Facing the Fear of Death’s Authority
How come (Catholic) Christianity was so successful in replacing European heathendom, from the sixth through the thirteenth centuries AD? One might argue Catholic missionaries spread the Word by the sword. But then why did Christianity stick? In other words, what benefit did the story of Christ have to offer over the old lore of Odin and Mercury?
In his book about Odin, American scholar Stephan Grundy saw that in the earliest of heathen times, long before the arrival of Viking culture, Odin used to be the god of death. In the minds of the heathens, they saw death as the highest authority of like. Living in constant fear of death, disease, and disaster surely made heathens chronically depressed, lowly people.
But the story of Christ offered these heathens a way out of their depression. Christ is the hero who overcomes the fear of death. He acts justly and righteously, following his morals, even if that meant the Romans would persecute him. Christ showed us how to overcome the fear of death, torture, and treason.
Heathens who accepted Christ as their savior were literally freed from the fear of death. And so, Christianity stuck.
Though, the story I want to tell doesn’t end here. For it may be an honorable idea to overcome even the fear of death, death itself still remains life’s highest authority. People still die, despite all medical progress. Three teachings of Christ have arguably set in motion two thousand years of technological progress that now feeds eight billion people on Earth.
Silicon Valley technocrats, like many kings and emperors before them, are trying to overcome death itself. They want eternal life. Only then shall they defeat Odin’s lingering darkness. One Chinese emperor drank small amounts of mercury each day, thinking it would extend rather than shorten his life.
The technocrats have now placed their bets on robotic bodies and virtual minds. If only we could upload our minds to the Metaverse after our bodies die, then we just have to accept its terms and conditions, and Zuckerberg shall be our virtual god. Good luck paying rent to host your avatar-the contract shall last an eternity.
If the goal of the elites is to beat death, then surely they shall have no reservations sacrificing some or all of the people to win eternal life for themselves. Is it a race to become godly, no different from Egyptian pharaohs rowing their deceased souls to the afterlife?
Our elites truly believe in this possibility. Some elites are more democratic than others. Some believe no one can become immortal unless we all become immortal together. I don’t share their arrogance. I don’t believe anyone can beat the nothingness by whose tolerance we exist. Death is the price we pay for life.
Death, I believe, shall forever remain life’s highest authority. Christianity may have given the old heathens the confidence to open up to progress, but no one should have the arrogance to dream of eternal life. Only arrogant men drink the mercury. Odin awaits them.