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Published On: Apr 26, 2006 10:02 PM
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Published On: Apr 26, 2006 10:02 PM
Is "Encyclopedic Knowledge" a Compliment?
I think that nowhere but in modern
pagan/recon/heathen religions would anyone take an encyclopedia article as a
source of religious information.
Go ahead. Let your imagination run wild. For those of you from a Christian background, try to imagine a pastor or priest solemnly intoning "Please open your Encyclopedia Britannica volume 'M' to 'Moses.'" It's a ridiculous notion, because the concept, life events, and teachings of Moses cannot be encompassed in a 1-2 page article. There's an entire section of the Christian bible dedicated solely to the occurrences in the life of Moses, and it's the primary source for information on that individual.
The concept should be no less ridiculous when applied to heathenry.
An encyclopedia is good for a few very specific purposes -- it provides a limited overview of a thing or concept. The information provided is only correct in the specific context from which it was written -- an article on Thomas Edison, for example, will most likely focus on his scientific achievements, but will likely have very little information on what kind of a father he was, what were his favorite foods, etc. These things, while perhaps not of interest to one who would be reading an encyclopedia article about Thomas Edison, were doubtless very important factors within his life. So when one looks up a Norse god or goddess, one can expect to find a quick run-down of a few myths in which the person appears, and possibly a few personality traits (which may or may not be from reliable sources; a lot of Victorian-age mythological tripe seems to find its way into encyclopedia articles). A nice starting point, perhaps, but it's only good as an icebreaker -- one of those annoyingly inevitable corporate gathering events designed to "let everyone know a little bit about yourself." Icebreakers don't take the place of subsequent conversations, and encyclopedia articles aren't a replacement for true study.
And why bother with the encyclopedia anyway? We have a large amount of source material readily available to get to know more about heathenry. It's not even really the easy way out, except perhaps in the perception of the reader.
Ah well. Enough ranting for now. I have to go dig out my World Atlas so that I can understand everything about geology.
Go ahead. Let your imagination run wild. For those of you from a Christian background, try to imagine a pastor or priest solemnly intoning "Please open your Encyclopedia Britannica volume 'M' to 'Moses.'" It's a ridiculous notion, because the concept, life events, and teachings of Moses cannot be encompassed in a 1-2 page article. There's an entire section of the Christian bible dedicated solely to the occurrences in the life of Moses, and it's the primary source for information on that individual.
The concept should be no less ridiculous when applied to heathenry.
An encyclopedia is good for a few very specific purposes -- it provides a limited overview of a thing or concept. The information provided is only correct in the specific context from which it was written -- an article on Thomas Edison, for example, will most likely focus on his scientific achievements, but will likely have very little information on what kind of a father he was, what were his favorite foods, etc. These things, while perhaps not of interest to one who would be reading an encyclopedia article about Thomas Edison, were doubtless very important factors within his life. So when one looks up a Norse god or goddess, one can expect to find a quick run-down of a few myths in which the person appears, and possibly a few personality traits (which may or may not be from reliable sources; a lot of Victorian-age mythological tripe seems to find its way into encyclopedia articles). A nice starting point, perhaps, but it's only good as an icebreaker -- one of those annoyingly inevitable corporate gathering events designed to "let everyone know a little bit about yourself." Icebreakers don't take the place of subsequent conversations, and encyclopedia articles aren't a replacement for true study.
And why bother with the encyclopedia anyway? We have a large amount of source material readily available to get to know more about heathenry. It's not even really the easy way out, except perhaps in the perception of the reader.
Ah well. Enough ranting for now. I have to go dig out my World Atlas so that I can understand everything about geology.
Posted: Mon - August 22, 2005 at 11:36 PM