tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post113580223562207584..comments2024-03-29T11:29:58.276+09:00Comments on BigHominid's Hairy Chasms: Picking up the slack...Kevin Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01328790917314282058noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5541500.post-1135825215475776592005-12-29T12:00:00.000+09:002005-12-29T12:00:00.000+09:00I'm a little curious about the apparent etymology ...I'm a little curious about the apparent etymology of "Asatru": is it really Finnish, do you think? The Finns are quite separate from the Norwegians, the Swedes, the Danes and the like. Finnish even belongs to a totally different language family. Did the Finns of the Middle Ages and before worship the Aesir? Maybe our resident expert Dr. Hodges could shed some light on this one!<BR/><BR/>It's always amusing when moderns try to revive old religions. I have a funny little anecdote: one of my undergraduate professors, Dr. Abegg, a Dead Sea Scrolls expert, was giving a Saturday talk in California on the Essenes. At the end of his talk, a man in a white robe and sandals came up to the microphone at the question and answer session, told the group he was an "Essene," and then proceded to tell Dr. Abegg that he was wrong on some point of scholarly detail. Dr. Abegg listened, played along, and then asked the man how he got to the conference. He walked, the "Essene" said. Dr. Abegg asked where he was from, and then with specific reference to one of the Dead Sea Scrolls (perhaps it was the so-called "community charter"?--I forget), said, "why did you break rule such and such by walking more than the prescribed number of paces on the Sabbath?" The "Essene," spluttered and stuttered and finally said "we don't believe that anymore!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com