There is No Pagan Holy Book

By I.M.Knosp

The holy scriptures of any religion often play a central role in the theology, doctrine, dogma and tenets of their followers. From their proclamation forms the core and base of the religion, all else is heresy any folk customs, beliefs or divinities must conform or be extinguished. Such scriptures are limiters and containers often breeding volatile fervor and zealotry. But this is more of an emotional plea, a warning against Holy Scriptures such as The Holy Bible and it's many editions. It is not WHY a Pagan Bible will not exist and why such attempts to create or declare a singular Pagan Holy Book Fails so spectacularly. This arises from a fundamental misunderstanding as to the nature of The Bible and Holy Scripture in general, one which cannot be solved because the text necessary to be such a book would not fit in a thousand thousand libraries.

Let us start by examining The Bible itself, to do so in depth is the prerogative of Theologians and Christians so let us look at its' base components and the understanding of what it is by the lions share of Christians. You have the Old Testament which starts with Genesis a mythic origin for life, the universe and everything as well as the history of Abraham and his descendants. Followed by Exodus whose central figure is Moses and which mainly deals with the Jews escape from Egypt and from which the world famous Ten Commandments Originate. This is then followed by a bunch of books few if anyone actually reads or remembers with the occasional standout story becoming a half remembered fable by most Christians. Then there is the New Testament which deals with the arrival of the Godman Jesus, his life, death, resurrection and aftermath as well as the eventual downfall of the world in Revelations. Around Three-Quarters of the Bible are devoted to the Old Testament which is a watered down folklore and history of the Jewish Tribes, followed by less than a quarter of the book which focuses mostly on a single figure who is central to the Christian religion. Not every Sacred Text Follows this format but The Bible is by far the most influential on European Culture and Thus is the standard with which all others are held to, compared to, and whose intention it is to supplant.

The Bible at it's core is primarily a history of a specific tribe or set of tribes and their interaction with THEIR divinities as well as conflicts with other tribes. For Pagans such a book does not exist. Most of the Books promoted as Pagan Holy Texts or Scriptures are not equivalents for the Bible, they do not fulfill the same function and it is incredibly unlikely anything ever could. Take a single group say... The Dutch; now produce an entire book that deals with their interactions with their Gods, spirits, heroes and ancestors. One knows in a heartbeat that it would be forever lacking.

While one may select certain favorite heroes or key moments in the history of such a people one inevitably ends up asking what validates such a position? Would one include Van Gogh? Surely the greatest artist who is renowned the world over would be included in a sacred text of the Dutch even if in the latter sections. But in Van Gogh alone we find book after book written about him. This is before inevitable questions as to which Dutch are we presuming to follow? Do we include the Flemish? Do we start with the Batavi? Is there an agreed or understood origin for The Dutch themselves? Who are their Divine relatives? What are their origins? What do they value? Perhaps most importantly is it anyone's business but the Dutch? There is never an expectation that the entirety of ones culture must be laid bare for outsiders, some things are for ones people and ones people only. In this the impossibility of creating a single “Pagan Bible” for the Dutch alone is laid bare. It would be maddening. That is before even considering the rest of “Pagan” Europe.

Individual Tribes may have radically different views of the same deities, or not even know of each others Gods or Heroes.

Is Caesar a hero or a villain in this Pagan Bible?

What about King Arthur does he remain a Mythic Christian King or does he return to the Bear King Deity he was before all that?

What about heroes during Christendom?

Does El Cid become irrelevant if figures like Vaelico make a comeback in Spain?

What of Charlemagne for The Franks or is it The French?

The sheer amount of history in the last few centuries alone would more than overflow from a single text, even in small print and rendered to little more than fables. Even America a comparatively young country in comparison to its' much older and ancient ancestors and brethren would find it impossible to fit the entirety of what was learned in the Revolutionary War in a single book let alone the vast history of heroes, divinity and events that make up their personal chronicle of themselves.

This is what is missing from books that have attempted to fulfill the role of a Pagan Bible, there is no way to fit it all, contenders like the works of Homer via The Iliad and The Odyssey would be but a single short book akin to a section or passage in Genesis or Exodus, perhaps even a single word when boiled down to equivalencies. Such is the immensity of our history and lore. Nor would the likes of blatant attempts to manufacture a sort of Pseudo-Pagan Old Testament for specific regions or tribes work in this fashion. Not only are they inevitably corrupted by a Christian bent but they are incomplete the likes of the The Book of Invasions for the Irish or the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Gramaticus for the Danes, accomplish a slim semblance of what such a text would intend. Others such as the Canon of J.R.R. Tolkien is intended to be a sort of replacement for the supposedly lost myths of the English a New Mythology which could build a groundwork for his people. A beautiful gift for certain but much like the others before them it does not succeed because success in such an endeavor is impossible.

Our people do not have a single sacred scripture or set of scriptures, ours is The Neverending Story of our Kind. The Truth of the matter is our people do not have and will never have a single holy book. The closest we may come is that mythical book that appears at the start of every fairy tale, the one that contains every story we have ever had or ever will and they all begin with "Once Upon a time".