NESP Reviews
by Eric Wódening
Review by Alfta Svanni Lothursdottir
When one finishes reading a book like this, it is one of those rare times that one an say to those fellow adherents of the Northern ancestral faiths, “Get this book and read it. Just do it!” This book is one of those books that is that important. For any person or group who really wishes to live by the real ethics and world-view which our Northern ancestors lived by, this book is just a necessity. I can't say it enough. The final paragraph of Wódening's book is the perfect reason it should be purchased.
“If we as modern heathen wish for our religion to prosper and grow, then we should embrace the morals and ethics of our forebears. Indeed, we should perhaps make extensive study into ancient heathen morality a top priority. At the very least we should insure that anyone newly entering the religion is thoroughly educated in the law and thew by which our forebears abided. To do otherwise could well be to condemn our faith to obscurity.” (Wódening, p.75)
Wise words from one who has put in the time to find out what these ethics were and who has obviously put them into practice enough to know them well enough to present them here for us, the lucky reader. A firm understanding of Northern ethics is essential to any community or group and We Are Our Deeds gives that understanding in 81 pages. Don't let the number of pages fool you, however. In those 81 pages is a veritable treasure hoard from our Northern ancestors.
Wódening's approach to conveying these virtues is a good one. He approaches the task from the view point of a linguistic analysis. This is a strong way of presentation as anyone who has done any study in languages knows that a people's way of thinking is bound up intimately in their language. So when we study their language we gain insight into how they thought, their ideas, their ethics. This is the approach that Wódening takes and he squeezes out every bit of knowledge there is to be found.
Though this book is scholarly, without doubt, one should not assume it is not very readable and clear, as well as concise. One doesn't have to be a student of language to understand the points he makes in this book. One simply has the take the time to read it. And if one does take the time to read it, the reward will be far in excess of the value of the time that was spent. Get this book. Read this book.
This book can be obtained through the Theod Book Hoard Online.
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