(Derived from an a.r.a. post of July 1997)It has been asked by the universalists, in response to my disagreement with the "gay Asatru weddings" they've conducted, how homosexuals could be excluded insofar as faith is determined by ancestry.
First, I would not exclude someone on the basis of their sexual inclination, contrary to the repeated misrepresentations of my position. As I have said, I do not inquire about private activities. I'm sure someone will screech again-"he's telling us how to live!"- but I would hope that this makes clear to dispassionate minds that this is not the case. Where I draw the line is in associating with those for whom homosexuality is a Cause, or those who insist on flaunting behavior which is dysfunctional and repulsive to many of us, or those who insist on the use of religious ceremonies to promote and legitimize such behavior. Again, this is not telling someone how to live or to obey me- understood?- it is me saying on what basis I would choose to associate with others.
Second, while there is an ancestral component to the faith- the indigenous religion of our people, arising from the very spiritual roots of the Folk, best expresses our unique spiritual needs- quite obviously many are alienated from their true spirituality. While one might say that a Christian of European descent carries within the ancestral spirit, and while this spirit will show its presence in the thoughts and actions of the Christian, clearly the alien ideology will be such that one would not claim the individual to be an Asatruar. This is much more subtle, you see, than "ancestry equals religion" because individuals are multi-faceted and complex, and can be alienated from their true spirit. In a society, however, as opposed to individual variance, the ancestral spirit will make its mark. The accomplishments of the Folk throughout history, even when the alien religion has held a predominant place, arise from the ancient spirit of creation, invention and conquest of which Asatru- our faith since the dawn of time in various forms- is the spiritual expression.
As an individual may become alienated from his true spirit, so too may an individual fall into dissonance with nature. There have always been homosexuals, some possibly from early self-consciousness so defective from the purposes of natural life. Societies have handled this defect and dysfunction in various ways, as they have handled other defects. Generally, a social mechanism of some sort is instituted to prevent the behavior itself from becoming accepted. This because in a dysfunctional social order there are those who will choose the behavior- often those molested ("choice" is inaccurate here- sexuality is corrupted and choices are made through a warped filter of experience) or unappealing to the opposite sex or for whom it is easier not to compete for mates. We have reached such a state today. So alien is this society, and so completely alienated are many individuals from the natural processes of life and life's continuance, that they have chosen homosexuality as a "lifestyle option". Like Christianity in terms of spirituality, it is sexual alienation and has become a block to the expression of the true and natural.
So, in short, Asatru is a true expression of the ancestral spirit, but it may be buried beneath any number of alienating ideologies or processes. We do not, in my opinion, bring Asatru into compliance with the alienation from nature, but seek to offer it as it truly is and forever has been in order to overcome such. Those who would use it as a vehicle to promote the present unnatural and dysfunctional society, who would keep its forms but replace its spirit with "political correctness", I will oppose. Where society has become alienated from the natural, where society itself is alien to the spirit of the Folk, Asatru must stand not as a prop of the social order but as an alternative.
Of a general note: Opposition to the agenda of the universalists and hobbyists does not constitute telling them how to live, as they screech any time someone dares oppose them. It means that there are many of us who do not accept what they present as Asatru and are not afraid to reject fashionable thinking in order to offer Asatru as it has forever been. Go about your lives and have your "gay Asatru weddings". Since you are so concerned that the opinions of those who oppose you are attempts to restrict you, I say again- we do not restrict you, never have sought to do so. The faith lives, the gods live, and we will not pretend that we agree with your representation of the ancestral faith as just another option of the dysfunctional and alien society. Your choice is yours alone. We choose the ancient and living gods of our ancestors.
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