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Saturday, September 25, 2010

Ethics In Germanic Neopaganism

Ethics In Germanic Neopaganism Cover Ethics in Germanic Neopaganism are guided by a concept of personal orlog or wyrd, encompassing the notions of both fate and luck. The belief in Wyrd — a concept of fatalism or determinism, similar to some Graeco-Roman concepts of destiny is a commonly held belief amongst most Germanic Neopagans. People's personal destinies are shaped in part by what is past, in part by what they and others are now doing, by the vows they take and contracts they enter into. The Germanic Neopagan community is primarily bound together by common symbological and social concepts. Personal character and virtue is emphasized: truthfulness, self-reliance, and hospitality are important moral distinctions, underpinning an especially cherished notion of honour. Germanic Neopaganism notably lacks any discussion of redemption or salvation.

The Asatru Folk Assembly and the Odinic Rite encourages recognition of an ethical code, the Nine Noble Virtues, which are culled from various sources, including the Havamal from the Poetic Edda.

Although Germanic Neopagans revere the forces of nature, Germanic Neopaganism is not a "nature religion" in the sense of other currents often found in Neopaganism, and adherents oppose neither technology nor its material rewards. More mystical currents of Heathenry may be critical of industrialization or modern society, but even such criticism will focus on decadence, lack of virtue or balance, rather than being a radical criticism of technology itself.

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

William Mansfield Groton - The Christian Eucharist And The Pagan Cults
Jarl Fossum - Seth In The Magical Texts
Robert Leo Odom - Sunday Sacredness In Roman Paganism
Franz Cumont - After Life In Roman Paganism