Why Beowulf Should be Taught in Christian Schools

"Beowulf" is an intensely violent and gruesome story. While this is an exceptionally graphic book, the author did not intend this to be a purely entertainment book; he wrote it as a didactic piece of literature (containing a moral message). Throughout the book, the author creates symbolism between his fictional characters and Biblical characters and between his fictional events and Biblical events. Beowulf is a Christian, didactic novel and therefore should be taught and discussed …

…dragon. That person symbolized us as sinners and Beowulf is Jesus who sacrificed his very life to save us. By implementing Beowulf to the literature curriculum in a Christian school, you reap the fruit of learning about what the author has already discovered in the Word of God. It doesn't make sense to 're-invent the wheel' by reading only from the scriptures and discovering principles that have already been uncovered in books such as Beowulf.