If you argue that there is a general moral layer in our myths, you are wrong. The Christians added morals to our myths in their later "presentations and intepretations" of the original oral tradition they wrote down, and argued that Freya was a slut, Lóki a swindler and Þórr an untempered lowbrow etc. The same way, they systematically smeared our true heritage and ancestors. They have done it ever since, either in ignorance and/or by design.
The Poetic Edda (what we have of the original version) can't be Christian influenced to any remarkable degree. You would see that clearly if you understood the poems, and know the Norse meanings and metaphores. The prose Edda is, one can argue. But, the prose Edda is not myths. Neither is Hávamál, before one enter the metaphorical landscape from stanza 146.
In other words, the Christians did not write/invent the myths - but they were interpreting the poetic Edda litterally, as any dummed down abrahamist would do. That was the moral layer the Christians put in their later intepretations. There are no general moral layer in our myths. The Christian litterate intepretations were used to smear our pagan ancestors. To show them as lowbrow, primitive and immoral "barbarians". The fact is 100% opposite, you see.
So, how can we argue that the poetic Edda is not tampered with, that they were not significantly different in the oral traditional past, and that the Christians did not "write in an immoral layer". We can, because otherwise all of our myths would have no meaning. The same goes for our fairytales, but to a lesser degree in the form of heroes and good deeds. That said, like our myths, we have numerous fairytales with no good deeds or "moral" as well, even though the theme and the meaning is all the same.
Morals did exist in our pagan laws and tribes, but morals as applicable layers in our myths do not. By an applicable layer, we mean a layer you can recognize in all the myths. That layer does not exist, and it does not matter how hard certain people want it to.
Let us take only one example here. Our myths are full of them;
In Skaldskáparmál Þórr lits the pyre of Baldr with his hammer. He then kicks a dwarf into the pyre. "What a cruel immoral thing to do", would a child say, reading the myth litteraly. "Look at how the Christians re-wrote our myths", would a pagan with an abrahamic mindset say. "Look at what kind of idols our ancestors had, and how cruel they were", would a Christian say. "Look at the cool Þórr in anger kicking a little dwarf into the pyre. Might is right dude!", would a Vikings TV-show lowbrow plastic Viking fan say.
They are all too dumb to see that general moral is irrelevant to our myths. It has never been relevant.
The dwarf kicked into the pyre is in Norse named Lét. The Norse meaning is "high sound/bang". In other words, flintstone (stone used to lit by friction).
Did you know that it was a custom to sacrifice flintstones in the pyre for the dead? That it makes a high sound and sparkles? Did you know that the flintstone is the life force, and is Mjöllnir?
Did you know that the dead was buried with such stones of life force on the chest? (like the later amulett of Mjöllnír, carried by a lot of plastic Vikings to this day). Did you know that this dwarf by the name Lét goes together with the dead and beyond? That he is the attribute of Þórr himself, and sacrificed for eternity? So the hammer/stone/heart/life force would again be ignited, in the re-born? Why else would you think the myth tell of this "immoral Þórr"?
It's all about metaphores... It's not about moral.
Nature has no "human moral". Our myths are the patterns of Nature. They are coded science.
So, did not our ancestors have moral then? (a commonly asked question from my own children and other "children" especially on Twitter.-) Of course they had. We have several sources of moral, codex of honor, laws etc. from our pagan ancestors. They were of higher moral than any of us today, I argue. But, the myths themselves have no general layer of moral, their encoded meaning are not about that, and serves no such purpose.
The poetic Edda is as pagan as can be, and the myths loose their meaning if you insert moral, either good or bad - in litteral sense. Skaldskáparmál would loose the enitre foundation of coded knowlegde, as for the rest of them.
And, how would these myths even serve their purpose before the Christians arguable re-wrote them with "bad morals"? I am sorry, but that's just not possible. It only serves the purpose of New Age BS and Ásatru with an abrahamic twist - wich this "pagan community" reeks of.
The Christians were/are responsible for not understanding our myths, and on the basis of only litteraly and therefore wrong conclutions, presenting our pagan ancestors as rapists, sluts, traitors, murderers and thiefs. In best cases, like linear stories of moral and society from a dark unlightened pagan past.
You know, being a pagan, and to be able to grasp what paganism is, demands a three digit IQ. It demands a sacrifice for wisdom, reflection and stamina. It's not for the lazy.
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