Gustaf Aulén

Aulén in 1944

Gustaf Emanuel Hildebrand Aulén (born May 15, 1879 in Ljungby , † December 16, 1977 ) was a Swedish Lutheran theologian and bishop . Aulén taught dogmatics and systematic theology in Lund in Uppsala . From 1933 to 1952 he was a bishop in Strängnäs .

Life

Aulén became a student at Uppsala University in 1896 . In 1899 he passed his exam as a candidate for philosophy , and in 1906 the theological licentiate exam . In 1907 Aulén became a lecturer in dogmatics and moral theology in Uppsala and was ordained in the same year . In 1910 he was appointed professor of systematic theology at Lund University .

Best known for his groundbreaking work Christ Victor (1930), in which he rewrote the history of the doctrine of atonement. In addition to the by Anselm and Abelard became known soteriological approaches he pointed out that the early church essentially took a very different, and in his view, theologically more reasonable point of view: the reconciliation between God and man that takes place in the cross and resurrection of Christ , represents the divine victory over all cosmic powers and makes God's love visible in it. Christ Victor takes the eschatological - apocalyptic horizon of the New Testament and the early Church seriously.

Although Aulén's view could not prevail - in Anglo-Saxon literature he receives far more attention than in German - his work on the history of dogma made an important contribution to the theological discussion.

Gustaf Aurén's grave on Norra kyrkogården in Lund

Aulén is also known as a composer of hymns . Two of his compositions are included in the current Swedish hymn book from 1986. In 1963 he received the Medaljen för tonkonstens främjande from the Royal Swedish Music Academy . In 1971 he was elected a corresponding member of the British Academy .

Aulén died on December 16, 1977 and is buried on Norra kyrkogården in Lund.

Works

• Den kristna gudsbilden (1927; German: The Christian image of God in the past and present: an outline drawing ). Gütersloh: C. Bertelsmann 1930
• The kristna försoningstanken: huvudtyper och brytningar. Olaus-Petri-Föreläsningar (1930; English: Christ Victor. An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of ​​the Atonement. SPCK, London 1931).
• The three main types of Christian atonement . In: Journal for Systematic Theology 8 (1931), pp. 501-538.
• The drama and the symbols. The problem of today's image of God. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1968.
• Dag Hammarskjöld's white book. An analysis of "Markings" . Fortress Press, Philadelphia 1969.
• Jesus in Contemporary Historical Research . Transl. into English by Ingalill H. Hjelm. SPCK, London 1976.
• Från mina nittiosex år: Hänt och tanks . Stockholm: Verbum 1975 (Memoirs).
• Reformation and Katolicitet . Stockholm: Svenska Kyrkans Diakonistyrelses Bokförlag, 1979 (English: Reformation and Catholicity . Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1979).

literature

• Gustaf Wingren : Art. Aulén, Gustaf . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie 4 (1979), pp. 748-752
• Birger Gerhardsson : Gustaf Aulén in memoriam Scripta minora Regiae Societatis Humaniorum Litterarum Lundensis 1978 / 79.1. Gleerup, Lund 1979 ISBN 91-40-04706-7
• Krister Gierow, Per Ekström: The Published Writings of Gustaf Aulén. A Bibliography . Scripta minora Regiae Societatis Humaniorum Litterarum Lundensis 1978/1979,2. Gleerup, Lund 1979, ISBN 91-40-04707-5
• Gustaf Aulén . In: Theodor Westrin, Ruben Gustafsson Berg, Eugen Fahlstedt (eds.): Nordisk familjebok konversationslexikon och realencyklopedi . 2nd Edition. tape 34 : Supplement: Aa – Cambon . Nordisk familjeboks förlag, Stockholm 1922, Sp. 372 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).

Web links

• Literature by and about Gustaf Aulén in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ^ Deceased Fellows. British Academy, accessed May 1, 2020 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
Sam. Stadener	Bishop of Strängnäs 1933–1952	Dick Helander