.
9 738 Рет қаралды
Rant about Greek Paganism and news for the channels future!
Hellenism has historically been a pluralistic religion with beliefs ranging between polytheism, animism and monism, although a Hellenist may hold beliefs that fall into all of these categories. Additionally, there are other interpretations of divinity in line with Hellenistic philosophies, like Epicureanism. Hellenism is, in practice, primarily centered around polytheistic and animistic worship.
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As a Greek you are very welcome to speak about my ancestors and their myths It's a free country
thats such a greek name youve got there
I'm half southern Italian, so it's my ancestors and myths too
One of the things that’s always turns me away from Christianity is telling folks who practice non Abrahamic religions that their beliefs are false or that their worshipping fake gods or idols, and the need to go on mission trips to third world countries and convert people, it never sat right with me since I was always told growing up “respect others and treat them how you would want to be treated”
Before Rome stole Christianity an rewrite it wasn't world wide it was for one race only learnt what they change to see whats been hide also like viking didn't fear death also we all been told alot of lies
You can always point out the Bible talks about other gods.
The way I see it they all just believe some stupid useless crap whereas Jesus can really help you but the church is corrupt. Christianity was not found to be lacking, it was too difficult and therefore abandoned.
@@chriswaters2327So, þe true nature of our souls and how we perceive our bonds wiþ our environment is "useless crap" according to you?
@@Beleidigen-ist-Pflicht You are just playing pretend stuck in the mind of a child.
OMG a KZhead that actually cited they're sources! I'm not even joking, so many factoid channels don't even bother putting in a bibliography in their description boxes so it's such a relief to see a person do this! Cheers to you!
Thanks for your comment. We'd dropped including references because everyone tunes out for them. Perhaps including references more subtly may be a better idea.
Their*
Love & be proud of your own cultural heritage but equally respect those of others who feel the same way about theirs.
No one respected the Norse culture. They were murdered, and their history in America erased. People are hypocrits, and they have been bred to be stupid too.
Let us incentivize each oþer to defend our homelands from each oþer if necessary.
Even if it’s a particularly nasty culture?
@@robinharwood5044 cultural heritage is different from current cultures. But the general idea I agree with I think cultural traditions are not bibles to follow anything can be changed or modified for the better
No, a free man can say whatever he wants to. In fact, that was pioneered by the Greeks.
You can, however don’t expect to be accepted everywhere you go.
Completely agree. I'm Gaelic myself and have been irritated on occasion by the odd self proclaimed Druid who claims they personally speak with the Morrígan despite never having set foot in a Celtic country. But Norse culture gets misappropriated far more often from what I've seen.
So Celtic descendants in America and Australia etc have no right to celebrate their cultural heritage from Europe? I say this as a European myself.
It's all Greek to me
@@5gpoweredrunt505 I encourage anyone to celebrate their heritage but I'm clearly implying people who don't understand or have proper respect for the culture. They don’t even bother to learn the language. They romanticise the culture and turn it into their own private cosplay. Many Gaelic deities are directly tied to the land of Éire. You can't know them personally without knowing the land. Our own native Seanachaí lore keepers wouldn't be so audacious as to claim personal friendships with powerful native spirits like An Mór Rígan (the Morrigan). It's ignorant. And dangerous if someone genuinely believes in the power of the Aos Sí (the indigenous spirits of Ireland).
@@arkady7739 Excuse you and how dare you. I'm talking about my indigenous culture. A culture that was nearly wiped out by colonisation. I encourage anyone to learn about it but nobody has an ethical right to misappropriate it or bastardise it for their own pop culture fancies. And religions literally are tied to ethnicities. Spiritual practices often represent the local traditions of a particular people and their culture. For example, I grew up two miles from a sacred hill devoted to Aibel, a spirit who protected my ancestral tribe the Dál gCais. Anyone without a connection to the Dál gCais would have no business claiming her as their own personal deity. That's one example. There are thousands the world over. It is not acceptable to misappropriate someone else's culture. So take yourself and your high horse and feck off because my horse is higher.
@@worm_vaquero 😂
Always find it cringe when some non-scandinavia/germanic act like they know it all. And specelly when they try this hbtq-paganism. When we know the norse were not accepting of degenerated behaviors
The “universalist” pagans usually are not pagans but are instead liberal Christians in disguise who liked the Vikings TV show and marvel a little too much. Very seldom is there any genuine faith to be found among them, they just define themselves in opposition to the “ruling” class, which they perceive to be old heterosexual Christian white men.
Difference between Norse and Roman Norse knew the age of consent 😂
Calling someone 'gay' in Norse culture was literal justification for you to kill the one who said it, so yeah they were nothing like our modern progressive alphabet promoters.
Same has been done to Greece before the Norse, one sociologist/activist after the other, writing books with huge leaps in interpretation, other times outright lying to pretend Ancient Greece was some homo accepting society when that's not the case at all. And that's ignoring the mythological characters that are claimed by these people to be HDTV despite not being so.
@@kostasbiker9302unlike the Norse Greeks and Romans were Pedos 😂😂 and you kn it
I love this about you. This is why I can't get enough of your content. I have similar heritage, and a shared faith, with you. I found your content within the sea of 'cringe' and I am very grateful for your perspective on the right way to go about things.
Totally agree and likewise! 😊
The first Americans almost all had germanic ancestry. They even wrote books about early on. A mix of AngloSaxon, Germans, Normans and Vikings. Even most of the “irish” came from Ulster and were mostly of AngloSaxon Norman stock. Even most of all the southern Scottish are AngloSaxon and Norman and most of the in America too. Most Americans are not as mashed up as you think, and often a lot more germanic then our UK cousins. Thats why we look so Germanic as we do. The top 100 names from Europe in USA are all Germanic. America has European heritage too.
Thank you for saying this, from an American with Northern and Western European heritage.
@@Helgrimr I mean back there being British was the best thing in the world in their minds. But they even almost made the symbol for America the Anglo Saxon brother of England. And Normans of the south fought the Anglo Saxons of the north for a very long time. They even knew they were Normans etc. But nowadays everyone is confused. Being British or American is not what it used to be....., and Dna test have uncovered our lost unknown real ancestries. But it's been a long time. I'm sure we even have new genes unique to each locations since the viking age. We are Americans with viking roots, English with viking roots etc. But we are Americans, and English. But most of the vikings, and great norman knights left to Scandinavia, and to deny the sons of the vikings, Anglo Saxons, Normans etc. is blasphemy. I'm sure the Allfather would disapprove! If the vikings were still around I'm sure they would be smart enough to embrace all and everyone within the millions of the legacy. Especially if their fantasy was to rebuild a germanic culture, and nation.....
I’m soooooo looking forward to this! I know you are going to be super precise and respectful, and I am very much looking forward to what can be uncovered with us working together on pagan beliefs ❤
This channel just keeps getting better and better.Respect brother!
People let things offend them too easily, there is nastiness in everything that exists, if we keep giving them our attention they will continue to fight to prove their point, instead of learning to grow on their own. That’s why I try to avoid “playgans” and just let them be. Being in a few of the “pagan” groups on Facebook made me realize that my Scandinavian friends were fighting an endless pointless battle. So we made a New Year’s resolution to drop the groups and just grow more as friends and learn from one another. I love the content! Thanks for everything!
Huff ja, jeg har ikke tall på de grupper og individer (vesentlig fra et bestemt land) jeg har droppet og/eller regelrett blokkert, for min egen del!
@@sarahgilbert8036 Very true, it really hurts people that are really wanting learn awesome information and meet great people.
@@giverthebeans9711 there are good groups. You just have to try, fail, try again.
@@sarahgilbert8036 I may have to do that! Thank you!
Thank you for this, it was humbling !
Hail from a English Descendant, and Anglo-Saxon Pagan, Good Job! That is all hahaha, Love your channel
Finally well said. I don't know why every religion in the world is respected, but somehow every American who has watched a couple Jackson Crawford videos considers themselves a scholar and can't resist spreading lies about our Norse religion. And then we get called racist for asking them to stop.
As an American who has witnessed the very same thing, I agree.
As someone who is interested in learning, I agree but I have a note...as someone who has asked in groups before for guidance on what to read and where to go, getting shit on by "the natives" for being curious doesn't help fix the problem either. Not saying anyone in particular, just a general observation and it isnt limited to just norse paganism. Maybe if people were less gatekeepers and more willing to help guide others, they wouldn't have to worry about those others being misinformed.
@@WildWolf31I agree. I know they are not talking about me specifically but it can feel that way sometimes when I want to learn and grow and they are so weary.
@@WeathersRabbitswe Scandinavians are very proud of our heritage and what our ancestors has accomplished. I see Americans claiming to be Viking or norse pagan and they are dressed up like some fictional Viking character and talking like characters from the tv series Vikings. Please google what we Scandinavians wore as clothing back then and after that look at American TikTok Vikings. What they are doing is disrespectful. They are literally just Viking tv series and a marvel thor fans. I’m ok with people appreciating the Scandinavian Norse paganism but please if your not Scandinavian don’t try and claim it. Just a question, why are Americans so obsessed with Vikings and why do they call Vikings ancestors?
Yess. Thank you for that great news and thank you for all that you do. I love to learn about greek myths and culture.
Personally I'm a German of both Saxon, Norse, and Celtic ancestry. I've reconnected with my Norse and Saxon culture, and to a lesser extent, my celtic culture though I've never declared Wotan (Odin) to be my god. However I dated a Mexican woman who practiced Norse magic and was by all accounts a vitki. I learned more about my ancestor's gods from her and about actual rune magic than most other pagans I met who were descendants of vikings and German pagans. It's rare to find people who know more about one culture or religion than the people who descend from this culture or religion, but it can happen
I'm quarter German Uzbek Russian and Ukrainian, came to Germany at the age of nine 37 now...and I know more shit than most about wodan= woda water in Russian, mjolnir= molnia lighting in Russian,cuz i do my research...and that is absolutely next level,next levels shit in fact...so yeah,the whole ancestry shit means NOTHING at the end of the day...I'm neither German nor Russian nor anything, and I better keep my mouth shut cuz I didn't read books...but I know what he meant aswell...
@@enl8ghtenmenttv476 Persönlich bin ich der Überzeugung, dass man sich mit seinen eigenen Wurzeln und seinem Erbe verbinden sollte, bevor man sich der Kultur einer anderen Person zuwendet, und wenn man das tut, muss man sich darüber im Klaren sein, dass man nie vollständig Teil dieser Kultur sein wird und dass es bestimmte Grenzen gibt, die man respektieren muss. Ich bin zutiefst fasziniert von der türkischen, mongolischen und asiatischen Kultur und Geschichte und natürlich befasse ich mich bei meiner Forschung hauptsächlich mit der Erforschung der Seldschuken, des Sultanats Rûm, der Khamag-Mongolen usw. Aber es ist nicht meine Kultur und ich interessiere mich nicht dafür haben keine echte Verbindung zum Osten. Aus diesem Grund versuche ich immer, mehr Wege zu finden, um tiefer in meine eigene Kultur und mein Erbe einzutauchen. Weil ich von meinen Vorfahren abstamme und es ihnen zumindest schuldig bin, mich an sie und ihre Vergangenheit zu erinnern, so wie wir alle. Aber letzten Endes ist die Ideologie, dass man nicht mehr über die Kultur einer Person wissen kann, weil man nicht zu ihr gehört, eine Lüge. Religion und Glaube sind nicht an eine Person gebunden, da sie von allen Menschen geteilt werden können und werden. Natürlich denke ich, dass manche Dinge heilig sind und nicht mit irgendjemandem geteilt werden sollten. Aber wenn ein Chinese anfangen möchte, die Götter anzubeten, warum ist das dann wichtig? Genauso wie es keine Rolle spielt, wenn ein Norweger anfängt, Ra anzubeten 😂
Sad but true.
rune magic is modern wiccan bs tho, we don't know shit about the "magic" aspect of runes besides maybe 2 or 3.
I have germanic and celtic ancestry, so I'm not sure which path to take. I'm pretty much half germanic and half celtic
hell yeah, much respect.looking forward to more of these vids.💙⚔️💙
I don't think that we should worry about reconstructing pagan culture as long as we rebuild from our own experiences of animisem that manifest in our land base. In the same way that water follows the same path down the mountain over thousands of years. Paths forgotten , can be found again by walking them.
I'm enjoying your content as it's based in proper sources. Looking forward to your hellenic religion videos!
Very noble sir. More people need to follow your example
I think people should just stop being constantly offended by words and opinions.
Words are powerful, that much our ancestors at least understood. I think being offended at least means you care. At the same time, I think often when these people say they are 'offended' they really mean 'I disagree with you but I use this word in order to silence and control you'. Because we have honor and decency and mean to act justly to others. They abuse this.
@@faramund9865 I find your response well thought and balanced. I agree that the word offended is weaponized to silence and control people but I just think we shouldn't add fuel to the fire by participating in too much taking offense. Words are powerful. I think intent, interpretation and context are everything. If I tell "fire" in a crowded stadium I can cause drastic effects. If I chant in ritual or verbally invoke the power of Runes I can also cause powerful effects both inward and outward. But someone calling me a mean name only carries as much effect as I allow. Along the same lines, someone speaking about my culture and history with good intentions, even if false, should not cause an "offense". If the intent is to insult, demean or harm and is directed towards one's ancestors and sacred aspects of their culture then offense is warranted. My argument is that intentions, context and interpretation are what matters. Even if you aren't well versed in a culture, no disrespect should be taken.
Hmmm funny you should mention this.
@@faramund9865I also think "everyone" uses offended, because they lack the vocabulary to use their own words. Such as irritated, aggravated, tired of, fed up with, etc. It is tiring to constantly try to explain the same things over and over (or repeatedly, to use another term, lol). Where I do get offended, is when someone who's misused a term, misinterpreted how to do something in my culture, will keep quarelling with me and tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, when he's never set foot outside his redneck town!
Yes yes yes Great idea! And i agree with what you said about the respecting culture.
Oh this will be wonderful!
Haleluja! Så jävla rätt. Folk behöver säga detta oftare. :)
Kalimera/Kalispera. Very good video and philosophy! Looking forward to your new videos on Greek paganism.
I very much appreciate this perspective. It’s actually funny because not too long ago people didn’t understand why it may be offensive to parody or appropriate Native American culture for instance and just called them snowflakes. Fast forward to today and I see the same thing from Norse channels about how that heritage isn’t there for people to just mock and appropriate. “My heritage isn’t your costume” and the like. We should all, in my opinion, be allowed to practice whatever beliefs we’re drawn to but should seek to do so with humility and respect. I try to read everything I can on all forms of paganism because my ancestors come from all over and I want to understand them and what they may have believed so I’m very excited for this direction on your channel.
I think research and dedication to what resonates with you is everything. There are several ways of coming into traditions - being born somewhere or having heritage is a good start but unless you cultivate that, it counts for little in my opinion. Its the practice and knowledge that is key, not pedigree. Also, völkish/folkish tendencies tend to lead down destructive and non-productive paths, so best to avoid them. Each to their own as always😊
I appreciate and agree about 'filling in the blanks'. It's an unfortunate necessity, and am looking forward to future videos; but can't the same also be said for Hinduism (as I seem to remember you doing in a couple of old videos)? Not that it's a competition, I'm for learning from both (and to compare/contrast with all, as well).
This is interesting, but I will be viewing the videos more about the Norse Germanic paganism. I just find them more interesting. I’ve known for years through genealogy, DNA , and talking to my ancestors that are still living that Norse Germanic paganism is home for me, I just feel it. When ravens visit they seam to be interested in what I’m doing. And the video you did about talking to birds hits home as well as the gods. So, Michael, do what you need to but us Norse enjoy you vids about just the Norse Germanic ways. Thank you.
An Aussie term I grew up with popped into my head during this video, 'Tryhard'. It pretty much describes the people you're referring to. LOL 😆
This channel is developing nicely it’s going from just the Norse Germanic thing to pre Christian European spirituality.😊
✌️💗🤘 Excellent & wise advice
As long as you are educated on it you don't have to be the same nationality of that culture. Metatron knows more about Japanese and Medieval history and ancient culture than most Japanese and English do and he's Italian. There are many scholars and historians who are professionals and are knowledgeable about cultures other than their own, to a point where they have more knowledge the the modern people of that culture themselves. I would just say it's dicey for armchair historians to so this without education. We shouldn't get into the headspace where "Only a GREEK person can be a Greek historian, only a Japanese person can be a Japanese historian, only an African..." ...so on and so on. Historically historians have often not been the same nationality as the knowledge of history they know. Dude I would trust you on ANY history to be honest, because you have a reverence for it and would try your best to present it authentically. If you started talking about Native American history out of the blue I would listen because you care about this kind of subject and would be inclined to trust you. Anthropology is a wonderful thing and at a certain point when you look at the long history of human kind you realize it's along chain of evolving cultures as people travel, it's wonderful.
I am very, very American I have been watching your to learn about my ancestors. I have been Pagan for a long time. And now I know why I was drawn to it so strongly without knowing why. Thank you. I will keep watching 👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸
Looking forward to it
Well that is good it's always smart to talk about other cultures with accuracy & respect if it's not on your own. That goes for all Pagan cultures as well as the mainstream religions.
Dude I just found out I'm half Greco-Italian this year! I've always had an affinity for the history, culture and Hellenism in general. I already had the Homeric Hymns and started learning but now it's more appropriate imo for me to fully pursue my ancestral beliefs. I'm really excited to hear you'll be delving into Hellenic paganism, thank you!
Thank you for referring to our heritage with the correct term dear brother ☺️ Our sangre in south Italy still preserves even our ancient language! We love you brothers of the world and we owe you apologies for letting Rome rape the whole world! It would have never happened if we would set aside our stupid discords
And the other half?
Everyone starts somewhere. Look. My 36th great-grandfather was Harald the Fairhair. I found this out recently, so I'm still kind of "weee" about it all. However I am a Mohegan. When I was going to school for anthropology I found it incredibly limiting that I was expected to study only my own culture when my interests, and thus that love you have to have to want to dig for hours and research ad infinitum, wasn't there. I'm not the only native with this complaint. Even in the circles of your own culture you're going to have people who talk out their a$$, that don't know what they're talking about. Some of those kind are even worse. I could tell you stories about how my parents had decided the mounds here were Cherokee (they are so not) and used it to twist our family history, which resulted in making a deeper schism between all of us. If only someone had been learned enough to get them to see how wrong they were, but they were surrounded by people talking out their a$$e$ instead while shutting themselves away from anyone who wasn't "Indian". So if someone has an interest in my culture, I see nothing wrong with it. I don't want to be imprisoned from learning anything either. And I certainly want the freedom to talk about stuff. I'm glad you're working to find a way to keep your own freedoms.
Much Truth in your words and thinking. Thank You for sharing. Skal!
you don't know if your grandfather was harald fairhair. everything before 1600s is just bs they tell you online cuz of the lack of presented documents esp in the northern europe.
We'd be in the exact same place as if we trusted natives who talk out their a$$, to be honest. Something a lot of people don't know, that my father found quite hilarious, is the utter bs my elders would tell anthropologists - not to protect some culture, but because it was funny to talk smack to outsiders and watch them believe it. A lot of that smack is taken for truth by outsiders still today. You're right that we should call out both. It's the same no matter where the person comes from. Smack is smack. Culture isn't race and the only reason culture has to do with race, family, is because it gets passed through family and connections. If someone wishes to learn the road respectfully, well it's a road. It's meant to be walked. Culture doesn't give a crap where you come from. It just needs people to know about it and practice it to survive. I have learned some amazing things from people who were true historians. They didn't have to be part of some tribe to have their heads on straight. They just had to be balanced and knowledgeable. Separating what we can talk about, learn about, and do by our backgrounds is making a mess. Which is the point to divide and conquer. Now we have a growing social problem that started out with people drawing their lines to people shutting down college campuses to people of the wrong ethnic group. The lines get worse when they go within, which they always do. Are you aware of the divide between natives against each other? I'm too lazy to go into it, but the mess is there. I won't truck with certain types of elitism, this "you can't drink from my water fountain" attitude. I got smacked with that at the last fair I was at. An entire American Norse tribe was there. They managed to divide the atmosphere clearly with the way they behaved. Others felt it, and it was not a friendly feeling. I've also seen "STFU" used way too much as a control tool, or even as an excuse to keep smack from being corrected, to want to deal with it. I've ended friendships over it. Dude here wants to learn about something new and interesting, and wants to talk about it, I'm giving him a thumbs up. He's proven himself to be a very thoughtful person who deals with knowledge well. A true talekeeper. That's what's needed. I look forward to seeing where he goes with this. I'm done talking.
You guy's are so lucky to have so much history. My family are mostly Convict sent to Australia or early settlers. But i gagged 30% Scandinavian DNA with no Scandinavian ancestry at all.🎉
Congratulations to anyone lucky enough to have been born into a land that has retained their indiginous culture and spiritual practices. For the rest of the 99.9 oercent of the world humans, we are still coming to terms with centuries of conquest, rape, and genocide, often perpetuated by religions and other egregores. We live in a debris field of left over propagana from the wars of the usurpers since history and the recording of it began. Have mercy on genuine seekers in good faith. For slavers of the mind and soul... No quarter.
Let's go! I don't think I have the facts catalogued in my mind well enough to speak on my culture, but I'll be here in the comments, eager to exchange with everyone.
A fascinating book from the Finnish paganism is the "Kalevala" which unfortunately is much lesser known than sagas. Sweds kept the rituals and I haven't found a book on that yet or I ended up looking over without realizing it. Almost forgot the Welsh Mabinogion.
I read somewhere years ago that the Kalevala influenced Tolkien and the Elvish language in his books.
@@torstenscott7571 Tolkien seems to have used the sagas and Kalevala to craft his stories to make a British mythos.
Kalevala is creation of a one man based on ancient poems. If one really wants to get deep in finnish mythology, they would read the actual poems from Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot (old poems of the finnish people). They are found online and there are tens of thousand of them - in finnish, of course. Kalevala is a good starting point though and is a highly respected piece of art in Finland.
Frisian here, and respect everyone's believes. Great idea Greek Paganism interesting for all who like to know more.
It's the religions that aren't ours that need to see this the most.
Only religion I have a problem with are those that speaks for misogyni and totalitarism.
You’re a good man.
Well Spoken.
Agreed. I really appreciate watching other nordic creators regarding nordic culture and religion. Unfortunately most large youtubers on the subjects seem to just be americans and brits who's so often quite insufferable to watch.
Been thinking and saying this for years. Cosplayers LOOL
Perhaps you may find how much pre-Greek cultures influenced Greek beliefs and culture to be worth your time. The "purple people", the Phoenicians, for example. I'd love to learn more about that, if you would.
I have Norse ancestry and I keep my mouth firmly shut when other peoples beliefs are discussed. I have no right to comment on any of it.
It would seem that being respectful is synonymous with being authentic and well researched.
I recently watched a video showing the MANY similarities of ancient religions, particularly Norse and Greek. There was an insinuation that, if you go back far enough, you'd find a common source.
Been getting a bit into Ancient Greek stuff recently. Would love to hear from a Greek how they see it all. Especially someone from the countryside. Especially because I really do see a lot of similarities to the Nordic stuff. Shared past and such.
This is why I absolutely love your channel! And yes I agree with you as well. Keep up the great work.
American here wanting to note two things: #1 The United States lacks a unifying culture beyond (a) earning money (b) stereotypical flag-waiving “I’m the best because” patriotism - and that’s dying off. #2 Most Americans are friendly & curious, but also ultimately LAZY when it comes to gathering facts. We get most of our information from Hollywood/TV/Tik Tok etc. That being said, a majority of the people accused of “appropriating culture” are just people looking for somewhere to belong, seeing something cool, and having bad information. The whole argument you have to “be part of a culture by race/DNA/color etc to enjoy it” is a holdover from racist American thinking in the last century that’s been repackaged for current times and sold to the global community. Shouldn’t we embrace people who want to be part of groups that don’t correspond to their inherent characteristics provided they put the effort in to care and learn? I think you’d agree with that, or would at least hope so.
Before converting to the faith of our ancestors, I sought out many other religions and cultural traditions to fill the spiritual void in my heart that atheism had inflicted. I dabbled in Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism and Wicca, and even considered myself a practicing Taoist for a few years. This certainly left a mark on me, and the teachings of those belief systems remain with me to this day, even though I am now a devout Ásatrúan ("Norse pagan"). Above all, studying and even briefly practicing other belief systems has taught me how interesting and worthy of reverence that other religions can be. I have never had any trouble respecting other religions or their practitioners; indeed, my best friend is a Hellenist (“Greek pagan”) and my partner is a Kemetist (“Egyptian pagan”), and our differences have only brought us closer together.
Recently I've been pissed off at people who offend my religious beliefs. I respect all the people, no matter their sex, age, sexual preferences, skin colour, religion etc. But only as long as they respect me. Of course I don't personally offend anyone who offends me (that would make me a hypocryte), but I politely try to let this person know that I'm not going to accept such behaviour. A couple of days ago some woman on Facebook offended me so I just told her that I don't talk to people who are rude. It worked 😌
I think it's important to remember that there's a big difference between respecting people's right to believe in their particular beliefs and in respecting the beliefs themselves. The two are not mutually inclusive. I don't necessarily respect people's beliefs only their right to have them.
I love Filip Holmes' Let's Talk Religion for that reason: it's humble and respectful.
Over all I agree but I like to keep the door open (metaphorically) to people such as myself who are mixed heritages, displaced from ancestry lands, true learners, true practioners and all others I may have forgotten to mention. I don't want to feel unwelcome and it can be accidentally done by being so focused on gatekeeping from ppl who actually appropriateing/cringing. Not saying that's what happened in this video i am just throwing my thoughts out just like everyone else in the comments. I am looking forward to learning about Greek pre-Christianity from someone i would trust to bring straight facts. I know you are not Greek but since you present accurate information about your own culture i know you will bring that respect into learning and sharing about this culture.
Well said
Hel, there are too many "scholars" who don't know anything about Norse culture and force their own ideological beliefs on it. I can't count the number of channels I have come across of professors and archeologists that push modern ideas on ancient cultures, especially Germanic and Norse because of the modern narrative.
Þat's þe point. Þey want to drag everyþing, what þey personally believe, along into þe practices, þat were begotten by our ancestors, even þough, what þey believe is grounded on foolish fallacies. Just anoþer argument to be made for gate-keeping!
You might also be on the alert for modern day survivals from ancient times, like a Garden of Adonis display used as a Christmas decoration or a man plowing land with a donkey and a plow with a design identical to the known Roman plows. I saw these when I got a chance to visit the Mediterranian region when I was a student.
Given the experience I've had with people who identify as """Pagan""" most if not all of them don't even know what the Eddas are and are identifying as such due to media like AC Valhalla and Vikings. Am pretty eager for the lineup of Greek videos tho, always been a personal favorite mythology of mine and I'm hyped for it.
To be fair, I’m sure the majority of people you would have encountered in viking age Scandinavia didn’t know what the Eddas were either. They probably had similar oral stories but they wouldn’t be able to quote some book written by an Icelandic Catholic miles away. The neopagan insistence on having “holy books” is a symptom of latent Christian impulses. Many neopagans do not have a new faith, they simply are trying to replace their previous religion piecemeal with a different “aesthetic”.
@@monkeymoment6478 The Eddas were written after the viking age, so they can't possibly have known about them. Of course, they knew many of these stories from oral traditions probably. However, Norse pagans don't view the Eddas as "holy books" in my experience. Just simply as second-hand sources to get a good idea of all the myths that otherwise would've been lost to time.
Completely agree with all of this. If we would start respecting people’s cultures and not think that we now more than they do about their culture. Then the world would be a better place.
Doesnt seem like many actual Greeks commenting, im no expert but i have been following your channel and studying my ancestors for some years now. Being a forest and mountain guide, I spend alot of time speaking to crowds about paganism, myths and symbology. If you care for a conversation on or off the air hit me up. Τιμή και δύναμη αδερφέ μου!
I like that you want to compare mythology to fill in the blanks, while respecting each culture's uniqueness. That's the approach I try to have. Fill in the blanks because we all began as indo-European. But, each culture and religion is still different.
I like your video, and I like its message, and am keen to learn more, you are an excellent teacher/lecturer and content creator. However; on the flipside I disagree with you I believe it's perfectly fine to speak about other cultures and teach people about them if you don't come from said cultures. So long as you do it well and respectfully, which I know for a fact you will with your Greek videos. What's not fine is when someone outright denied being wrong in any way and are arrogant. You can know a lot about a lot of cultures even without formal education. I know a lot about some cultures, I know that there's a chance I'm not always correct and always appreciate being corrected as it helps me learn, in fact i go do far as to ask to be corrected if im wrong lol, people always like that. There's respect and honor in taking being corrected well, when you take being corrected well the person who corrected you from the culture you are speaking of will like you more. Norse history and culture has always fascinated me. I believe that you could even cover Zulu mythology and history if you knew enough about it; research, sourcing (as you mentioned) and having people/guests from the culture- as you are going to be doing with Greek culture and history videos-and a good respectful attitude is always king and a recipe for success and being respectful of cultures you aren't part of. You don't need to be Zulu to teach others about it neither do you need to have formal education (Sources are necessary though). Just as you don't need to be Greek to teach others about its history and culture. Looking forward to learning more from you and your videos!
The Greek sociologist Maria Tzani is a defender of Hellenism. She was in Greek discussion shows. Maybe you know her. According to the Google entry: Hellenismos has been a "recognized religion" (known religion) in Greece since 2017. The New Religious Movement is officially known as such. According to Article 17 of Law 4301/2014, the followers may set up temples or sacred places and officially practice religious practices. What confuses me a bit...that this old religion is called the new religious movement. Although this Religion is very old. I look forward to your new videos about Greek mythology. Keep it up!
Thank you
Whats the intro music btw? I've been trying to find it for ages 😂
I'll be the stereotypical American here I guess, as I have never received a satisfactory response. But what heritage/culture should Americans be considering? Should we just accept Christianity? Or just create something new? We can know our lineage all the way back to the old world, but we are still American. Still a cultural mashup. This is an honest question, please don't take it as a flippant gesture.
Do not accept Christianity. I would suggest to follow your major European heritage. Ignore the memes like the ones shown in this video, just do not become a "Ragnar bro". Also avoid claiming that you are e.g Norwegian if you do not speak Norwegian and do not engage with Norway's traditions (i.e just claim you are of Norwegian descent). Otherwise, go forth and rediscover your heritage!
@@MT-tg4bt I appreciate your response, and agree in regards to organized religion. I left that over 20 years ago even though my journey hadn't started until a few years ago. I was also very fortunate to know where my ancestors came from, and agree that their ways have spoken to me most. Just really trying to understand the message and how to proceed respectfully. Thank you again for your response.
If you are a nordic American you are Nordic and entitled to celebrate your heritage, this video was an unfair bash against American people with nordic heritage. Geography doesn't change flesh and blood.
@@MT-tg4bt Demographics change, ancient Greeks and modern Greeks aren't the same people in my view. Think about logically about modern Greece and ancient Greece.
@@5gpoweredrunt505 I'm not so sure Thor was bashing anyone, he is a pretty down to earth guy. I agree with him it is about being respectful, but I have never received a legitimate answer to my original inquiry before, so I asked. You are entitled to your opinion, but in my opinion he is not being aggressive or rude here.
Exactly I agree
being a westphalian (saxon) who left cathoIic education I found india and there in particular sri aurobindo. sri aurobindo , 1872-1950, represents a monism in which there is a huge space for many levels, many beings like gods, nature spirits, all kind of incarnations. via sri aurobindo I got interested in my own lost pagan heritage. recently I had contacts with the mainpriest of the altheiden, one german group of germanic religion. he has a youtube channel in which he explains many details about the gods, nature, cults, trees, ancient customs. though I cling to sri aurobindo´s spiritual evolution- concept for the next level - the overmind and the supermind, means I concentrate on the earth´s future , I am very interested in recovering our own ancient roots. I would dream of establishing germanic places with people living there, with trees, animals, festivals, art, meditations on gods, nature.
Hey, I just searched for hours trying to figure out what Westfalian language sounds like. Couldn't find much unfortunately.
@@faramund9865 gueten dag! gueten muorn! means good morning. in my playlist there is one --- use mönsterland --in which the fist part is about the PLATT, the old language. after that you find videos about the geography of westphalia.
What are the best books to read when starting out? I feel a strong pull to the norse gods and norse paganism/religion
He has an Amazon list in the video description of good books
Which is why I dont like listening too outsiders opinion our culture and ways are not so simple you can just read a couple of books and then expect to school natives on it
I would like to ask if it's not too type A, but how much ancestry is required to practice norse paganism? I ask because I have a supposed 3% scandavian whilst the other 96% being "french-german". This all coming from 23 and me which I know may or may not be a true representation of my ancestry. Thanks again for your content, you do the world a service that I believe will reward you handsomely.
All people in Europe share the same ancestors (The proto-indo Europeans) as well as their language which has since devolved into many less sophisticated dialects (the modern languages of Europe). It honestly doesn't matter what your DNA test says, anything that's happened in the past 10,000 years is considered a recent change on the grand scale of human history. If you really want to practice the "ancient beliefs of your ancestors" or whatever, go climb a tree. Otherwise, do whatever the Hell makes YOU happy in the present, your life is short, make the best of it.
Those cheap dna tests only cover the past 300-500 years, and are extremely inaccurate for determining ancient ancestry. Thats not how the dna tests work. To really know you need an exspensive Y-dna test from family tree dna etc.
French-German would be Frankish. Look into Frankish paganism, it’s the same thing as norse but what your ancestors followed. Perhaps you can add Frankish god names and practices to your personal practice if you don’t feel at home with simply being a norse pagan
Greek paganism seems really complex. I'm not into it myself but I enjoy hearing other channels discuss topics such as the PGM, astrology, and Homer.
As someone who is Greek (Cypriot) and a Hellenic pagan, thank you so much for showing respect to my ancestral religion! I do practice Norse paganism and magic as well and have high respect for the traditions and culture.
Question. Would you say that it is okay for me to speak about Vikings because i am from Schleswig Holstein ( Schleswig is not far away from me) ?. I Would say no because i dont know so much about the Vikings only some basic stuff. That is why i watch you Videos
A wise woman once told me, if you really want to truly learn something, teach it.
Kalimera! I was good at Greek Mythology in grade 6 😊 but we moved on from there, so I'm certainly no expert on it. I love watching & listening to sirtakis. I like Greek olives and moussaka. But that's it! Yamas! And I agree with you. Don't try telling me about my culture when you have not lived it, or at least studied it in depth!
Sarah! Greek booze..., "Ouzo", is great, too. Ouzo's like Greek MoonShine..., with a hint o' licorice. Both Zorba The Greek an' I reccommendations it. 🙂 Rick Bonner Pennsyltucky
@@richardbonner2354I'm quite familiar with ouzo, as well as metaxa. And Zorba.
I'm none of the above. I'm just here for the history and because I love learning new things. Hope you don't mind.
Helps to study when a culture features an alphabet
Not Greek, but I practiced Hellenic Polytheism using Greek sources and alongside Greeks. I don't understand how people could speak with so much confidence about it while refusing to listen to the people who practiced/revived it first.
Wait you were in rhodes? I think harald baldr was there around the same time.
I am doing a deep dive into the norse pagan culture and religion. I have always felt a pull of the old ways. Please help or suggest some material or someone to reach out to?
Jackson crawford, havamal, poetic edda prose edda, some sagas aswell i suppose.
poetic edda, prose edda
Golden bough, James Frasser. Walden, Henry David Thoreau. Norse mythology, Neil gaiman. The eddas. That's what we have. Just stated reading the Golden Bough. These books pulled me to this belief system. Don't join groups, full of arse holes and crazies. Read the material, go outside, connect with nature.
i was not the one of need of information@@davidhall-4640
Yeah my Scandinavian ass overheats at 21c! xD
Well you can have thoughts and opinions about a culture or religion that isn't your own, it's just if it's intentionally offensive or insulting then that person's got more issues then I care to delve into 😂 the issue is if somebody is stubborn or ignorant, or over confident on something that's wrong and unwilling to new information etc etc. I've never felt connected to Christianity in the slightest. I was born and raised in Britain, and I've always loved mythology in all its forms. I adopted Norse Paganism after some pretty overwhelming evidence of the Norse pantheon 🤯 blew my mind! I've just always felt connected to the mythology, the structure of Norse Paganism and beliefs suit me quite well and I find the routine of making offerings, the feeling of something greater out there and in my mind I earn Odin's respect by putting 100% into any situation and helping myself rather than relying on others. Like I said I experienced overwhelming evidence, I've repeatedly asked Norse Gods for the opportunity to help myself or a sign when I need a little push and I've consistently had a response in one form or another! And I feel very blessed to be able to say that! People pray to the Christian God and ask for him to fix everything for them, the whole thing is very judgemental, making you feel very subservient and as if you have done wrong ect, where as the Æsir respect my ability to survive and how I navigate the world. But I've been told that I shouldn't even be Norse pagan before and that I'm appropriating someone's culture, but what am I supposed to do when an immortal deity of cosmic proportions, who influences the universe and has the cataclysmic power to either wildly better my life or outright kill me announces himself to me? Fuck what those people say! I'm getting behind the immortal deity and readying myself to fight in Ragnarok! 😂 In fact the only time I ever asked for something was the time I asked for money so I could keep an oath and I asked for what was needed and nothing more. I had borrowed money because I was desperate, homeless and starvin and they had borrowed me at a detriment to themselves so I felt so bad when I knew I couldn't get it back when I said. I asked for money, just so I could stick to the oath and I swear to Odin, at 1am I got a notification from pocket of a refund from a cash machine. I had said that I didn't get my cash when I did, just tryin my luck 😂 but I got the refund months later at 1am. I used it to pay the debt and I had £10 more so I bought me and this other homeless guy something to eat. Day after that I was shown where to get food from when I was desperate, where I can go to get off the streets and introduced to a rehab team in the area.
Will this new series on Greek paganism be formatted like the Norse series you already have? I'm not personally interested in any other Pagan beliefs other than the Norse mythology, at this time and don't intend on participating in it. I am a Norse Heathen and I was born into it. Others can believe what they want, it's not for me. Skal!
Damn greece looks magical
I remember when you once talked about the Finns and the Viking era and said that unfortunately the Vikings robbed Finland a lot... however, I think you didn't take into account enough historical writings or Icelandic sagas from which you can conclude that things went the other way. no one takes sagas or the Bible as full of historical fact with giants etc.. but you can't invent those sagas on your own, yes they contain historical fact just like there is in the Bible... what do you say to this?
Så sant
sri aurobindo praised the ancient greek (indogermanic) achievements as a great splendour of universal importance.
Good advice. Very Greek beard. Like kick-someone-into a-pit, Greek.
I am not from a Skandinavien country, I am from Germany. We have the same spiritual roots though and, as there is so little information about my german ancestors here I must rely on the northern mythology and the sources there. My fathers side of the family is originally from Scotland and Ireland, yet I know only a little of this cultural mythology. Many descendants of former northern warriors and settlers travelled to other countries, some of them are now discovering this past. Its true that many so called new age vikings are claiming and spreading untruths, either they dont know better or they dont care. Its up to us, who read, research, experience the ways of old, to inform these others, letting true sources speak for the truth. But I get what you are saying, its like tourism, people travel to all parts of the world, stay there a few days/weeks, and then claim to know the country🙄
The only thing that matters is smelling farts
Can you cover Celtic stuff?
No, because that would be cultural appropriation, it would seem.
F PC
If by celtic, you happen to mean Irish, the Irish Pagan School is where it's at. They have a ton of info.
Jäpp, as a swede (done family ancestry back to the 1400 here, ended with rich farmers doucmented in the church) he is right- AND its a suggestion. not a demand. big diffrence.
for your to say "as a swede" i believe you're living in american did some cheap 50$ myancestry dna test and say the 1 world you know in swedish but act like you're born and raised in sweden eh? still makes you american.
@@asgrim1513 im 100% swedish, I live& was born in Sweden - like all my ancestors has for 1000s of years, I was gonna take a name about a god of lightning, to use online but when all my irl friends are swedish, Tor isnt a "first pick" and I was reading about the mexican conquest by the spaniards, so I just changed the letters from quezacotl. I dont know any americans or mexicans btw.
Those memes killed me 🤣🤣 Fuck I hate the ones that brother and skal all the time! I'm from NZ and we say cheers all the time....that's what skal is. Why say skal instead of just speaking normally?! Drives me nuts.
In group signaling
Respecting religion in itself is a slippery slope particularly if it has blasphemy laws, though I do want to say that it would be interesting to get a modern Greek perspective on Hellenic paganism. How much influence does the Orthodox church actually have on understanding the past?