Norwegian Angel School Opens

Norwegian Princess Maertha Louise, fourth in line to the throne, has opened a school for students seeking to "get in contact with their angels," which she describes as "forces that surround us and who are a resource and help in all the aspects of our lives." Her Astarte School opened at an undisclosed location because of controversy in the Scandinavian country.

Norwegian princess's 'angel school' opens

The controversy is kind of interesting because actually this sort of school for alternative spirituality strikes me as pretty tame. It certainly would not be out of place in California's New Age community, but I guess that's too much for some Norwegians. Some have simply called the idea "wacky" while others have called for Maertha Louise to renounce her title and get some form of professional help.

The whole thing is rather ironic because Protestant Christianity, Norway's official religion, embraces plenty of similar ideas whether or not the the church talks explicitly about angels. I wonder if the school would be nearly as controversial if she had simply described it as teaching people how to pray. Christian prayer certainly is directed toward "forces that surround us and who are a resource and help in all the aspects of our lives."

People who get up in arms about new religious ideas should take a look at their own beliefs. New religious ideas are often no more strange than those accepted by mainstream world religions - the only difference is that the mainstream beliefs have been around longer.