
Iceland to build first temple to Norse gods since Viking age - bootload
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/02/iceland-temple-norse-gods-1000-years
======
k-mcgrady
It would be interesting if religion was 'repurposed' eventually in this way.
Without getting into a 'does God exist debate' it would be interesting if
people who were, for example Christian, that decided there was no God took the
good parts of the religion (peace, forgiveness, some of the rituals etc.) and
created a branch of it. Maybe it's already been done?

~~~
sosuke
The thing is you don't have to decide there isn't a God, you don't have to
change your religion at all, if you have any, to be a good person. We see a
very vocal minority who are so loud, obnoxious and get so much air time we
think there are a lot of them. I choose to believe there are far more good,
moderate and reasonable religious people than there are idiots I see plastered
on TV spouting nonsense. Being a good person is not connected in anyway with
belief. Christianity already made a new branch to handle all the branches
[http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Nondenominational_Christianity](http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Nondenominational_Christianity)

~~~
k-mcgrady
>> "The thing is you don't have to decide there isn't a God, you don't have to
change your religion at all, if you have any, to be a good person."

Of course. My comment was made as someone who 'doesn't know' but leans towards
theism. And you certainly don't need religion to be a good person but as with
any writings/teachings there can be value there. For example some people find
the guidance of the writings by the Stoics useful. If we took the element of
God out of the bible and distilled it down to useful teachings on life I
wonder how useful non-religious people would find it. Would it be useful in a
similar way to the writings of the Stoics for example?

~~~
VLM
>> "If we took the element of God out of the bible and distilled it down to
useful teachings on life I wonder how useful non-religious people would find
it."

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible)

Thomas Jefferson. Yeah... that Thomas Jefferson... not just some random dude
with a common name.

There is a propaganda campaign to convince people that americans were united
as hard core puritan evang neocon christians continuously from the earliest
days until a very recent fall like when the Beatles arrived, but that fantasy
has nothing to do with reality, of course.

------
tellarin
It's interesting to see how much Christianity changed Scandinavia by
suppressing parts of the culture, while at the same time so many symbols
remains. From the maypole to wishing my relatives God Jul. :)

~~~
arethuza
I had no idea the use of the maypole was quite so widespread - I thought it
was a particularly English thing. I've never encountered any reference to them
here in Scotland.

~~~
gurkendoktor
It's a thing even in Northern Germany, which usually isn't very traditional.

~~~
mhd
And it's even bigger in the more Catholic parts (ex-pagan symbols often didn't
sure survive the Reformation and its _sola scriptura_ ideal). Although there's
more larceny and alcohol involved than dancing with ribbons.

But while we're talking about stealing things, I think this went in several
directions, with lots of Norse views and figures being influenced by other
religions, _including_ Christianity. Vikings and their sagas aren't exactly
ancient.

~~~
arethuza
Speaking about Vikings and ancient stuff, the Maeshowe tomb on Orkney has a
lot of entertaining Viking graffiti left after a group of warriors sheltered
there from a snowstorm:

[http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/maeshowe/maeshrunes.htm](http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/maeshowe/maeshrunes.htm)

[At almost 5000 years old Maeshowe definitely qualifies as _ancient_.]

------
imjk
I wouldn't be surprised if this is a ploy by Iceland's official tourism
bureau. They're quite savvy and very in tune with popular culture. Check out
one of their official videos:
[http://vimeo.com/12236680](http://vimeo.com/12236680). BTW, I've been to
Iceland and it really is a cool place.

------
ExpiredLink
> _We see the stories as poetic metaphors and a manifestation of the forces of
> nature and human psychology._

A perfect religion for atheists.

------
CmonDev
Must be that TV series - quite a boost for national pride.

~~~
bad_user
What TV series?

~~~
Jtsummers
Vikings [1]. I haven't watched it, heard mixed reviews from friends. Critics
seem to like it though, and it gets good viewership numbers.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikings_(TV_series)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikings_\(TV_series\))

~~~
MrJagil
It's rather historically accurate (though it's build on a legendary
figure[1]), and is a good cool-down show for you and your loved one, when Game
of Thrones ends since it's in a similar universe. I'd definitely recommend it.
If nothing else, I feel they capture the mindset well, speaking as a Dane.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar_Lodbrok](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar_Lodbrok)

------
B5geek
I would go there just for that!

