In this study, the complex topic of religious and ethnic identity in Beowulf is approached through a focused consideration of Beowulf's Creation Song (ll. 90-8) within the context of the patristic and early medieval Christian apologetic tradition. In this reading, the Beowulf poet is viewed as an active participant in a broader cultural dialogue about religious and ethnic identity, whose contribution can be better understood when read in conversation with the apologetic tradition's handling of those two identities as they relate to Christian theology of creation and the knowledge and worship of the creator.