History and Theology of Call

Chapter 2 examines the scriptural text through word definition and interpretation and traces the concept of call throughout, with attention to nuances of meaning. Next, this chapter explores the theological tradition of how call has been interpreted and articulated from the time of Jesus to the nineteenth century, in theological doctrines of call and vocation and in ecclesial practice and social convention. By identifying theological themes of call throughout Church history—from “sacrifice” in the Early Church to “monasticism” in the Middle Ages, from “priesthood of all believers” during the Protestant Reformation to “spiritual revelation” and “extraordinary call” of the Revival–Social Gospel era—this chapter traces the development of the institutionalized call from inclusive to more exclusive of women preachers. Then, in the rhetorical and homiletical witness of the church, this chapter uncovers how a prejudiced trope has restricted women’s call and place in the pulpit. And, finally, it reveals how women utilized rhetorical techniques and tactics in order to challenge convention and claim their call to preach.

Den samskabende kirke?

Co-production has become an important notion within public governance, particularly in municipalities. The Danish Folk Church has a long history of working together with the municipalities and is an institution with many civil resources. Through an empirical study involving the municipality, the church and citizens of Aarhus, this article discusses the implications of co-production for the church and its theology. St. Augustine’s concepts of the “City of God”, Luther’s concept of the “priesthood of all believers” and “vocation” and Luhmann’s concept of faith as dealing with “paradox” offer an analytical frame for understanding how the church co-produces the city. The “priesthood of all believers” underlines the “bottom up” character of the congregation and thereby its civil character, while the “City of God” as an ambivalent and paradoxical term for salvation holds together the tensions involved in co-production.

The Firstborn Laestadians and the sacraments

Firstborn Laestadians represent one branch of the Laestadian revival movement following the so-called Great Division of around the turn of the twentieth century. This article examines two concepts; ‘the priesthood of all believers’ and ‘the preacher’, which are used by adherents of Firstborn Laestadianism (FBL) to elucidate the further schism which took place in 2014–16 between the Firstborn and the Evangelic­­­al Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF). Both concepts are to some extent contrasted with comparable ideas in Martin Luther’s (1483–1546) and Lars Levi Laestadius’s (1800–61) thinking, because Luther and Laestadius are held in high esteem by the Firstborn.

Synod as the Embodiment of the Church — the Evolution of Lutheran Understanding of Synodality

The concept of the synod plays a special role in the Evangelical ecclesiology. In the 20th century, the synod was radically defined as “the personification of the Church.” In the Evangelical tradition, however, there are equal Church management systems: episcopal, synodal-consistory, presbyterian (mainly in the Evangelical-Reformed denomination), and to a lesser extent congregational (especially observed in the so-called free Churches). Reformation theology understands the Church as a community of all saints, where the Gospel is preached purely and the sacraments are properly administered (Augsburg Confession — CA VII). The system of the Church does not belong to the so-called notae ecclesiae. An important theological doctrine of the Reformation is the teaching about the universal priesthood of all believers, which is the theological foundation of the idea of the synodal responsibility of the Church. In the 19th century synods concerned mainly clergy. In the 20th century, in the course of democratisation processes, most Evangelical Churches raised the importance of the synod in the overall management of the Church, and the Polish Lutheran Church introduced a provision into her law which stipulates that the synod is “the embodiment of the Church” and its supreme authority.

A Homosocial Priesthood of All Believers: Laity and Gender in Interwar Sweden

Around the turn of the twentieth century, there was a growing concern within the Church of Sweden that the church was, to a too large extent, managed by the clergy alone. In an attempt to give the laity a more active and influential role in the Church of Sweden, the Brethren of the Church was established in 1918. Since it was only possible for men to become members, the organization simultaneously addressed a different issue: the view that women had become a much too salient group in church life. This process was described by the Brethren and similar groups as a “feminization” of the church, a phrasing which later came to be used by historians and theologians to explain changes in Western Christianity in the nineteenth century. In other words, the Brethren considered questions of gender vital to their endeavor to create a church in which the laity held a more prominent position. This article analyzes how the perceived feminization and its assumed connection to secularization caused enhanced attempts to uphold and strengthen gender differentiation in the Church of Sweden in the early twentieth century. By analyzing an all-male lay organization, the importance of homosociality in the construction of Christian masculinities will also be discussed.

The Priest of Han as a Theme in the Christian-Shamanist Interfaith Dialogue

In the article I would see into the ‘priest of han’ as a theme which Nam-dong Suh, one of the fathers of the Minjung theology, has developed, and suggest how he has made a creative and critical encounter with the shamanistic hanpuri. First, I examine in the first step how influential the shamanism is still in Korean society. In this connection I would investigate briefly how the shamanism is incorporated in Korean Protestantism. Second, I explain han and hanpuri in the context of Korean shamanism. Third, I analyze how the Minjung theology has employed the themes of han and hanpuri. Lastly, I give some suggestions about a spiritual formation for the ministry. From the Christian encounter with the shamanism I draw a few consequences. First of all, I suggest that Christian minister should learn something from the attitude of shamans towards the weak and oppressed. They have “a special predilection for the weak and oppressed” (I. M. Lewis) and are ready to be in solidarity with others in suffering. Of course, Christian minister need not to suffer the initiation sickness like shamans, but they must be trained to attain a spiritual competency to sympathize and to be in solidarity with the little people in suffering. Second, I think that the church should be earnest to the priesthood of han. It is not just the duty of the minister. The priesthood of han should be reinterpreted from the perspective of the priesthood of all believers.

Prophecy and the Priesthood of All Believers

Luther’s, Zwingli’s, Bucer’s, and Zell’s early uses of prophecy focused on buttressing their teachings of the priesthood of all believers, rejecting Roman Catholic distinctions between the spiritual and temporal estates, and challenging Roman Catholic “tyranny” over biblical interpretation. These Protestant reformers defined a true prophet as one who proclaims and interprets the Word of God alone; the prophet and prophecy were therefore significant tools for rejecting Roman Catholic authority—by spurning Roman Catholic conceptions of the priesthood and identifying Roman Catholic leaders as false prophets—and ultimately for asserting the prime authority of Scripture. In the 1520s lay pamphleteers, including several female pamphleteers, embraced Luther’s, Zwingli’s, Bucer’s, and Zell’s early conceptions of the prophet in order to defend their call to proclaim God’s Word, interpret Scripture, and rebuke wrong teaching.