October 29, 2007
Asatruar saves woman's life
A woman who ran off the road and plunged over a cliff was saved by a man named Clifton Siple. Siple found the wreckage and the woman 14 hours after she wrecked, as he was walking along a beach. What is more interesting is that Siple practices an ancient Germanic-Scandinavian religion, and is a member of the Asatru Folk Assembly.
From the Curry Coastal Pilot article:
Siple, who was walking his Airedale terrier Dusty when he found Scott lying next to her car on the beach, said he was praying to Njord, the god of the sea, while awaiting rescuers.
"I was just praying to him, 'hold the tide back a little bit longer so we can get Diane out of here,'" Siple said Friday.
Siple said he is a member of an old Germanic-Scandinavian religion called Asatru. "It's not a mainstream religion. It's being reconstructed from a thousand years ago. We're not naked dancing in the woods," he said.
Way to go Clifton!
Technorati Tags: religion, spirit
Posted by keg at 6:20 PM
October 28, 2007
monotheism, polytheism, Greek, and Germanic/Norse
Mary Lefkowitz, professor emerita at Wellesley College, wrote a very interesting article in the Los Angeles Times, where she notes deficiencies in the world caused by dominant monotheistic religions, and discusses how a polytheistic religion might be just the palliative the world needs. She discusses Greek religion, but in Europe and the U.S., which is predominantly Germanic/Scandanavian, a religion around the Norse/Germanic Gods would be most appropriate.
So in her article, mentally substitute "Norse" for "Greek", and the appropriate Norse God names for the Greek God names, and you will get the best intent.
The separation between humankind and the gods made it possible for humans to complain to the gods without the guilt or fear of reprisal the deity of the Old Testament inspired. Mortals were free to speculate about the character and intentions of the gods. By allowing mortals to ask hard questions, Greek theology encouraged them to learn, to seek all the possible causes of events. Philosophy -- that characteristically Greek invention -- had its roots in such theological inquiry. As did science.
Technorati Tags: religion, spirit
Posted by keg at 7:45 PM
October 24, 2007
The Runestone Journal
Look for a great new journal for Asatruar!
Technorati Tags: academia, religion, spirit
Posted by keg at 7:18 PM
October 9, 2007
Leif Erickson day set
From http://www.mankatofreepress.com/local/local_story_281112911.html:
Storyteller and performer Douglas A. (Dag) Rossman will help the campus observe Leif Erikson Day Tuesday when he speaks about ancient Nordic spirituality.
Rossman, from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, will discuss “Ancient Nordic Spirituality: The Northern Path to Wisdom and Balance,” at 7 p.m. in Minnesota State’s Wissink Hall 285.
Posted by keg at 4:46 PM
