Recent Attacks by Jihadists

Regular visitor Astrid contacted me and asked about how the recent attacks in France, Kenya, Nigeria, Lebanon, and so forth, would affect Asatru people. It doesn't seem like our war but we have to worry about the chaos. More importantly, we have to worry about the way conservative Christians will use it to rise to power (a definite bad thing for us). If we stick to our guiding principles, it won't be that bad.

If we look at it from the point of view of Asatru theology, the state of things is clear. We know that the enemies of the Gods are the agents of Ice (extreme order) and Fire (extreme chaos). The current crops of bad guys, typically referred to as Islamic Militants, fight in two ways. In their own territories, they are ruthless in enforcing their way (extreme order). When they attack far away from their territories, they are attempting to cause chaos. This is because they are ultimately being driven by those agents.

If you look at some of the reactions in the United States, you can see the effects on the most outrageous members of American society. They rise up and want to attack everyone and are convinced that this is just the start of some huge battle. Deep down, they really do want a world ending battle. They've been promised this as part of their religion and believe they should be on the side that brings it about. Even though the attacks in Paris killed less than two hundred people, they see it as much larger because their leaders want to rush them off to the start of destruction.

Of course, we support the Gods. The Gods are in no hurry to have the Last Battle. Even Vidar the Silent, who is destined to reign after that massive fight, does not want it to come. That means that we must let our minds prevail and not give in to fear, hatred, and chaos.

We had our encounters with Extreme Order. The almost extinction of our religion in the Middle idle is one example. The rise of the Nazis, who used our symbols, left such a taint that many of our symbols are illegal in the homelands of our ancestors. We do not need to be caught up by Extreme Chaos as well.

Do not give in to fear or hatred. It is fine to think that the attacks were bad. It is fine to think that those who are responsible should be brought to justice. If is fine to be vigilant, watching your surroundings for danger (you should be doing this anyway). However, it does no good to classify huge swaths of people as being an enemy based on the actions of a handful. You don't like it when people think the symbols of your religion mean that you are a Nazi, do you?

The agents of Surt and his kind are going to have these tantrums. They are going to hurt people until the belief in the false religions is gone. In the meantime, we must strive to maintain a dynamic balance between order and chaos. That is how we help the Gods. That is how we stave off the Last Battle.

Of course, if you are directly confronted by a violent jihadist, there is only one way into Valhalla.