Grace Over Strength: Joseph Pearce on the Christian Core of Beowulf

Son Rise Morning Show · Oct 26, 2026 · 7m

Is the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf merely a tale of pagan monster-slaying, or is it one of the earliest Christian literary masterpieces? On The Son Rise Morning Show, host Matt Swaim welcomes back literary scholar and author Joseph Pearce (jpierce.co) to unearth the deep theological roots woven into Beowulf.

Pearce argues that the epic—likely composed by an 8th-century Benedictine monk—serves as a cautionary tale against the heresy of Pelagianism and the myth of human self-reliance. He explains how Beowulf, despite being the strongest warrior with the finest human technology, remains…