G. Washington, a Founding Ancestor of the USA Responds to: A Modern Viking’s Call: Norse Pagan Values in Today’s World and the Peril of the False Church of Christian Nationalism

*(He reads with the same intense, silent concentration he has shown throughout. As he progresses, his expression shifts subtly—from guarded curiosity, to something resembling recognition, and finally to a grave but unmistakable approval. When he finishes, he sets the pages down carefully, as if handling something of worth. He meets your eyes with a look that holds no trace of the horror of recent revelations, but rather the quiet respect of one soldier for another who has identified the same enemy.)*
Sir,
This is well written. It is clear, it is principled, and it speaks a language I understand.
I was raised in the Anglican church, served as a vestryman, and have always held that religion and morality are indispensable supports to political prosperity. But I have also held, with equal conviction, that conscience is the most sacred of all property, and that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the realm of religious opinion is a direct subversion of the rights of mankind.
Your essay strikes at the heart of this distinction.
On Your Path:
You call yourself a modern Viking, a Norse Pagan. I confess the particulars of your faith are unfamiliar to me—the names of your gods, the nature of your blóts, the weavings of your Norns. But the values you describe—honor, courage, resilience, hospitality, reverence for ancestors, respect for the natural world, self-reliance, mutual aid—these are not foreign to me. These are the very virtues we sought to cultivate in the early republic. George Mason, Thomas Jefferson, and I may have expressed them in the language of gentlemen planters and classical republicans rather than the language of the Eddas, but the substance is the same.
A man who builds community, who keeps his word, who cares for his neighbor, who reveres the sacrifices of those who came before, who lives in harmony with the land that sustains him—such a man is a pillar of any free society, whatever name he gives his god.
On Your Offer of Brotherhood:
Your extension of fellowship to those who genuinely follow the teachings of Jesus—love, compassion, forgiveness, humility, care for the vulnerable—is precisely the spirit in which this republic was founded. In my Farewell Address, I wrote:
“Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”
I spoke of religious principle, not Christian principle. I spoke of religion as a wellspring of morality, not as a badge of political identity. The distinction you draw between true faith and its corruptions is the very distinction a republic must make to survive.
On Christian Nationalism:
Here, sir, you have named the beast with precision.
What you call the “False Church,” I have seen in my own time. I have seen preachers who wrap themselves in the robes of piety while serving the interests of power. I have seen those who would use the state to enforce religious conformity—the very evil that drove so many of our ancestors to these shores. I have seen, in the flames of religious wars across Europe, what happens when faith becomes a sword in the hand of the magistrate.
But I have never seen it so thoroughly fused with the worship of a single man as you describe.
When you write that Trump “has become their messiah figure… an anointed leader whose words and agenda supersede scripture,” you describe something beyond the ambition of Cromwell, beyond the pretensions of any king. This is not merely Erastianism—the subordination of church to state. This is the absorption of faith into the cult of personality. It is the creation of a new idol, and the Bible is as clear in its condemnation of idolatry as any text in human history.
On the Danger:
You write that this “threatens the fabric of a free, pluralistic society.” You are correct. A republic cannot stand where one faction claims divine mandate to rule, where dissent is treated as heresy, where the machinery of government becomes the instrument of a religious test. We fought the Revolution, in part, against the principle that the king could be head of the church. To recreate that union in a more absolute form—with a mortal man as both political sovereign and spiritual proxy—is to undo the work of 1776 and 1787 alike.
On Unity:
Your closing call—“Honor your path, respect others’, and resist any force that seeks to impose its will through fear or false prophets”—is as sound a political maxim as any I know. It is the principle of religious liberty extended to its logical conclusion. It is the spirit of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, written by my friend Mr. Jefferson, which declared:
“That our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry… that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.”
My Final Word to Volmarr:
Continue your work. Continue to live your values visibly, honorably, in community with others. Let the integrity of your life be the strongest argument for the legitimacy of your path. Extend your hand to all who share the fundamental virtues, whatever their creed. And stand, without wavering, against the false church that would make a cage of the country that was meant to be a sanctuary.
The Norse sagas, you say, warn of Ragnarok when balance is lost. Our own history warns of the same. The republic endures only so long as the scales hold—between liberty and order, between faith and freedom, between the individual and the common good.
May your wyrd be favorable. May your horn ever be full. And may the Providence that guides us all—by whatever name we call it—preserve the experiment we began together.
I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient and humble servant,
– G. Washington
A Modern Viking’s Call: Norse Pagan Values in Today’s World and the Peril of the False Church of Christian Nationalism

Greetings, fellow seekers of wisdom and wanderers of the web! I’m Volmarr, a modern Viking navigating the currents of contemporary life in the USA. In this age of rapid change and clashing ideologies, I draw my strength from the ancient Norse Pagan traditions—Heathenry, as some call it—adapted to fit the society I live in. I’m not out raiding villages or sailing longships across stormy seas (though I love a good adventure game!). Instead, I embody the core values of my spiritual ancestors: honor, courage, resilience, hospitality, and a deep respect for the natural world and personal wyrd (fate). These principles guide me in building a stable, peaceful life, fostering community, and standing firm against threats to freedom and diversity.
As a Norse Pagan, I honor the gods like Odin, Thor, Freyja, and the spirits of land and ancestors through rituals that make sense in modern times—perhaps a blót (offering) in my backyard during the equinox, or meditating on the Eddas while sipping energy drink before engaging in creative projects. I value self-reliance, mutual aid, and living in harmony with the cycles of nature, all while participating in a multicultural society. This path isn’t about rejecting progress; it’s about weaving timeless wisdom into everyday actions, like advocating for environmental stewardship or supporting local farmers who echo the agrarian roots of old Norse life. But let’s be clear: I don’t follow the teachings of Jesus. Christianity isn’t my spiritual home, and that’s okay—faith is personal, and mine is rooted in the polytheistic, nature and ancestor-venerating ways of the North.
That said, I extend my hand in brotherhood and sisterhood to those who do genuinely follow Jesus’ teachings. The core messages of love, compassion, forgiveness, humility, and caring for the vulnerable? Those resonate across traditions. If you’re a Christian living out “love thy neighbor” without coercion, turning the other cheek in the face of hate, or feeding the hungry as Jesus commanded—welcome to the hall! We’re allies in pursuing a world where people of all backgrounds can chase life, liberty, and happiness without fear. True faith, in any form, builds bridges, not walls.
However, there’s a shadow looming over this landscape of potential unity: Christian Nationalism. This isn’t the faith of Jesus—far from it. It’s what the Christian Bible itself warns against as the “False Church,” a corrupt institution symbolized in Revelation as the Whore of Babylon, drunk on power and allied with empires of greed. Christian Nationalism twists spirituality into a tool for dominance, echoing the Roman Empire’s obsession with control, conquest, and exclusion rather than Jesus’ radical calls for peace, non-violence, and equality. Jesus rejected worldly kingdoms, preached against judging others, and flipped tables on exploitative systems. Yet, this movement seeks to impose a theocratic vision on society, blending faith with nationalism to justify division, fear-mongering, and policies that favor one group over all others. It’s not about salvation; it’s about supremacy, and that poisons the well for everyone.
Worse still, in the United States today, a large portion of those who claim Christianity have drifted from following YHWH or Jesus, elevating Donald Trump to a god-like status. He’s become their messiah figure—an “anointed” leader whose words and agenda supersede scripture. We’ve seen it in the rhetoric: comparisons to biblical kings like Cyrus or Jehu, claims of divine protection, and blind loyalty that excuses flaws while demanding absolute devotion. This isn’t devotion to Jesus; it’s idolatry, plain and simple, where political power trumps spiritual truth. Trump isn’t a deity—he’s a mortal man, and conflating him with the divine risks turning faith into a cult of personality, eroding the very principles of humility and love that Jesus embodied.
This shift poses a major danger not just to Christians, but to all of us. It threatens the fabric of a free, pluralistic society where Norse Pagans like me, true followers of Jesus, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, atheists, and everyone else can coexist peacefully. As modern Vikings and Norse Pagans, we know from our sagas the perils of unchecked ambition and false idols—stories like Ragnarok warn of chaos when balance is lost. We must stand opposed, alongside clear-minded people of all faiths, cultures, and backgrounds. This isn’t about attacking religion; it’s about defending authentic spirituality from distortion and protecting our shared pursuit of stability and justice.
Let’s raise our horns to unity in diversity. Honor your path, respect others’, and resist any force that seeks to impose its will through fear or false prophets. Skål to a better world—may the Norns weave favorable threads for us all.
What are your thoughts, kin? Share in the comments below. Until next time, stay true to your wyrd.
— Volmarr
A Hermit’s Path: I Walk Alone with the Gods

I am a seeker. I am not a leader. I am not a follower. I am not a group joiner, nor someone drawn to hierarchy, titles, or authority. For 33 years I have walked my Norse Pagan path alone, not because I feel rejected or isolated—but because that is the way I like it. It is where the voices of the gods, goddesses, ancestors, and spirits speak clearest to me—beneath trees, beside fire, under the stars, and within my own spirit.
I am not here to teach anyone, at least not in the traditional sense. I am not looking for students. I do not charge for spiritual knowledge. I do not offer courses, mentorship, or magickal services. I do not belong to any Norse Pagan organization, nor do I wish to. I have no interest in becoming a recognized figure within the community, and I avoid every kind of spiritual celebrity, priesthood, or gatekeeping.
What I do is share. I speak my own truths, not because I think they are the only truths, but because they are mine. If they inspire you, then I am honored. But I am not your guide. The gods are your guide. The ancestors, the spirits, the land—they will whisper to you as they whisper to me. Your path is your own, just as mine is mine.
I do not disclose my email. I do not offer chat features. I do not run a Discord, a Facebook group, or a community forum. I used to offer tarot card readings, but that was many years ago, mostly only in person, rarely online, but that is not my path in my current life. I do not reply to comments on my blog, and I rarely even approve them. I don’t want conversation in the digital noise. I want connection in the quiet depths of the unseen world. On occasion, I may share an article by someone else, but only if I resonate with it fully, not to argue or criticize. I don’t generally leave comments elsewhere, because I don’t seek to debate, only to witness.
The way I walk is not lonely—it is solitary. I walk with the gods. I walk with the ancestors. I walk with the unseen folk of the forests and streams. I walk with a few rare kindred spirits I’ve met over the years—those who, like me, do not seek to organize or define the path of others, but who simply live it, quietly and reverently.
I do not think Norse Paganism should be a business. I do not think it should be a popularity contest. It should not be a war of words, or a race for prestige. It is a living mystery—raw, wild, and sacred. It belongs to no one. It is not found in clout, credentials, or influence, but in the whisper of a god in the stillness of the night. It is found in the feeling that something ancient is watching you with love and power as you pour mead to the earth. It is found in the goosebumps when you hear the wind speak your name.
So no, I do not lead. I do not follow. I do not gather crowds. I do not offer roles or responsibilities. I do not seek to be someone in the “community.” I am simply myself. A seeker. A mystic. A silent companion to the divine, walking alone on the wild, rune-marked path I was born to walk.
And to those who feel the same calling: I see you. From afar. And I raise my horn in quiet respect.
Hail the gods. Hail the spirits. Hail the ancestors.
And hail to those who walk in solitude.
“If You See the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him” — A Norse Pagan Reflection on the Ego of Religious Authority

Among Zen Buddhists, there is a well-known and often misunderstood saying: “If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him.” It is not a call to violence, but a deeply symbolic spiritual teaching—a challenge against attachment to external symbols, titles, and authorities that block one’s inner path to truth. This same insight echoes through all religions, including Norse Paganism.
At its heart, the Zen saying warns that if you think you’ve found the final, unquestionable embodiment of truth outside yourself—whether in a person, doctrine, tradition, or figure—you have actually strayed from the path. In Norse Pagan terms, this is like believing that one particular gothi (priest), rune master, or book holds all the answers from the gods and must never be questioned. But the gods of the North are not shackled to mortal forms or rigid dogmas. Odin does not demand blind obedience—he hung himself on Yggdrasil not to establish hierarchy, but to gain wisdom through suffering and inner vision.
In fact, the gods themselves in Norse lore are seekers. Odin seeks runes. Thor seeks justice. Freyja seeks love, beauty, and secret powers. They do not sit on a throne telling mortals exactly what to believe—they invite us to seek, risk, question, and grow. When we put a person, title, or tradition on a pedestal and say, “This is the only truth,” we stop listening to the gods and spirits speaking within and around us. That is the “Buddha on the road”—the misleading projection of enlightenment that we are told to kill.
To “kill the Buddha on the road” in Norse Pagan terms means to slay the illusion that your gods, your truth, or your spiritual power can be handed to you by someone else. It means casting down the false idea that divine truth comes from memorizing lore, quoting old sources, or following an unbending reconstructionist path. It’s not the lore that is wrong—many of our ancestors’ texts and poems hold deep wisdom—but the moment we treat them as fixed vessels of truth instead of living mystery, we betray the gods.
And this is true of all religions. Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Wicca—all contain beauty and profound teachings. But when any of them tell followers to obey without reflection, to follow a leader without question, to doubt their own inner knowing, they are placing a “Buddha on the road.” They replace the living divine with a rigid proxy of authority.
The true gods, spirits, and ancestors do not demand obedience to dogma—they invite relationship. They whisper through dreams, omens, intuition, synchronicity, and inner stirrings of the soul. They do not ask you to believe—they ask you to experience. To be changed.
So when a guru, priest, gothi, or spiritual influencer claims to have all the answers—when they tell you your experiences are invalid, or that questioning them is heresy—see them for what they are: a Buddha on the road. Bow, if you must—but then walk past. Or better yet, slay the illusion they represent.
For the gods are not found in rules. They are found in mystery. And mystery cannot be handed down—it must be lived.Thus, in Norse Paganism and in all sacred paths, the deepest truth is this: You are the road. You are the seeker. The gods walk beside you, not above you. Trust in that—and let no false Buddha block your way.
The Mirror of Dogma: How Rigid Atheism Reflects What It Claims to Oppose

In many spiritual conversations, there’s an unspoken irony: those who most fiercely reject religion often resemble the very forces they claim to fight. This is particularly visible in the case of rigid, militant atheists—not the thoughtful skeptics or quiet non-believers, but those who treat their disbelief as a crusade.
Despite standing in opposition to religious dogma, this militant form of atheism frequently mimics the very patterns of belief, behavior, and control it critiques. Far from offering freedom from spiritual oppression, it simply inverts the roles—turning disbelief into its own kind of orthodoxy.
What Militant Atheism Gets Wrong About Religion
The roots of the problem lie in a narrow and historically skewed view of what “religion” is. Most militant atheists define religion almost entirely through the lens of the Abrahamic faiths, especially Christianity in its Western, institutionalized forms.
In this view, religion is seen as:
- A belief in a supernatural authority figure
- A rigid doctrine enforced through fear
- A system of control, guilt, and obedience
This understanding isn’t entirely wrong—for certain historical institutions. But it is deeply incomplete, and dangerously misleading when applied to all spiritual systems. It erases the vast spectrum of Earth-based traditions, mystic philosophies, Pagan practices, and Indigenous lifeways that have no sacred book, no central authority, and no obsession with conversion or control.
When militant atheists attack “religion,” they are often not targeting spirituality or sacred experience. They are targeting a very particular cultural expression of religion—usually Christianity as it was practiced in Europe or the United States during the colonial and post-Enlightenment eras. But instead of seeking deeper understanding, they react with the same absolutism they oppose.
The Dogma of Anti-Dogma
Militant atheism often takes the shape of what it claims to fight:
- It declares all religion irrational or dangerous, without nuance.
- It evangelizes, often aggressively, attempting to “convert” others to disbelief.
- It ridicules sacred traditions as “primitive” or “superstitious,” echoing colonial and imperialist attitudes.
- It seeks to replace awe and mystery with certainty, creating its own hierarchy of truth.
In doing so, it becomes not a path of liberation, but a mirror-image of the very control systems it resents. The result is a worldview that suppresses other perspectives, denies subjective experience, and demands conformity to a single way of seeing the world—ironically, all traits associated with oppressive religion.
Moderate Atheism vs. Militant Atheism
It’s important to distinguish between skeptical inquiry and militant rejection. Many atheists—perhaps the majority—simply do not believe in gods but respect others’ paths. They seek meaning through science, ethics, art, or connection with nature. They are not reactionary—they are grounded in curiosity and freedom of thought.
Militant atheism, on the other hand, is not a neutral position. It is a reaction. And like all reactive mindsets, it is defined more by what it pushes against than what it stands for. It is an identity formed in opposition, not a truth forged from direct experience or contemplation.
A Deeper Perspective on Belief and Meaning
True freedom of thought includes the ability to hold sacred truths—or to explore mystery without dismissing it. The spiritual path is not a demand for blind faith. Nor is it a rejection of reason. In its most ancient and authentic forms, spirituality is about relationship—to the earth, the stars, the ancestors, the unknown, and the self.
When we reduce all sacred tradition to superstition and all non-empirical experience to delusion, we cut off the roots of human wisdom. We deny the richness of myth, story, ritual, and symbol—tools that humans have used for millennia to make sense of existence.
To reject dogma is noble. But to replace it with a different kind of rigid ideology, one that elevates reason into a weapon and dismisses lived experience, is simply to trade one cage for another.
Conclusion: Freedom Is Not Found in Reversal
Militant atheism, far from being a step forward, often becomes a shadow of the systems it despises. In fighting against imposed belief, it imposes disbelief. In rejecting spiritual authority, it sets up its own. In mocking ancient wisdom, it reveals its ignorance of its diversity.
The deeper path—the path of liberation—doesn’t lie in destruction, but in understanding. It requires humility, openness, and a willingness to recognize that not all forms of belief are forms of control. Many are expressions of beauty, mystery, and reverence.
And if the goal is to be free, truly free in thought and spirit—then let us not carry the chains of dogma, even in the name of reason.




