Response “Dream of the Rood”
The poem “Dream of the Rood” is a poem written and performed with the intention of converting the remaining pagans in England to Christianity. This is an early example of the continued oppression of individuality that the church thrives on. In “Dream of the Rood”, Jesus is described as a “young hero” (line 38) and “the mighty king” (line 43) to persuade those holding onto pagan beliefs to convert to christianity by making him seem like a warrior, which was respected in pagan religions. Propaganda, like this poem, has been a common tool used in the oppression of individuality throughout history and illustrates the need for reform within the Christian church.
The ruling class of England had adopted Christianity by the 7th century and the law system was based around it, however; many of the common people had not converted and became more encouraged not to with the viking attacks beginning in the late 870s. The vikings targeted churches and monasteries, as that’s where precious gems and metals could be found, and ran off priests and ministers leaving the average citizen to return to their pagan practices. This was stopped by the King of Wessex, who was a Christian, after he defeated the vikings in battle and began rebuilding Christian structures and urging the priests within them to use them as schools for the nearby townspeople. This was a bribery to lure the common folk into the church as they had no other means of education at this time. Most people began attending church services several times a year (for major holidays or events) and began to convert to christianity as they felt they must in order to continue partaking in the church’s services such as learning to read and write, borrow books to learn about better trade techniques, etc. These services should have been offered freely as Proverbs 3:27 states, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”
Furthermore, Christianity was cemented in England when William the Conqueror took over in the 10th century and ordered new churches to be built bigger so that they could be used as schools, event halls, and marketplaces. He effectively made the church an integral part of the average citizen’s life where now they would go to the church several times a week, if not daily. Making all events available only on church property meant that everyone had to be a church goer and left no room for any other religions as per William the Conqueror’s demand: he did not believe in tolerance for other religions. He allowed the Church’s power to grow unrestrained during his rule (as he was backed by the Pope of the time and unwaveringly pious) and they began to encourage the ostracizing of others who did not obey them during this time. For example, any remaining practicing pagans during this time were forced to do so in secret or face death or torture by the church. This directly goes against the bible as it states, “If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” (John 12:47) and “have mercy on those who doubt” (John 1:22).
In the modern times, the Church of England has faced allegations of racism, child sexual abuse, and does not allow gay marriage in their churches, even though it has been legal in England since 2014. The Church had both the victims of sexual abuse and racism within the church sign non-discolsure agreements in order to protect itself and the abusers within it it to the detriment of the victims. This is because those accused hold positions of power in the church that are nearly always unavailable to women and people of color, i.e. the church’s main victims. The Church of England also has a flyer on their website that they sent out to all who are subscribed to them in 2014 that states that they cannot allow same sex marriages in their churches as marriage is between “one man and one woman” and lists quotes from religious statements over the years, but no biblical text, to back this decision up. This is another example of oppression through propaganda as the sources they use to support their decision come from other narrow minded men like themselves rather than the bible. The texts they reference are the Book of Common Prayer written by Thomas Cranmer in 1533 (an old, straight, white, male), Resolution 1.10 by the Lambeth Conference of 1998 (Angelican Bishops, 11 women, 731 men, nearly all white), and The Common Worship from the General Synod, the “legislative organ of the Church of England” (467 members, 65% white males). The bible states that we were all made “in His image” (Genesis 1:27) and that “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), so the church is clearly out of touch with the Scripture and needs to be remade with the inclusion of women, people of color, young people, ect. who can provide a more inclusive environment to connect people with God.
In conclusion, the church continues to favor white males as the ideal standard to conform to, as evidenced by their chosen texts, illustrating that little has changed since the writing of the “Dream of the Rood”, and it is well past time for a reform of Christianity that allows for all to be welcomed. The current structure of the church fails at providing a safe environment for worship unless you are straight, white, and male and this is unacceptable because all should be allowed the chance to know God, and the church must foster this because, as the Bible says, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31).
