– Receive letter with ticket to hell – VG

Skaug, who is a personal Christian, takes a proper position on the “Every Time We Meet” on Saturday.

There he talks about his studies in Bergen, when he played in a pub, worked as a youth worker in the congregation and performed concerts in the church. Which turned out to be a difficult combination, for others.

– For many, it is problematic that he has a relaxed relationship with alcohol and what in the Christian environment is called a very liberal view of gay marriage, says Skaug on television and adds:

– What happened again was that “Trygve Skaug is a hypocrite”.

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Today Skaug is an established artist and best-selling poet. He is married and the father of three children. But it still has referees.

– I keep getting regular letters in the mail with the ticket to hell in some way, it says in black and white that “what you are doing is so bad that you are going to go to hell,” says the 36-year-old.

– It’s a small affirmation, Skaug explains to VG.

It is especially this with homosexual coexistence that creates friction.

– I’m so lucky to be able to have the morning devotional at NRK, and then I usually get a couple of letters in the mail. But that has been the case for many years. Norway is full of biased people who have a clear idea of ​​what I can and cannot say. It’s exhausting, he says.

Some cards come without stamps. They are placed directly in the mailbox. The frankest knock on the door to tell you that what you think is wrong.

Although Skaug doesn’t want critics at the door, he’s happy to argue.

– I put some water in the mill. There are many trolls on the Internet, but not all trolls are online, he says and recounts when, when he was 19 years old, he played in a band at a youth event and experienced that there were four conservative men in suits in the back. church and wrote down everything they said and did.

For Skaug, it became important to “get rid of all hats” and just be Trygve. You have crossed some boundaries of what some people expect of a role model.

Also, it became demanding to deal with rumors and opinions about how many beers he drank in the pub after a concert.

– All credit to youth workers and other people with positions, but I’ve had to spend a lot of time just being me.

Skaug has experienced several times being summoned before concerts under Christian auspices, and has been tried to get him a bite. Then the rebel has awakened.

– You might burn some bridges. In those cases, I took the opportunity to say something anyway, because the probability that someone in the hallway needed to hear it was high. Maybe the 17-year-old who has a crush on another boy in the class?

Skaug writes with many young people where it is “too narrow” for them to be themselves.

– For the 17-year-old, it can be life or death. Now that I have grown up, I think it is good and important to be a voice.

He emphasizes that it is not the majority of Christians who write letters and messages with their mouths closed.

– The vast majority are positive. Many of the men in suits at the back of the room have stopped controlling the opinions of others.

– What reactions do you expect after the program?

– There will probably be more letters, but it is better to use the letter paper with me than with young people who are told that the life they live is wrong. I am happy to be a lightning rod.

Skaug also admits his own biases. Viewers witness him apologizing to Stian “Staysman” Thorbjørnsen for keeping his eyes on him and his music.

– It was biased and it was embarrassing to admit it. But I had decided to apologize and it felt great.