Viking ship in Norway buried near cult temple, feast hall and funeral mounds

Re:Viking ship in Norway buried near cult temple, feast hall... by eloisius on Friday November 20, 2020 @08:53AM (#25160436)

I don’t think the modern usage of the word cult is the only one though. In literature about polytheistic or shamanistic cultures you’ll often encounter the word “cult” without it being derogatory. Like “Cult of Dionysius” or Mazu cult. It’s just a word that has to be understood in context.

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Re:Viking ship in Norway buried near cult temple, feast hall... by naruvimama on Friday November 20, 2020 @08:59AM (#25160477)

A good test would be to use "Cult of Jesus" or "Cult of Mohammed" - either of which are actually historically/theologically accurate terms.

I bet that would set few heads rolling, figuratively and perhaps literally.

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Re:Viking ship in Norway buried near cult temple, feast hall... by eloisius on Friday November 20, 2020 @09:11AM (#25160559)

They make sense to me. Especially early or pre-establishment Christianity. They were a “cult of Jesus” within the context of both Judaism and Roman religious life.

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Re:Viking ship in Norway buried near cult temple, feast hall... by 52-6F-62 on Friday November 20, 2020 @09:52AM (#25160940)

Very much so. They had to operate literally underground and use codified signals and emblems to avoid prosecution (social or otherwise).

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Re:Viking ship in Norway buried near cult temple, feast hall... by fogihujy on Friday November 20, 2020 @09:11AM (#25160558)

There's nothing suggesting that this burial site was used by people who weren't Norse pagans like most other people in areas settled by the Norse at that time.

Your point would have been accurate if this find had indicated a cult of Odin or something, and that those worshippers didn't have the same practices their surroundings had.

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Re:Viking ship in Norway buried near cult temple, feast hall... by colechristensen on Friday November 20, 2020 @09:29AM (#25160710)

Pagan is another word that should be dropped even more certainly than cult.

Pagan is the word Christians used for non Christian religions starting after the Roman state converted, not the word anyone used for themselves.

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Re:Viking ship in Norway buried near cult temple, feast hall... by fogihujy on Friday November 20, 2020 @09:32AM (#25160737)

Fair enough. English isn't my first language, so I basically go with what the dictionary says, in this case "An adherent of a polytheistic religion in antiquity". :)

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Re:Viking ship in Norway buried near cult temple, feast hall... by eloisius on Friday November 20, 2020 @07:37PM (#25166838)

Pagan is merely derived from the Latin word for “rural” or “rustic” because Christianity took hold in Roman cities first and non-Christian Roman gentry held out in the countryside.

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Re:Viking ship in Norway buried near cult temple, feast hall... by lostlogin on Friday November 20, 2020 @10:16AM (#25161219)

Mostly, but I don’t think a Christian would call a Muslim or a Jew ‘Pagan’. It’s more of a synonym for polytheism.

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