An interview with Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson

[Zephyr]

I found this on odinist.com. Pretty neat.

Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson, the son of the farmer Beinteinn Einarsson from Litlabotni-on-Hvaljardsbeach and Helga Pétursdóttir from Drághals in Svindal, was born on Apr. 4, 1924. He died on the 24th of Dec., 1993, from heart failure. In 1972 he founded the Ásatrúarfélag, the Icelandic heathen organization, of which he was the chief góði until his death. Since 1991, Sveinbjörn lived on his land in Drághals in Bergmassiv Skardheiði (approx. 60 mi. from Reykjavik), where the 6 ½ foot statue of Þor can be found.
Interview with Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson lead by Gisela Graichen and taken from the book Die Neuen Hexen (The New Witches) by G. Graichen and translated by the Seiðman.
S. B.: "Here in Iceland heathenry it's a completely normal thing. I'm more scared of the fact that I smoke than that I'm a heathen. My religion was officially recognized by the government in May of '93."
G. G.: You were the founder?
S. B.: "Yeah, I was already interested in the old Gods when I was a child. I snatched up the wisdom out of the Sagas, the Edda and the old stories. By the time I could read I was already pouring over the Sagas and by the time I turned 16 I had published my first poems dealing with the Gods."
G. G.: What's your actual occupation?
S. B.: "Farmer, author, and poet. My forebears have always been farmers."
G. G.: You live here by yourself on your land. Isn't that kinda lonely?
S. B. : "Oh no, my nearest neighbor lives 3½ mi. from here, and, besides that, I'm completely surrounded by beings, Landspirits--the Hidden folk."
G. G.: What about when you're sick?
S. B.: "I go out into Nature and gather herbs to cure myself."

G. G.: What do you write?
S. B.: "Works about Iceland's history, songs, poems. I also have a scholarly book about the technical construction of Old Icelandic poetry. Historically, we have some pretty complicated poetry here."
G. G.: Are you baptized?
S. B.: "Baptized, confirmed, the works. I've always had pretty close ties to Christianity, at least, as it's practiced here in Iceland."
G. G.: Are you still in the Church?
S. B.: "No, before someone can join us, he first has to leave the Church."
G. G.: When did the idea first come to you to start a movement out of your belief in the old Gods?
S. B.: "In the winter of '71/ '72. At that time we were getting a lot of Jesus Children into Iceland, and I said to myself, 'Wait a minute, we have older beliefs in Iceland. Why should we not bring them back to life? How come we're bringing in all these other sects?' I gathered up a group of people (we were 12 of us at the time) and soon we had a few more. The idea quickly began to sound real good to us."
............
Full Interview available here: http://www.angelfire.com/nm/seidhman/beinweb.html


By the way, am I the only Asatruar left here? Haven't seen Darkdale in a while.

 

[Ody]

By the way, am I the only Asatruar left here? Haven't seen Darkdale in a while.

We have BFD-Asatru... does norse/wicca count as a form of Asatru

 

[Zephyr]

We have BFD-Asatru... does norse/wicca count as a form of Asatru

Actually, many Asatruar look down upon Wicca, especially Norse Wicca.

I know quite a few that hold even Christianity in higher regard.

I generally keep a "do whatever you want" attitude when it comes down to it, but I'm no fan of it at all.

 

[Worshipper]

So I have a few questions about this interview, and I wonder if some of the Asatruar here could help me understand better.

G. G.: You live here by yourself on your land. Isn't that kinda lonely?
S. B. : "Oh no, my nearest neighbor lives 3½ mi. from here, and, besides that, I'm completely surrounded by beings, Landspirits--the Hidden folk."

So Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson didn't have family? Isn't kin an important part of Asatru? I'm not trying to criticize him or anything, but it seems odd that he wouldn't have a wife or kids. Or am I just misled?

G. G.: Are you still in the Church?
S. B.: "No, before someone can join us, he first has to leave the Church."

I know this is talking about the formal organization in Iceland, but do you think this is standard practice elsewhere as well? Do Asatruar tend to exclude people who, even though they believe in Ásatrú, are also Christian?

G. G.: You still sacrifice in this day and age?
S. B.: "We don't know exactly how our ancestors conducted these feasts, but we don't sacrifice. First, when we gather, everything is blessed and made holy."

Why no sacrifice? Is this also standard in Ásatrú? To me it seems like a very holy thing to sacrifice a boar to Frey at Yule as our ancestors did, for example. Why wouldn't Asatruar sacrifice today?

 

[Zephyr]

So I have a few questions about this interview, and I wonder if some of the Asatruar here could help me understand better.


So Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson didn't have family? Isn't kin an important part of Asatru? I'm not trying to criticize him or anything, but it seems odd that he wouldn't have a wife or kids. Or am I just misled?

I don't know anything about his family, but kin is indeed important. He was an old man. Not having a family isn't necessarily a bad thing though. After all, in a sense even if he was the last of his bloodline, he still had kin in his ancestors and the gods.

I know this is talking about the formal organization in Iceland, but do you think this is standard practice elsewhere as well? Do Asatruar tend to exclude people who, even though they believe in Ásatrú, are also Christian?

I'm not sure what you mean here, honestly. I have never met somebody who was both Heathen and Christian. I've met many Christians (and Agnostics and Atheists and pretty much everything) that were pretty Heathen in mindset, but I'm unsure of how Asatru could really blend with other religions. I do know that most folkish Heathen groups generally wouldn't include people of other religions. I mean, I'd be cool with somebody like you who seems to be both Christian, yet also seemingly has a good interest in Heathenry, to hang with us, but I think what he was getting at with that was that it'd be pretty damn hard to be both Christian and Heathen, as generally the two don't mix well. Does that make any sense?

Why no sacrifice? Is this also standard in Ásatrú? To me it seems like a very holy thing to sacrifice a boar to Frey at Yule as our ancestors did, for example. Why wouldn't Asatruar sacrifice today?

Some of us do, some of us don't. I generally sacrifice food, drink, and song, as that's all I can really give. Heck, I know a Heathen on another forum that has sacrificed gas on more than one occasion! It's really like the issue of whether to stand or kneel when addressing the gods. There are multiple beliefs on it, and good reasoning on both sides.

Also, not sure if I've said this before, but I like you. It's pretty rare to see somebody who "gets" Heathenry without actually being a Heathen.

If you have any other questions about anything, I'd be happy to try and help.

Edit: Lol at the thread tags. If it weren't for the actual content of the posts, this thread would look downright Christian.

 

[Worshipper]

Not having a family isn't necessarily a bad thing though. After all, in a sense even if he was the last of his bloodline, he still had kin in his ancestors and the gods.

That makes sense. I like that.

I'm not sure what you mean here, honestly. I have never met somebody who was both Heathen and Christian. I've met many Christians (and Agnostics and Atheists and pretty much everything) that were pretty Heathen in mindset, but I'm unsure of how Asatru could really blend with other religions. I do know that most folkish Heathen groups generally wouldn't include people of other religions. I mean, I'd be cool with somebody like you who seems to be both Christian, yet also seemingly has a good interest in Heathenry, to hang with us, but I think what he was getting at with that was that it'd be pretty damn hard to be both Christian and Heathen, as generally the two don't mix well. Does that make any sense?

That does make sense, now that I think about it that way. That probably is what he was getting at.

As for whether it's possible to be both Christian and Heathen, I have more to say, but I'll say it below.

Some of us do, some of us don't. I generally sacrifice food, drink, and song, as that's all I can really give. Heck, I know a Heathen on another forum that has sacrificed gas on more than one occasion! It's really like the issue of whether to stand or kneel when addressing the gods. There are multiple beliefs on it, and good reasoning on both sides.

That makes sense. I had been wondering more about animal sacrifices, actually. Like killing a consecrated boar and burning the bones and organs and stuff for Frey. But I guess that would fall into the realm of what each individual person feels moved to do.

Also, not sure if I've said this before, but I like you. It's pretty rare to see somebody who "gets" Heathenry without actually being a Heathen.

If you have any other questions about anything, I'd be happy to try and help.

Thanks! On both counts.

I'm not sure how accurate it is for me to not say that I'm a Heathen. I believe in the gods — in fact I believe that they are real, physical Gods and I hope to meet them some day after I die. I feel especially drawn to Tiw (and always have, ever since I was a little boy), and when I grew up and learned more about him, that helped me understand myself a lot better. I try to live my life according to the values in the lore, like the Havamal and the sagas and Beowulf and that sort of thing. I participate in Heathen ceremonies (though not with anyone other than my wife). For example, last Yuletide, my wife and I went to a little knoll behind our local Mormon temple for Mothers' Night (the beginning of Yule in Anglo-Saxon Heathenry) and left a bread offering and my wife said a prayer of thanks to our mothers and asked for their continued guidance and care in our lives. Incidentally, the reason we chose that location is because the temples in Mormonism are about linking us to our ancestors, so it seemed very appropriate to choose a harrow by the temple.

So I don't know that I'm not a Heathen. But I also don't know that I am. I am certainly a Christian, and I feel like without having acceptance among the Heathen community, it's tough to say I'm a Heathen. There aren't any Heathen groups around me for fifty miles, so I can't worship with other Heathens very well. I've thought about joining an organization like the AFA, but if I remember right, there were some things they wanted you to declare that seemed to me to exclude members from having other religions beyond Asatru. That's why the question of whether a person has to reject Christianity to be a Heathen matters to me.

And that leads me back to the question of whether a person even can be both Heathen and Christian. I think you can. Especially if the kind of Christian you are is Mormon. It seems like the big problem with being both Christian and Heathen is monotheism vs. polytheism. Well, Mormonism already believes in many gods and goddesses, and that we as humans are of the race of the gods. That view seems to me to be very consistent with the lore.

There are some issues, though, where it's difficult. For example, I've just started rereading the Prose Edda. After reading the account of the creation of the world, I talked about it with my wife and we discussed whether we wanted to teach our kids (when we have them) the creation mythology out of the Bible or the creation mythology of our own people. Of course, we could do both, but it's a lot easier for the kids to just keep it simple.

That issue is especially tough for us as Mormons because we have four different versions of the Bible creation mythology (instead of just one), and a lot of commentary on that mythology in the Book of Mormon. If we want our kids to read the Book of Mormon (and we do), then they're going to be confused when they read about Adam and Eve if all we've ever told them about was Ash and Elm.

My wife and I would both kind of prefer that they learn just the mythology of our own people on that, but we can see a lot of ways in which that could be problematic. We're still trying to decide what we want to do.

So that was the first area where we have found difficulty in being both Christian and Heathen — and it's all about how to raise the kids. For ourselves, we have no problem having both creation mythologies. We don't take either one literally, and so we can accept the truth of both of them. But it's tougher for a kid to deal with that, I think.

Edit: Lol at the thread tags. If it weren't for the actual content of the posts, this thread would look downright Christian.

Hmm. Yes. Yes it does! Especially if you don't recognize the name Sveinbjorn Beinteinsson. I had sort of figured anyone in the Asatru forum would recognize his name, but there's no guarantee!

 

[Zephyr]

And that leads me back to the question of whether a person even can be both Heathen and Christian. I think you can. Especially if the kind of Christian you are is Mormon. It seems like the big problem with being both Christian and Heathen is monotheism vs. polytheism. Well, Mormonism already believes in many gods and goddesses, and that we as humans are of the race of the gods. That view seems to me to be very consistent with the lore.

That's pretty interesting. I didn't know that. It certainly solves a lot of the complexities I mentioned earlier. It parallels really nicely with the common Heathen view of seeing the gods as our earliest ancestors, rather than just creators.

There are some issues, though, where it's difficult. For example, I've just started rereading the Prose Edda. After reading the account of the creation of the world, I talked about it with my wife and we discussed whether we wanted to teach our kids (when we have them) the creation mythology out of the Bible or the creation mythology of our own people. Of course, we could do both, but it's a lot easier for the kids to just keep it simple.

That issue is especially tough for us as Mormons because we have four different versions of the Bible creation mythology (instead of just one), and a lot of commentary on that mythology in the Book of Mormon. If we want our kids to read the Book of Mormon (and we do), then they're going to be confused when they read about Adam and Eve if all we've ever told them about was Ash and Elm.

My wife and I would both kind of prefer that they learn just the mythology of our own people on that, but we can see a lot of ways in which that could be problematic. We're still trying to decide what we want to do.

So that was the first area where we have found difficulty in being both Christian and Heathen — and it's all about how to raise the kids. For ourselves, we have no problem having both creation mythologies. We don't take either one literally, and so we can accept the truth of both of them. But it's tougher for a kid to deal with that, I think.

Yeah, I hear that. Really though, you could get away with teaching both just fine so long as you don't take them literally. My parents are both Christian (well, sorta. My mom is pretty mainstream protestant while my dad is a crazy self-proclaimed Heretic who adopts bits from pretty much everything), but they taught my sister and I many different creation stories. When we were really young we just learned the Genesis account, and as we got older we learned a few others.

 

[Worshipper]

That's pretty interesting. I didn't know that. It certainly solves a lot of the complexities I mentioned earlier. It parallels really nicely with the common Heathen view of seeing the gods as our earliest ancestors, rather than just creators.

Have you ever noticed that the word Ask is formed like it's As + -sk? As of course means god, and the -sk ending is like our -ish ending in English. Nowadays, of course, the -ish ending means something like "sort of like the main word but not really", but in the old days it meant something more like, "of the race/nation of the main word".

So Ask, the first man, has a name that means, basically, "of the race of the gods".

Incidentally, when I've told this to my fellow Mormons, they've always been amazed, and immediately believed that at least that part of Asatru is true. So it's not just me who sees some unexpected grounds for compatibility between Asatru and Mormonism.

Yeah, I hear that. Really though, you could get away with teaching both just fine so long as you don't take them literally. My parents are both Christian (well, sorta. My mom is pretty mainstream protestant while my dad is a crazy self-proclaimed Heretic who adopts bits from pretty much everything), but they taught my sister and I many different creation stories. When we were really young we just learned the Genesis account, and as we got older we learned a few others.

That's heartening. Thanks!

 

[Zephyr]

Have you ever noticed that the word Ask is formed like it's As + -sk? As of course means god, and the -sk ending is like our -ish ending in English. Nowadays, of course, the -ish ending means something like "sort of like the main word but not really", but in the old days it meant something more like, "of the race/nation of the main word".

So Ask, the first man, has a name that means, basically, "of the race of the gods".

Hmm, never thought of it that way. I'm no expert on linguistics, but it is a curious thing. Tomorrow I should go check this out with my German professor. He studies Old English and Norse.

 

[Worshipper]

Hmm, never thought of it that way. I'm no expert on linguistics, but it is a curious thing. Tomorrow I should go check this out with my German professor. He studies Old English and Norse.

Hmm. Tell me what he says, if you don't mind.

 

[Zephyr]

Hmm. Tell me what he says, if you don't mind.

Sorry for the delay, didn't see this post.

He said that that is a pretty interesting way to look at it, but he hadn't heard it before. So I guess that's a "hmm, maybe?"

Even if it really doesn't have a double meaning and does just mean "ash tree", the meaning you suggested does make sense, in a sense. As the descendants of the gods, we are sort of "god-ish".

 

[Worshipper]

I think given the amount of folk-etymology in the lore, it would make sense that our ancestors would have seen that kind of meaning in the word. It is my own idea, so I'm not surprised that hadn't heard it.

I think the two words are historically unrelated, but I would bet that our ancestors would have seen that kind of connection there. They did that kind of thing a lot — or at least the scops and other wordsmiths did.

 

[OutOfTime]

lol that name's so Icelandic that it's cold.

 

[mmmm]

I don't know anything about his family, but kin is indeed important. He was an old man. Not having a family isn't necessarily a bad thing though. After all, in a sense even if he was the last of his bloodline, he still had kin in his ancestors and the gods.

well i can tell you that hes not the last in his bloodline

he has 2 sons

and 2 grand-daughters- im one of them

i tried to add information about his family in wikipedia but it got deleted.

 

[rojse]

I don't know anything about his family, but kin is indeed important. He was an old man. Not having a family isn't necessarily a bad thing though. After all, in a sense even if he was the last of his bloodline, he still had kin in his ancestors and the gods.

well i can tell you that hes not the last in his bloodline

he has 2 sons

and 2 grand-daughters- im one of them

i tried to add information about his family in wikipedia but it got deleted.

Hello, mmmm. Welcome to the forum, and thanks for adding this bit of information to the discussion.

Do you have anything that you might be able to add so that we might gain a better understanding of Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson?

 

[Tyr]

a christian who believes in asatru? hmm well i dont know about that the bible says to worship ONE god. Christians also look down upon hypocrites well if your a christian who believes in asatru your a hypocrite. Plus they have many condridicting points but also some minor similarities. Personally i think if a christian says he believes in asatru is not a true christian or vise versa. To the wicca commment yea we look down upon them and im some cases more than christianity.

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

This is a very old thread, but I thought I'd throw in my belief about A Christian-Heathen. I saw that Worshipper was wondering about being a Christian and a Heathen. Here's my take. When the Germanic countries were being converted, most of them didn't actually convert. They just said they did. Others simply added Jesus into their Pantheon of Gods, beside the others. Sometimes they'd pray to Odin or another God, and other times they'd pray to Jesus. So while I still think it's odd to be both Christian and Heathen, it's not unheard of.