On Apr 16, 5:33 pm, Erland Gadde <erl...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
I once
> asked my mother (an atheist, like myself) why she always cleans her
> house very carefully, always putting away all objects that disturb the
> perfect order. (A typical mother, right?) She replied: "Because Martin
> Luther is sitting on my shoulder and telling me what to do." That was
> of course a metaphor, but it reflects how Martin Luther is perceived
> in Sweden, and probably in other traditionally Lutheran countries too.
> (Or...?)
>
> Martin Luther is, in peoples minds (in Sweden), associated with
> obedience to the authorities (including your parents), diligence, and
> a proper Christian behviour:
**snip
B - It's been my experience that many Scandi persons have a problem
with religion and see Christianity as something that takes away all
the "fun"...I never really understood why when many Asatruar people
here are so close to God/Gods and see it as beautiful and life
affirming... It seems an odd schism. Now I know that it was that
Martin Luther ethic of toeing the line so to speak. I hope that many
more Scandi folks will reclaim Christ for themselves and see how
beautiful it can be. Blessings B.
----
[One well-known aspect of Luther's theology was his understanding of
authority. He considered that authority in various spheres (family,
government, etc) was God-given, and that we generally owed obedience.
Of course this view can also be found in the Bible. Of course there
are certain things that no human authority can legitimately order us
to do.
As far as I can tell, this understanding wouldn't eliminate fun from
life.
--clh]
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