Njal´s Saga 4

Does a cycle of vengeance ever end? There are some cases where people live the rest of their lives with the desperation to get equal with anyone who has caused harm to them. This is practically as bad as actually redeeming yourself through actions. If someone hits you, you hit him, if someone steals from you, you steel from him. In the end, you each loose so much that the satisfaction isn’t even worth it. The one who wins the argument isn’t the person that has caused more harm, but the one that can live the fact that some losses can never be retrieved through violence.

This was a case presented in the Njal’s Saga, when Bergthora and Hallgerd begin to get out of hand with revenge. It all started with Begthora, who sends one of her servants out to the forest for a week to cut wood. Hallgerd, thinking of this as a threat, sends one of her servants to kill him. Bergthora responds in the same way. Then the cycle comes into play, with these two women killing each others servants, and only ends with the death of several innocent men.

The only two that I would say reacted correctly would have been Gunnar and Njal who never showed by hatred during the entire scheme. While their wives were in a constant fight, Gunnat and Njal simply made amends with each other. This way, they never lost their friendship.

Njal´s Saga 3

I’m surprised to see how many things happened in just twenty pages. Gunnar’s entire journey outside of Iceland was written in less than ten. This was where we were able to see his true skill as a fighter. Without getting injured, this man was able to slaughter all the ships of the most famous Vikings and retrieve a hidden gold. It made me notice how concise the author of this book was. Unlike many stories which have one mayor plot and resolution, the Njal’s Saga has many of them.

Then another unpredictable event occurs when Gunnar turns into Hallgerd’s third husband. From what I have read, this man has become a true hero and gets along well with everyone he meets. I imagine that a guy like him could get himself any woman he wants as his wife, but instead, he chooses the daughter of the one family which I would think despises him for taking their lands. They end up agreeing to the marriage anyway.
It is in this section of the story where we begin to notice how evil Hallgerd truly is. Njal had even warned Gunnar that she would only bring trouble, but love must blinded him at the moment. I’m almost positive that this husband won’t end up like the others did, but something will definitely happen between these two once Gunnar opens his eyes to see what is really going on in his marriage.

Njal´s Saga 2

For the first time, Njal appears in the book. Along with him, a new character called Gunnar is introduced. These two seem to make a perfect duo. While Njal demonstrates a very distinguished mind and natural ability to solve problems, Gunnar stands out in strength, bravery, and extraordinary fighting skills. I couldn’t help relating this to the comic X-Men, where a combination of mind and body is also present. Dr. Charles Xavier is a defenseless man who lives his life on a wheelchair, but thanks to his knowledge and experience, he is also the one who controls an entire army of powerful mutants such as Wolverine or Cyclops. In this case, Charles Xavier would be Njal and the other X-Men would represent Gunnar.

I wasn’t able to understand Njal’s plan of action, probably because I have no clue how the negotiation of lands worked back then. I only know that Gunnar is suppposed to trick Hrut into giving Unn her lands back.

Njal´s Saga 1

Alter reading the bible, the Njal’s Saga has been a piece of cake in terms of understanding. It is hard though, to keep track of the several names which take place it. I noticed that in Icelandic culture (at least to me), women names such as Hallgerd are very similar to men names such as Thorvald, therefore making it even more confusing.

I’m surprised to see how people would settle dysfunctional marriages in Iceland, or the past in general. You obviously shouldn’t hit your wife, but killing your husband as revenge is simply crossing the line. Thorvald seemed like a nice man, in my opinion, the real villain behind the story is Thjostolf. I believe that as a foster father to Hallgerd, he might be over reacting. His attitude is making me assume that he’s the type that thinks that there’s nobody good enough for his ¨daughter¨ (I’m even wondering why she would have a foster father if her real dad was Hoskuld). I’m almost convinced that Glum isn’t going to have a happy ending with Hallgerd either.

Revelation (1-End)

I can assure you that the revelation is probably one of the craziest texts I have ever read. Anyone can easily say that John was drugged or delirious when this “vision” came to him. Every sentence had more than one symbolic meaning, making it rather hard to keep track of them. One figure that kept coming up was the usage of the number seven. For example, the seven trumpets, the dragon’s seven heads, the seventh bowl, and probably more that I can’t remember. The only other biblical reference I can make to this is the seventh day of creation when God decides to rest, but it’s still not a logic relation.

I feel that the entire discussion was really coming down to one point, Judgment Day. The day when God opens the gates of heaven on earth, choosing the people who deserve to be in it. Satan is also mentioned a couple of times, but he is continuously defeated by heaven’s “army”, showing the victory of good over evil. It’s kind of scary to see how John describes the sate of the earth during the revelation. Who knows if in the end of human kind, our race will be as messed as the text says. Many experts have found ways to connect biblical predictions with our world today.

The Gospel According to John (1-End)

Out of the four versions of the Gospel in the New Testament, I have found John’s perspective to be the most distinguished. He begins the very first chapter differently by writing about the beginning of the world and how God created all things. Then, he skips Jesus’ entire childhood and actually begins with John the Baptist. In this Gospel, there are many events that I never heard of in the other ones. Some examples would be Christ’s encounter with Nicodemus, the conversation with the Samarian woman, the story of the sinful woman about to be stoned to death, and the several times Jesus escaped being stoned himself.

John may have changed the story way more times than I noticed, but there was one occurrence that I’m sure was different from the other gospels. When Mary Magdalene goes to visit Jesus’ tomb after the crucifixion, according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, angels appear to tell her that Christ had resurrected, but John tells us that Jesus himself was in the tomb, and Mary Magdalene tells the disciples about it.

As I said before, John’s gospel was very different from the other four, and I think there is one quality that sums it all up. In my opinion, the characteristic is that John gives Jesus a way more Godly appearance than Matthew, Mark, and Luke did. In the previous gospels, in spite of the several miracles performed, Christ acts in a more humanlike manner. I’m not even sure what it is, but in this story, he shows a great deal of superiority. Maybe it’s just that disciple viewed and appreciated Jesus in a different way. It is probable that John showed way more affection him than the rest, giving him more importance.

The Gospel According to Luke (1-End)

After reading the gospel according to Luke, I noticed that he chose to concentrate on the relationship between Jesus Christ and John the Baptist, beginning with their parents. It is said that Gabriel the angel appeared to both Zechariah (John’s father) and Mary (Jesus’s mother) to announce the birth of their children, obviously showing the importance that these boys would have to the world. Another characteristic of Luke’s Gospel is that he wrote more on Jesus’s youth than Mark and Matthew did. One very famous story is the one where Mary finds her son (probably a teenager) on the temple steps surrounded by sages. The boys explanation was that he had to be in his father’s house. I’ve always wondered how it was that Jesus knew with such assurance and from a very young age that he was the son of God. I’m not sure, but if I remember correctly, Christ’s first direct encounter with God was after John had baptized him. My previous guess had been that it was after this event where Jesus accepted himself as the messiah. Luke finally stops mentioning John after he was arrested by Herod, the king of Galilee. Not only did Christ and John the Baptist have very similar birth stories, but they both ended their lives persecuted, imprisoned, and killed by the powerful people of the time.

Luke then goes into repeating the same actions that were explained in both previous gospels such as the miracles, Satan’s test in the wilderness, the sermon on the mount, and the union of Simon Peter, James, and John as one of the apostles. Again, all the teachings mentioned had the same essentials. There is not much to say anymore about the Christ’s trial and crucifixion because it’s all been told before.

The Gospel According to Mark (1-End)

Mark’s gospel is basically repeating the same story as Mathew wrote in his but in a different perspective (so there is not much I can write about). There were some events which Mark emphasized more on than Mathew did, but the beginning and end were the same in both. There was one line in the entire gospel though, which got me thinking more than the rest: “Many who are first will be last and the last, first.” (10:31). I began wondering in what senses Jesus meant with first and last. It could have been financial matters, spiritual, kindness, etc. It could have meant that anyone born rich, will end up suffering in God’s Kingdome, but in that case, how good of a person you are wouldn’t really count. Christ had made an assumption that the rich were bad people, and that it would be hard for them to get into heaven. This could be true for those with a lot of money and live in there own world without realizing the problems going on around them. There are many snobs today whose only issues which concern them are their own. These are the ones who haven’t had a taste of what real suffering is. But again, there are many wealthy people which are apprehensive with serious matters and make an effort to help. I would call it unfair if God gave these people the same consequences as the snobby rich ones. In the end I can say that you can’t take life for granted, make some sacrifices and God will accept you in his kingdom.

Matthew 23-End

All of a sudden, Mathew brings us into dark setting where you really begin to realize how deep the hole is where Jesus has fallen. In the famous last super, Christ tells everyone how Judas will betray him and that even his right hand man Peter will show disloyalty. Again, it’s the passion which actually makes Jesus face a problem like this, even though he knew there was no way out. Then Pontius Pilate comes into the scene. I’ve always viewed this man as the bad guy in the story for sentencing Christ to death, but he was probably the nicest guy Jesus faced all night. It was the people who chose to kill him. On that same evening, Jesus shows a sign of weakness for the first time in the entire gospel when he says “My God, why have you forsaken me?” It was the only time I recall this man blaming someone else for what was happening. The events which followed were the ones which set history. I think that you can only feel admiration towards a man who chose to go through such unimaginable pain for the good of all humanity. I personally show a great deal of respect to Jesus Christ because I’m sure I won’t hear of another like him again.

Matthew 13-22

This section of Mathew’s gospel is very similar to the last one in terms of themes and symbolism. In the beginning of the story though, I do begin to feel sorry for Jesus. Not many people have the will power to continue his/her task after being rejected so many times. Even in his hometown of Nazareth, people turn him down. The one admirable person who strongly shows his faith is Simon, and I like how Jesus renames him Peter, to demonstrate the “rock” where he will build his church. In my opinion, this was the most inspiring part from the entire section because everyone knows how it feels to be rejected, (probably not as much as Jesus) and how one person who is truly on your side is enough to boost up your self esteem. My point is that, if there were one quality which Jesus Christ was strong in, it would be passion, but more inclined towards the sense of determination instead of love. I’m sure that if it weren’t for this, Christianity wouldn’t be the most practiced religion in our world.

Matthew 1-12

This is the part of Jesus’s story which every catholic is taught ever since we were little children. I practically have it memorized for the countless times my family interpreted it for me. It always has been an amusing tale, and if you see it in a Catholic’s point of view, there really isn’t anything wrong, but in this class, we were supposed to read the bible with no religious influence. After this concept, I came to think how exactly I would react to Jesus Christ If I lived in his time period. First of all, this guy, who is practically young enough to still be considered a boy, comes into everyone’s lives preaching that he is the son of God. I don’t think killing him was the correct way to respond to this but I would find it a bit strange. He then tries proving it with a bunch of unbelievable miracles. It’s as if Jesus Christ was the Chris Angel form those days, many would have believed he was carzy, but there would still be a few who would see him as a God.

If there were anything he did that would make me believe that he was the son of God, it would have been sermons, where he talked about love, obedience and humility. I have tendency of always believing in these spiritual lessons, and Christ’s messages would have probably driven me to believing in him.