Blutwölfin's view on the question of whether atheism and Ásatru could be reconcilable:
What are your views on this?Originally Posted by Blutwölfin
Blutwölfin's view on the question of whether atheism and Ásatru could be reconcilable:
What are your views on this?
From dictionary.com
Atheist: One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.
Either you're an atheist or you're a believer, and never the twain shall meet. On the other hand, if you're an agnostic there can be some form of middle ground.
Agnostic:
1. One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.
2. One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.
2. One who is doubtful or noncommittal about something.
Maybe "atheist Asatruars" don´t believe in gods as supernatural beings but as man-made ideals that should be honored and followed?
Tolerance is a proof of distrust in one's own ideals. Friedrich Nietzsche
Fair enough. Strictly by definition I suppose I am an atheist. I do not believe in a tribal desert god, nor do I believe in floating vikings in the sky. I suppose I am a "fan" of Nordic mythology because I can relate it to my ancestors.
I believe there is much to learn about Ásatru (our moral values, traditions, etc.) but I do not believe that the gods are actual living beings.
P.S. - Zyklop summed it up nicely.
Weißer Wolf
Yep.
I guess at face value I would have to agree with your assessment - an Ásatruar, in its strictest sense, is essentially a person who fully believes in the Norse gods of old.
For myself, I think it is not that simple. Having explored religions for many years, I have come to realise that the reality of religion is quite often within oneself, and in the case of ancient folk religions - could even be explained through genetic inheritance. I believe that folk have evolved to include religion in their beings; their minds. Thus a person of Germanic ancestry could in theory have very real experiences with the gods of old that, for a non-Germanic, would be impossible to see. These experiences are in the mind, and are effected through the brain. That does not mean that the gods actually exist.
This is my view - I believe that Germanic people can have real spiritual experiences and realities with the gods of old, even though in reality these gods do not exist. They are part of our beings and innermost, deepest guidance. It is part of our overall inheritance. They are part of us.
Of course, this is my personal view and I accept that many people would disagree with me.
I think one shouldn't misuse the term Ásatruar. Ásatru means "the faith in the Gods (Æsir)". So there can't be the term "atheistic Ásatruar". Maybe you are an atheistic Heathen, but never an Ásatruar. It's an oxymoron you are creating here. Like "hot snow".
Lík börn leika best.
I know a few of my country men who would classify them selves in this manner (although they use the term Heathen), basically what the term is used for is a person who beliefs in the enormous amount of knowledge Ásatrú and Íslendinga sögur (the sagas) hold and in the natural intent of the religion, they however deny the existence of the Æsir in the physical form and belief they are the creation of men in order to guide people to wisdom and natural understanding.
A term I have heard used many times before so I see no reason why Weißer Wolf cannot consider him an atheistic heathen
On the other hand, we have various gnostic paths. Some gnostic groups has priests, bishops and is to some degree an organizational copy of the church.
Some gnostics (old greek;gnosis/ knowledge)has a very personal path, and do not organize, as like me. No priests, gurus, saviors or prohets or other middlemen nescessary. Direct connnection is the thing. The gnostics referers often to a personal experience of God, which is incommunicable. Long before reaching those spiritual realms, unexplainable paradoxes has appeared.
Like for example, how can there be so many omnipresent gods, without overcrowding the universe?..He-he...
To me, Odin,Thor and Frey are spectres of the same, Odin distinctively referering to Mercurial, Martial, and Saturnal princips, while Thor, or Athor to me refereres to Jupiter and Uranus. After raising the Odinic energies, I found myself quite unbalanced and a danger to myself and others, I mostly stick to Thor in times of peace and building. It is a strange paradox that it is possible to say prayers to both God and Thor?
But take a look at the name Thor, or Athor, ROTA, the wheel, which is the universe, and the hammer both for creation and destruction. ROTA is also the principe of Jupiter, Zevs, Amon-Ra and Brahman. J,Z and B also carries with them the thunderbolt, an equivalent to the hammer. Finally, one may also define these as ideas happending in the brain, to some degree as defined by C.J.Jungs theory upon archetypes. This explains the option to consider both ideas at the same time, with out conflicts. The conflict appears when one tries to understand what is not understandable, or tries to explain the unexplainable. The nuthouse are full of those that cant let that go.
This is of course my very subjective view, and is not an attempt to push "truths" at anyone,. But I could not resist the temptation to reply...
Thore Hund
Atheistic heathen is fine as I said above, but atheistic Ásatruar is an oxymoron and no way of wording I can support. There really is a difference between the terms "Ásatru" and "Heatenry".
Lík börn leika best.
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