| Show far fl orilia he tile ni NORS 1131 i IN rill nil IMLE A eirls C I 1 X H hoi he were II 11 fro and II 11 here they came abc front 1 roni I 1 DT BT jolt joiet THOR GULSON alfather or the great eternal lord was ft aa older higher and an 1 mightier than all other gods the iho first principle of creation started out from him fig aa also alo the ha spirit of man I 1 who never shall I 1 die though iv rot to dust dna or be ba burned to ashes this ibia alfather will not die at the lie ona end of 0 tho the world like tho the other gods but shall live forever ila ho rules over till all things the ice borns tire are ier er vanta to hire him little by little many of 0 the ol 01 1 norsemen norseman Nor semen forest about hiru him and mixed him up tip with odin bat there always were sowo some who apo preserved p ese ry edl a tradition about the mighty g ty jue coo from above who rules over every thing and who ones once beall acme to tie the great judgment his abode was waa in in th the highest heaven his chief city was thatched with gold and brighter than the sun eun tito the name of that city was waa gimle As has baa alre nl adiv been mentioned our forefathers believed in in throe three gods oda who wre were next in in power to the alfa aka ther their choir names spirit will and holiness there were also thirteen other rods gods their names piero odin thor ihor bidder dalder njord fyr heimdal hod V vidar idar yah forseth Pora For seti eli and ull there were also four others odias two brothers honer boner and loder and thors thora two sons mod and magni it appears to be ba reasonable that odin should not b ba a numbered among or alon along K with the twelve asas and that he and bis big two brothers were wen a sort of regula tida officers over those twelve thor and hn his two song BOHR held probably pro bobly somewhat alike a lika position later on tho the home dome of the asas or gods was high up tip in in the heavens and was a very large city and its it name was As aa gard bard in the contre centra of that was the T ida plains it was there tho the gods hold held their council in in a hall named glassheim Glad the norseman norsemen Nor semen believed 11 in nine ia Iv worlds or places of abode three of these belonged to the lower regions viz alfheim ile I 1 boiola and three belonged to the viz ala manheim heim Vana bein and Alfheim and throe three to the upper ro re viz and gimli the ibe asas ABBS had no authority evor tar heim nor belm A in d those throe three were the only places that our forefathers regarded as etor nal mal the norsemen norseman Nor semen believed also that those who were what we would term a saved aved had three different abodes in the heavenly regions in in accordance with their station during their lives on this thia earth of course this his belief was wag somewhat mixed and several bo be liev edli ediin a a greater number than ahr three 1 0 1 but all these abodes belonged to 0 and 11 d hoim as gimle wits was the abode of alfa AIN ther or fima the great eternal lord they did didiot not believe that any man who lived on this earth would be equal in in power to him but bot that great and noble dahl a men an and d women would bt be rulers in in the heaven under his guidance into one of 0 these places no one could enter except men and women who had been bean honorable and faithful in wedlock that place was presided over by the goddess pr freya a and the name of her a bode abode was polk bolk vand the other two were occupied u by the honest and true of hot both ece seres le who never were wera married one ile sex in each place the gods held their councils in in a hall named glassheim Glad Glads heirn tho the home of the glad their seats were called Rok stola the meats beats of truth but bat the gods when assembled together was known down by the name of 0 regin begin or ragn the high and mighty hence ragnar rok the twilight of the gods which later will ila be explained there wore were special duties assigned to each one of the alasin in accordance with their attributes and fic fica a tiona it is is well to mention bere fiere that odin thor balder etc got into the in minds ands of our forefathers and mixed into their religious sentiments great men became still greater after they died and even while living great r men dan and an d rulers were regarded with greater awe awa and reverence than they TZ n now ow are they became gods and then the sons of the gods arid and finally as today to day kings and emperors empe rora are our king by the grace of god clod and thus our old forefathers in in the sim bim hearts gave their worthy leaders places among abe gods believing they were already probably resurrected or at least through their grandness of body and spirit had already taken their r seats as rulers in in the heavenly worlds world 8 and as will later be seen b believed that they should act a gi great at and no ble part in in tho the last str struggle fro 1 0 only ly to be regenerated and endowed on with a eternal life and an endless exaltation in the eternal worlds odin was waa the greatest of all he be asas there is is no doubt but that he was in hn his day a man of extra ordin ary the details of abe religious customs that ha ba brought with him to the north are mostly un an known to xii us sufficient ent to say eay that what I 1 i lift left of them in in the ancient sagas bear witness about hn his worthy character and reverence to his hia bod and religion per for an a example a I 1 I 1 a it was tua his invariable custom bul before ore every bittle to lay his bis hanas hands on tho the heads othis ol 01 bis monand men and bless them perform leg the bernal bame ceremony every if time me when he be lien sent t them on some important errand 0 viga digs borges history pub cristiani Kris tiani it norway 1956 1 p at odin h had ad thron three wives their names were tj 0 kind and frisi thor appears appeal B to have hava been loan favorite sou son s at collit lie be way wag regarded next neit to odin in ability ile ai was the goi of war thor ft was aa evidently I 1 the ho son BOU of oiin odin and bal balder lor wits was tho son of oilin odin and brigg irire ita ile wai wag tile the god uil of 0 wildness and innocence ile he ii merciful anti wise nod and also righteous go that hie bib judgment ira are firm especially is is he the com comforter forler of tho the unlucky and hence his death is IB greatly lamented by all except by the wicked loki who was the promoter of all evil was once numbered among the rod gods but through fh his ambition and noes mas lout lost his hrat first innocence and am tion and became degraded and base bag it was lie he who caused the death of balder as nothing evil could prevail while he be was wa living but even though he be was killed billed the gods fod had a hope that at the regeneration of tho the world bolder balder would be ba free f from rom the fetters of death and rejoin the gods goda in an immortal onto to be continued |
