Workshop report by Bo Kristian Holm in cooperation with the speakers.

This year, the Nordic Luther Network enjoyed the hospitality of the Swedish Royal Library and benefited from the organisational skills of network member Otfried Czaika. The main theme for the workshop was the Luther reception in 20 ^th century Scandinavia.

The workshop began, however, with an illuminative and informative introduction to the riches of the collection of Reformation literature at the Royal Library by Janis Kreslins and Otfried Czaika .

In the first example, Assel argued that a shift of meaning occurred in both Holl and Ebeling with the consequence that the political-theological connotations of Luther’s concept of priestly and royal freedom were lost. In the second example, Assel argued that ever since Rudolf Hermann and all the way up to contemporary German, Danish and Finnish works a hermeneutical gain can be observed regarding the relation between rhetoric and dialectics, metaphoric and personal ontology in Luther’s doctrine of justification.

Assel also examined the impact of the Luther renaissance a century after its onset in 1910, focusing on two themes recently discussed in Nordic Luther research: the discussion on the role of gift economy in Luther and the discussion on the character of Luther’s ontology.

The contributions from Denmark focused on two significant Luther receptions in 20 ^th century Denmark, K.E. Løgstrup and the discussion on antinomianism in the 1970’ies.

Jakob Wolf , associate professor in systematic Theology at University of Copenhagen examined K. E. Løgstrup ’s interpretation of Luther. Løgstrup’s interpretation of Luther is not a matter of only understanding Luther in his own context, but of translating Luther’s insight into modern language, using the symbols and modes of contemporary society. Løgstrup’s method of interpretation resembles heavily Rudolf Bultmann’s programme of demythologisation, offering an existential reading of Luther. Luther’s teaching on the law is transferred into a modern phenomenologically based on ethics. In the same way Luther’s analogy of God’s omnipresence – the eye’s ability to see distant things – is elucidated by a phenomenological analysis of seeing. The idea of omnipresence is not just a Christian belief, but an ontological statement. In a similar way, it is shown that Luther’s idea of the bondage of the will is not just a religious belief, but a phenomenological fact. The will is always bound by what it wants. As a conclusion, Løgstrup’s interpretation of Luther was compared with Regin Prenter’s dogmatic interpretation. A dogmatic interpretation is only half the work. One must also correlate Luther’s notions with our natural experience. If he is not interpreted existentially, Luther is, according to Løgstrup, lost to the world.

Anna Vind , associate professor in Church History at Univeristy of Copenhagen, gave a presentation on the discussion about Antinomianism in Denmark in the 1970’ies. At the end of the 1970’ies, a major discussion arose in the Danish theological movement Tidehverv . It had been simmering for years, but now it broke out and caused a split: several people turned their backs on Tidehverv and never returned. The core of the discussion was the interpretation of the law and the understanding of Christian life. One group argued for the abolition of and freedom from the law for Christians, while the other part tried to maintain the need for and the abolition of the efficacy of the law. One of the most illustrious advocates for the latter viewpoint was Johannes Julius Horstmann , born in 1915, who served as a pastor in Copenhagen. In 1978, he delivered a lecture called "The Abolition of the Law – and it's Confirmation", where he tried to explain his viewpoint and the importance of it for the understanding of justification and for Lutheran ethics. In this lecture, which was printed two years later, he drew heavily on Luther's writings against the Antinomians and thus he represents a specific interpretation of Luther, which is inextricably bound to Danish Luther reception in the 20th century.

In the 16 ^th and 17 ^th century prayer books were popular in Sweden. Prayer books as a literary genre were nothing new. Before the reformation prayer books had been popular but now they were to appear in the Lutheran tradition.

One thing that is interesting is that many of the preserved prayer books, for example the prayer books that appear in the collections in the National library of Sweden and in Linköpings Stiftsbibliotek, have been owned by women. Representations of provenance, notes, handwritten prayers and hymns show that many women did not just own, but also used this religious literature. It is possible that women had a special relationship to this literary form. The prayer book Ett Andeligit Apoteek from the year 1678 composed by Catharina Gyllenstierna can be seen as an example of the special relationship women had with prayer books.

Christoffer Åhlman

Three presentations captured important figures in the reception of Luther in Norway in the 20 ^th century. Vidar L. Haanes , professor in Church History at MF in Oslo, gave a presention on the reception of Luther in Norway 1900-1930. Until 1890, the Theological Faculty at the University of Oslo was dominated by Lutheran confessional theology. A new generation entered the academy, dominated by German Liberal theology. A deep conflict arose between the Church and the faculty over the role that the latter were to play in official church matters. The conflict resulted in the establishing of a new, independent theological faculty in 1907 (MF Norwegian School of Theology). Norway did not foster any important academic scholars in the field of Reformation research in this period (1900-1939), but the Lutheran, confessional influence on the clergy was very strong. We see the establishment of confessional associations, like FBB, in 1919 and the Norwegian Luther Alliance (Norges Lutherlag) in 1928. Many clergymen joined these groups and participated, together with theological professors, in national and international conferences and convents in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The initiators of these alliances and Norwegian representatives in the international Lutheran convents in this period were Professor Olaf Moe and the pastor Dr. Sigurd Normann. Their contacts in Germany were among others Carl Stange, Paul Althaus and Werner Elert. Dr. Sigurd Normann was a driving force behind a number of books and booklets, meant for the clergy. He defended his doctoral thesis in 1933 on Luther and Free Will, and became a bishop of Tromsø in 1937, but died two years later. The spirit of the Luther Renaissance resounded clearly among the clergy, with an upswing of associations and publications for Luther research and Lutheran theology.

Oddvar Johan Jensen, professor in Church History at the NLA Schools in Bergen, presented the reception of Luther’s theology against the background of the confessional tension between Leif Aalen and Carl Fr. Wisløff.

The Reception of Luther’s theology in Norway after the Second World War is neither lucid nor easily intelligble. The most prominent Luther-scholars from this period are Carl Fr. Wisløff (Nattverd og Messe 1957), Ivar Asheim (Glaube und Erziehung bei Luther 1961) and Ole Modalsli (Das Gericht nach den Werken 1963), all scholars at Det teologiske Menighetsfakultet (MF). These studies are independent works which must be seen as in the context of international Luther scholarly endeavours at this time.

Wisløff’s and Aalen’s public exchange on the legacy of Luther profoundly influenced Lutheran circles in Bergen. Wisløff, who was widely respected among the laity, was for most the most fitting successor to Hallesby, abiding strongly to Luther as authority and drawing a strong line between Catholicism and Lutheranism.  His opponent was Leif Aalen a proponent of strict Lutheran confessionalism. Strictly speaking, Luther's theology was relevant as a stepping stone to the Book of Concord. Aalen was appointed Hallesby’s chair, even though he represented a theology that differed from that of his predecessor’s.

Ecumenically Wisløff was oriented towards evangelical alliances, with a sharp anti-Catholic tone, quite unlike Aalen. Aalen advocated a Lutheran Church without any ecumenical compromise. His theology had its main focus on Church and sacraments. Was Luther in whom he found his inspiration the Luther of the Book of Concord or was he the Luther who surfaced in revival preaching? Simplified, this was the question people had to face. In this confessional tension between Carl Fr. Wisløff and Leiv Aalen, the historically oriented Luther scholarship played a more modest role.

Roger Jensen , post doc at the Theological Faculty, Oslo University gave an introduction to Inge Lønning and the Luther Renaissance, Basing his argumentation on Lønning’s doctoral dissertation ( Kanon im Kanon ) and Lønning’s article "Gott" in TRE. Jensen argued that Lønning became a central representative of the Luther Renaissance in Norway by: a) taking his point of departure in the historical Martin Luther, and not in the confessional writings, and by b) claiming the teaching on the justification by faith alone was the centre of theology.  Jensen pointed to two sources of inspiration for Lønning: the German and the Swedish Luther Renaissance. Although related, Jensen pointed to central differences between them as regards ethics and creation theology. Jensen argued further that Lønning simultaneously came to be influenced by the German Luther Renaissance in questions of general methodology and theological anthropology, and by the Swedish Luther Renaissance, notably by Gustaf Wingren, in the question of the significance of ethics in creation theology.

Vitus Börners death sermon on Elisabeth Vasa was printed in 1598 in Rostock. This is probably the first printed death sermon on a Swedish person.

Reproduction: Esbjörn Eriksson, Kungl. biblioteket

Otfried Czaika lectured on „Das Ende der Lutherforschung – Systematische Theologie und Kirchengeschichtsschreibung auf Abwegen: Die Entwicklung der schwedischen Lutherforschung im 20. Jahrhundert”. He described the decline of both Systematic Theology and Church History in Sweden during the last four decades. As a reason for this decline, he pointed to both social contexts and the intransigence of the Swedish Luther Renaissance. There has been little interest in Luther’s life and or the Lutheran historical tradition since then.

Bo Bergholt Grymer , doctoral student from Aarhus University presented his dissertation theme “Faith and Ontology: An Examination of the Ontological Dimension in Lutheran Theology in the Light of Oswald Bayer and K.E. Løgstrup. In Lutheran theology, the ontological questions have not garnered the attention they deserve. In the neo-Kantian Luther tradition faith and ontology are treated separated, whereas Gerhard Gerhard Ebeling and Wilfried Joest formulate a relational Lutheran ontology, which, however, has been criticized for reducing ontology to a relational phenomenology. Grymer is examining the way in which ontological questions appear in the work of Oswald Bayer and K.E. Løgstrup in the hope of providing a clearer ontological dimension within the Lutheran tradition as a whole.

Discussion of future developments:

1.       Digitisation of documents relating to the Luther Renaissance in Germany and in the Nordic Countries. Prof. Heinrich Assel informed the meeting about manuscripts, letters and other documents relating to the Luther Renaissance in German libraries and archives. He advocated that Nordic institutions (i.e. universities and libraries) cooperate with the University of Greifswald, which has in its holding major collections of individual  theologians with close ties to the Luther Renaissance in both Germany and Scandinavia,

2.      Nordic Reformation: Edition of the Primary Sources . Steffen Kjeldgaard-Pedersen reminded that earlier attempts to publish primary sources related to the Reformation in Scandinavia have not yet been successful. The Nordic Luther Network Meeting decided to revitalize these efforts. Funding, cooperation partners (universities, libraries and archives) and publication channels (printed publications, online publications, Nordic Reformation Portal online, etc.) have to be evaluated. Otfried Czaika suggested inviting Dr. Martin Berntson (Gothenburg) to the coming network meetings. Martin Berntson has already collected information about Reformation texts from Sweden; thus Martin Berntson’s work could serve as a model and starting point for the publication of Scandinavian Reformation texts online or in print. The edition of Reformation texts could also appear in commemoration of fifth centenary of the Reformation in 2017 (see below)

3.      Reformation 2017: Tarald Rasmussen, Simo Heininen, Anna Vind and Otfried Czaika presented a draft for the commemoration of the fifth centenary of the Reformation in 2017. They underscored the importance of cooperative efforts in organizing lectures, conferences, exhibitions and online presentations. Otfried Czaika informed the meeting that the Research Department of the Royal Library in Stockholm already owns several domains which could be used for the reformation jubilee 2017 ( www.reformation2017.dk ; www.reformation2017.se ; www.reformation2017.nu ;  www.reformation2017.eu ; www.luther2017se ; www.luther2017.nu ). The Nordic Luther Network entrusted Tarald Rasmussen, Simo Heininen, Anna Vind and Otfried Czaika with the task of coordinating this commemoration. The Research Department of the Royal Library in Stockholm could possible serve as an administrative centre. Fundraising will begin in 2010.