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COVID-19 and the Russian Orthodox Church
No full textThe global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has affected in nuanced ways variousreligious niches and subcultures. This article explores some reactions to thepandemic as they have been developed and articulated in the Russian OrthodoxChurch. These reactions are diverse and often not public. On the upper levelof the church’s leadership, the official standpoint of the Russian hierarchy isusually coherent with the official policies of the Russian state. On the lowerlevels, lay persons, priests, and even bishops often disobey the official line andpropagate opposition to the anti-COVID-19 measures
If you have faith and do not doubt
No full textI Markus 11:23-24 finns ett uttalande från Jesus: Sannerligen, om någon säger till berget här: Upp och kasta dig i havet! och inte tvivlar i sitt hjärta utan tror att det skall gå som han säger, då blir det så. Därför säger jag er: tro att ni skall få allt det ni ber om i er bön, då blir det så. Ska man tolka dessa ord bokstavligt, eller som ett löfte eller en utmaning? Om bönesvaret uteblir, vad gör det med människans tro respektive tvivel, med hennes tillit till Bibeln eller till Jesus? I denna uppsats studerar jag exempel på hur man genom tiderna tänkt kring tro, bön och bönesvar utifrån Mark 11:20-25. Jag har valt att studera bibelvetenskapliga, framgångsteologiska och pentekostala tolkningar av Mark 11:20-25. Kortfattat kan man säga att bibelvetenskapen lyfter fram det historiska och det litterära perspektivet kring hur Markustexten lästes och tolkades då det skrevs. Det pentekostala perspektivet ser Markus 11:20-25 som en viktig bibeltext då den lyfter fram Guds allmakt, medan det framgångsteologiska perspektivet poängterar den böneundervisning och den s.k. ”trons formel” som de menar att Mark 11:20-25 lyfter fram. I uppsatsen studeras hur skillnader i de olika traditionernas bibelsyn påverkar tolkningen av vald bibeltext.
Jesus' Conflict Management : Conflict Mediation in the Gospel of Luke Interpreted Using Contemporary Conflict Knowledge and Moral Psychology
No full textThis essay examines Jesus' conflict counseling in the Gospel of Luke, by conducting a literary analysis of Luke 9:46-48, 12:13-21 and 22:24-30, which are stories of conflicts where Jesus himself is not involved. The texts have been analyzed in their historical context and are illuminated by heuristic use of contemporary conflict theory and moral psychology. Through this reading, a pattern emerges: Jesus' main method of dealing with conflicts is to correct the attitudes of those involved in conflict
What Happens on Earth is Felt in Heaven : A Queer-Theological Study on the Anthropological Aspects of the Sinner in the Lutheran Concept of Justification in Relation to Indecency, Liberation, and Trauma
No full textThis textual analysis aims to identify and explore liberating, indecent, and anthropological understandings of the sinner in Lutheran interpretations of the doctrine of justification. The underlying assumptions and the themes discernible within the works of Martin Luther are examined along with “traditional,” and contemporary radical, queer interpretations of Lutheran justification. The ways in which points of intersection between these interpretations and queer theological critique may contribute toward a more liberating and inclusive understanding of Lutheran justification are discussed. Several perspectives presented by queer theology, are applied to the material under examination. The results of the analysis confirm the existence of queer openings with liberating potential within established, “traditional” Lutheran theology. These openings are further explored by fusing different queer concepts presented in the radical and queer parts of the material. Also, support for the queer emphasis on corporeality, without making essentialist assumptions, can be found in established Lutheran holistic anthropology. The concept of subject positions is introduced as a relational, queer, and inclusive alternative, favouring an understanding of the effects of sin and God’s justification respectively as an altering of positions in relation to other beings. To be liberating, theology must consider the whole, holistic body, and include the indecent “Other.” In relation to justification, this “Other” is understood as the ignored human experience of sin as something which causes the holistic body harm and suffering. This results in a relational understanding of sin where being a sinner means both affecting and being affected. The potential of Lutheran theology is thus found in its ability to challenge the normative hegemony, to include the experiences otherwise exiled to the theological periphery, and to make the centre uncomfortable. The effects of physical, mental, and spiritual trauma caused to the body by violence are the same as the Lutheran understanding of sin, as primarily expressed through human unbelief. It is therefore argued that it ought to be included in the definitions of sin and the sinner, and taken into consideration when doctrines of justification and salvation are formulated. This conclusion is supported by the co-alignment of the queer acknowledgement of multiplicity and simultaneity, with the Lutheran characteristic of bi-duality that is most clearly expressed in the concept of simul iustus et peccator. Thus, the conclusion must be that excluding the effects caused to bodies by sin cannot only be construed as being consciously limiting and oppressive but that it is, in fact, in conflict with the holistic Lutheran anthropology and the historical emphasis within Lutheran theology on simultaneity
Sustained Congregational Growth
No full textDenna mixed method studie undersöker tre församlingar som tidigare vuxit och i vilka man identifierat vissa kännetecken som antas bidra till just församlingstillväxt. Undersökningens kvantitativa del syftar till att undersöka om församlingarna har fortsatt växa. Den kvalitativa delen syftar till att undersöka om kännetecknen finns eller finns kvar i församlingarna. Empirin insamlas genom intervjuer med församlingsföreståndare/pastorer och enkätfrågor till desamma, samt insamling av medlemsstatistik för åren 2017–2021. Kodning och tematisering görs utifrån Klas Eriksson och Cahtrine Nygrens nio identifierade kännetecken hos växande församlingar och analyser sker med hjälp av Christian A. Schwarz teorier om 65-hypotesen och principmetoden. Resultatet visar att ingen av församlingarna längre kan betraktas som växande och att församlingarna i varierande grad kännetecknas av de nio kännetecken för växande församlingar som Eriksson och Nygren identifierat i sin forskning, och de kvalitativa särdrag hos växande församlingar som Schwarz och Schalk identifierat i sin forskning.
Co-Preaching : The Effects of Religious Digital Creatives’ Engagement in the Preaching Event
No full textThe preaching event is a complex process of communication and interpretation. The aim of this study is to describe and discuss how the preaching event is affected when it is digitally mediated and involves so-called “religious digital creatives” (RDCs). This is achieved through a case study of the preaching event at two Church of Sweden (CoS) congregations that offered pre-recorded, digitally mediated worship services. The research questions guiding the study were: “When and how do the RDCs engage in the preaching event?” and “How can the effects of this engagement be understood in the light of homiletical theory drawing on the works of Mikhail Bakhtin?” The study found that RDCs engaged in the verbalization phase of the preaching event in several ways—including visualization, direction, editing, enhancement, and contextualization of the sermon—and thus contributed significantly to the preaching event. Furthermore, the RDCs exhibited notable relational authority—an authority based on negotiation, interdependence, and interaction. Employing homiletical theory that draws on Mikhail Bakhtin’s work, I argue that the RDCs in this case study are best understood as co-preachers who contribute to expanding the polyphony of the preaching event
Do/Am I (have) right(s) : A legal dogmatic analysis of the Swedish Migration Agency's decisions for Afghan women applying for asylum based on gender-based persecution in Sweden
No full textMigration in general and the assessment of the need of protection concerning people from Afghanistan in particular, has in recent years risen on the migration agenda, especially after the Taliban regime's expanded control in the country. This thesis aims to investigate what guidelines that are in place for assessing female Afghan asylum seekers who applies for asylum in Sweden based on gender related persecution. Through a legal dogmatic analysis, three determinations from the Swedish Migration Agency and three determinations from three of Sweden's migration courts have been examined. The purpose has been to examine the guidelines of the determinations, analyze the values applied by the Swedish Migration Agency and the Migration Courts in the determinations, and whether the current application of the law is legally secure based on Frändberg and Von Essen's definition of legal security. The results show that there are shortcomings in the Swedish Migration Agency's as well as the Migration Courts' assessments, which is consistent with previous research. The results as well as previous research shows knowledge gaps about what requirements that should be expected from the applicants in terms of reliability, credibility, and evidence
Transposed and Thriving : Bible Reception in the Prophetologion: With the Addition of an Early Arabic Witness (Sinai Arabic 588) in the Appendix
No full textBön i mörkret : teologiska perspektiv på tvivel i svensk bönbokslitteratur
No full textMost Christians experience doubt and even unbelief in their lives. Doubt in relation to faith has been explored by a number of theologians, internationally by for example Paul Tillich and Sören Kierkegaard, and more nationally in Sweden by K. G. Hammar. The question is if doubt and unbelief also have a place in Christian prayer practices. There are few prayers from the position of doubt in the most commonly used prayer books in Sweden. That in itself is interesting, but the purpose of this text is to analyze the theologies of the prayers found and also present a theology of prayer from doubt from that analysis together with the kenotic Christology of Sören Kierkegaard. What the text concludes is that prayer from a position of existential doubt is close to the question of suffering for the Christian believer. Doubt and the real darkness that can entail in the life of a believer should not be brushed over or considered as “peaceful”. Were it not for the God-forsakenness of Christ at the cross, God would not be present in the darkness of doubt, as Kierkegaard sees it. Since Christ himself was abandoned by God the place of doubt can now be the very place where the believer has no other choice but to fully submit one’s self to God. The prayer from a position of doubt then is the place where even the faith of the believer is abandoned into the hands of God