Orthodoxy in Asatru
We live in a time where “dogma”, “doctrine”, and “orthodox” are considered bad words, especially in “pagan” circles. This is because these words all bring to mind images of Christianity during the high Middle Ages: images of priests, ceremony, ritual, rules, and ostracizing when those rules are broken.
These concepts are NOT Christian concepts. They are simply religious concepts in general!
Many “pagans” in our modern times will say that Asatru is about following your heart, not listening to anyone else, only connecting with the Gods to “work” with them, etc.… This is demonstrably incorrect, a major disservice to our ancestors, and egregiously impious.
Our ancestors did, in fact, believe in hard truths about our faith, as did every other ethnic group regarding their ethnic faith, as did every universal faith, and so on. Much of Asatru was not up for debate, just like one would see in any real religion. For example, imagine debating with a Christian about whether or not Satan is evil. It sounds quite silly, doesn’t it? Christians will not bend on this, because it is part of the orthodoxy of their faith, and it would cease to be a religion if this were simply a matter of personal opinion!
Asatru should be, and is, much the same in that regard. There are hard facts in our faith: the Gods are real, Loki is not worthy of worship, the runes have power, and so on. None of these points are up for debate, and none of these are a matter of opinion if you are truly Asatru. If you disagree with any of these points, then Asatru is a purely academic pursuit for you.
Asatru is a REAL faith, with REAL rules, where our people connect with our REAL Gods. Anyone who says otherwise is not seriously interested in this faith.
Gods be praised.
Gothi Trent East
