No, again stop thinking of my gods in the form of the Christian god they did not create the cycle of ragnarok nor are the gods after ragnarok the same that came before.
Also remember I worship multiple gods each with their own personalities, when I said I believe the gods love me I was referring to a few from which I have received their blessing.
To answer as to what is the point if they will die in the end anyways, they are beings that are creator than myself that I posses power and have the ability to use that power to help me why would I not give them my thanks in the form of worship?
(I would like to ask that you respond in a single post rather than multiple like you've been doing it just makes it easier to reply to)
Their is no official holy text but their is the Eddas which is a collection of the old original stories of the gods.
Now for how it "works" it is very similar to the original Germanic religion with regular holidays and ritual offerings.
You are still thinking of my gods in the since of your own. Each God has their own personality they find enjoyment in different things than another god. They can choose to interact with our world or not. Personally I hope they don't interfere with my life things are going pretty well right now. I don't seek suffering but I understand it is a necessary symptom of life. I did not say there is no good or evil a described my belief system and why I believe it is not good or evil. Good and Evil both exist and can be created by the actions of individuals.
I love the Gods and because of my love I believe they in turn love me and I have seen them grant me their favor. They did not love me before I loved them. But even if I did not love them they would not punish me for it was my choice.
The Gods will die in ragnarok as is told by the Norns two gods will survive and then create a new world from the ashes just as our world was created from the death of another. Many people see the creation and destruction of the world as a line with a beginning and a end but I believe it is a cycle where one world is created from the death of another world.
I do not believe this prosses is inherently good or bad rather just the way of the worlds.
My gods choose whether or not to be involved in our suffering. They do not create it, they allow us to live our lives knowing we will live difficult lives. The pain we encounter is often a result of nature or other humans not directly a result of the gods. But if for some reason a particular God wanted to hurt someone they very well could. But as a said the original purpose of suffering is to better oneself and prepare ourselves for ragnarok (the end of days). I do not believe that is good or evil I believe it is the flow of wyrd.
At our basic human nature our primary purpose as animals is to survive and insure the survival of our species. ( https://blogs.scientificamerican.com... ) If a person is a homosexual it is biologically impossible for that person to reproduce thus contradicting their basic human instincts it is because of this that I view homosexuality as a mental disorder as it is a clear "disruption in... daily functioning". Now I do not believe homosexuality is morally wrong as I myself am bisexual, however I do feel it is a disorder much like a sociopath in the sense that there is nothing inherently wrong with being a sociopath it is only wrong when that sociopath commits a murder. To be a classified with any of the LGBT characteristics is a mental disorder and that is not a bad thing.
They don't end suffering because suffering serves a purpose. That purpose being to prepare us for ragnarok. My gods never claim like the Christian god to love us. A core idea in Asatru Paganism is the concept of wyrd which is kind of a halfway between the freewill vs "gods plan" debate in Christianity. Wyrd essentially teaches the we are always going to face struggles and it is how we face those struggles that define our character.
I believe abortion should be legal in any and all cases regardless of how far along the pregnancy may be. Every American citizen has a right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A person becomes a citizen by either being born in the country or going through the proper immigration channels. Seeing as the unborn has done neither of these the fetus is not a citizen. For this reason the mother must take priority and given the choice if they want to have the child or not. Now on a side note I do believe before the abortion takes place I feel it should be required that there be a meeting between both the mother, the doctor and the father if he is available.
