A brief Critique of Asatru

What is it?

You may recognize it as the Norse religion or the religion of the Vikings. The Ancient version used to flourish across northern Europe. It is unknown when this religion really got started, however a modern revival of it began in the 1970's by Sveinbjorn Beinteinsson. The closest things they have to sacred texts are two known Icelandic myths called the Eddas. It was the Anglo-Saxons who converted from this religion to Christianity in the 7th century. This is also where the name and customs of Easter originate.



What Deities did they Worship?

The Norse worshiped three different types of gods, quite unlike the monotheistic belief of our faith (1Co 8:4 -6). The first were the Aesir-tribe, they represent kingship, order, and the craft. Then you had the Vanir type of gods, they represented fertility of the earth and the forces of nature. Finally there was the villainous Jotnar, they were giants that represent destruction.

Now lets go over a few of the more popular gods. There was Odin who was a god of poetry, magic, and wealth; this is where we get (Wednesday) from. Thanks to Marvel most kids know who Thor is. He wields a mighty hammer, can control the weather and supposedly is a protector; he is why we call the fifth day of the week (Thursday).

Freyr is known as a fertility god, he is represented by a Phallic statue, this is known as a graven image (Deu 4:15 -16). Freyja is known as the fertility goddess, and Odin's wife, she is why the sixth day is called (Friday). Then there's Loki, he is known as the trickster. Lastly there is Tyr who is a god of battle, and sacrifice. He is where we get (Tuesday) from.

There are many nations around the world that worship a plurality of gods, however they all have one thing in common; and that is that they have no real evidence that their gods exist. They take wood and stone and fashion it into images of men which they call gods however these images only come from their imagination with no facts to back up the veracity of the claim that that is what God/gods look like. I intend to redo and republish my article on Idolatry and graven images, so please refer to that for more information regarding this.

Did they believe in life after death?

The ancient Nordic beliefs in an afterlife did vary considerably. Some did not believe in it, while others believed in a place called Valhalla, an others believed in reincarnation, though this belief is utterly refuted by scripture (Job 14:7-12). They were known to do  human sacrifices, which the Lord never commanded us to do (Jer 19:4 -6). These were conducted out in the open or in groves / forest.  The holy scriptures tell us that God told the Israelite to destroy the groves where the pagans sacrificed to their gods (Exo 34:13).


Sacred Holidays and Practices

Yule is their most important holiday which starts on December 21. They worshiped the oak tree, it is used as a symbol for Odin. They also used the mistletoe, the holly, and the evergreen in their homes to ward off winter spirits. These traditions live on all across the globe when Christians celebrate Christmas. Please refer to my Christmas article to see why we shouldn't celebrate Christmas.

There was women known as volva that practiced divination and foretold the destiny of children, we read in God's word that those that do so are an abomination (Deu 18:10-12). Their modern day practices include toasting to the gods, ancestors, and toasting to other things. They would do well to remember King Belshazzar, who was slain the same night that he praised the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone while drinking from the vessels of the Lord (Dan 5).

In conclusion we see that Asatru is just a modern version of an old religion where man has fashioned a god or gods after his own likeness. They weren't sure what would happen to them when they died and they used to commit horrendous acts of human sacrifice in the past and still continue the vain traditions of Yule to this day. My plea to the reader is this; If you are an Adherent to this old fable of man why don't you put down this broken cistern and come to the fountain of living water (Jer 2:13, Joh 4:10).

delongfarms.com/tree_1.html

http://www.religionfacts.com/norse-religion