AN EXODUS THEOLOGY

by Gustav Wingren ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 1969

This book bears a subtitle of ""Einar Billing and the Development of Modern Swedish Theology."" It undertakes to summarize the thought of an influential Swedish theologian, and later, bishop, whose major theological work was done in the two decades before he became bishop in the Church of Sweden in 1920. Billing centered his theology upon Old Testament studies. As a student, in the 1890's, he felt that the impact of historical criticism upon the Bible was being deliberately concealed by his professors. Although his doctoral thesis had to do with the thought of Luther, Biblical studies in the light of the developing so-called ""higher criticism"" were his deepest interest. From these, he came to see the Exodus as a primary symbol, and the function of the Church that of providing a new exodus for mankind from the bondage of sin. As a church leader, he provided the rationale for the church of Sweden in its character of a state church vis-a-vis the free churches which had come into being as a result of late nineteenth century revivals. The author describes these developments in a systematic and lively way. Strongly influenced by Billing, Wingren shows his impact also on such prominent contemporary Swedish thinkers as Aulen and Nygren, and his similarities to, and differences from, other European contemporaries. For the theological scholar and student as well as readers interested in church history in this century.

Pub Date: April 15, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Fortress Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION