| Submit your comments on this article |
| Olde Tyme Religion |
| Iceland to build first temple to Norse gods since Viking age |
| 2015-02-03 |
| [THEGUARDIAN] Icelanders will soon be able to publicly worship at a shrine to Thor, Odin and Frigg with construction starting this month on the island’s first major temple to the Norse gods since the Viking age. Worship of the gods in Scandinavia gave way to Christianity around 1,000 years ago but a modern version of Norse paganism has been gaining popularity in Iceland. “I don’t believe anyone believes in a one-eyed man who is riding about on a horse with eight feet,” said Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, high priest of Ásatrúarfélagið, an association that promotes faith in the Norse gods. “We see the stories as poetic metaphors and a manifestation of the forces of nature and human psychology.” Membership in Ásatrúarfélagið has tripled in Iceland in the last decade to 2,400 members last year, out of a total population of 330,000, data from Statistics Iceland showed. The temple will be circular and will be dug 4 metres (13ft) down into a hill overlooking the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, with a dome on top to let in the sunlight. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #12 In lands where the Lord loves a liar And sand, sun, and scrapping conspire To scrape at their nerves, There Freya's day serves As their week-choking focus of ire. |
| Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2015-02-03 21:34 |
| #11 “I, for one, welcome our new hammer-wielding overlord.” |
| Posted by: Hupineger Glomomp0034 2015-02-03 21:25 |
| #10 If they have beer and football then I'm converting. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2015-02-03 21:03 |
| #9 |
| Posted by: 3dc 2015-02-03 19:24 |
| #8 "“I don’t believe anyone believes in a one-eyed man who is riding about on a horse with eight feet,” said Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, high priest of Ásatrúarfélagið, an association that promotes faith in the Norse gods." Well, at least one goofy cult appears to be having a reformation. |
| Posted by: Glavise Slaviter5093 2015-02-03 15:47 |
| #7 They'll be neo-pagans like the pathetic Druids. Choosing a religion to upset your parents and make your friends think you are cool is sad. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2015-02-03 14:34 |
| #6 Odin does not like your Jihad. Blood Eagle Wings for all of you. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2015-02-03 13:08 |
| #5 The odds are there's already a larger mosque in Rejkavik. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2015-02-03 13:04 |
| #4 Well, unlike the Christians, they'll know how to deal with Jihad. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-02-03 13:00 |
| #3 "a dome on top to let in the sunlight" much like anyone that would "worship" there. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2015-02-03 12:42 |
| #2 Norse version of Unitarianism.. don't really believe in the gods. Too bad, could use a few besrkers in the Mideast. |
| Posted by: Zenobia Peacock3126 2015-02-03 12:38 |
| #1 Tribalism returns. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2015-02-03 12:29 |