Gustaf Emanuel Hildebrand Aulén (15 May 1879 – 16 December 1977) was the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of t ...

in the

Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...

, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

theologian, and the author of ''

Christus Victor ''Christus Victor'' is a book by Gustaf Aulén published in English in 1931, presenting a study of Atonement in Christianity, theories of atonement in Christianity. The original Swedish title is ''Den kristna försoningstanken'' ("The Christian ...

'', a work which still exerts considerable influence on contemporary theological thinking on the

atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ex ...

Life

Grave of swedish bishop and professor gustaf aulén

Aulén was born in 1879 in

Ljungby Ljungby () is the central locality of Ljungby Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden, with 15,785 inhabitants in 2015. Ljungby was instituted in 1829 as a ''köping'', or ''market town'', and did not become a municipality of its own when the fir ...

parish,

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg, Jönköping, Blekinge and Östergötland. To the east in the Baltic Sea is the island Gotland. The counties are mainly administrative units. Geo ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

to Rev. F.J. Aulén and Maria Hildebrand. He married Kristine Björnstad in 1907. After studying at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

, Aulén became professor of dogmatics at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Bishop of Strängnäs A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in 1933. Aulén's first major theological work was 'The Faith of the Christian Church', published in Swedish in 1923. His most famous work –''Christus Victor'' – followed in 1930, with an English translation in 1931. 'The Faith of the Christian Church' was translated into English in 1948. Aulén's work gained international recognition and most of his later works were quickly followed by English translations. Aulén was also an avid composer, contributing profusely to the Swedish hymnbook. He was the president of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...

1944–1950. Aulén retired his bishopric in 1952, returning to Lund to devote himself to his academic work. He published an autobiography – "My ninety-six years: happenings and thoughts" – in 1975 and died two years later on 16 December 1977 at the age of 98.

Theology

Aulén was a prominent member of the 'Lundensian' school of theology, along with

Anders Nygren Anders Theodor Samuel Nygren (15 November 1890, Gothenburg – 20 October 1978, Lund) was a Swedish Lutheran theologian. He was professor of systematic theology at Lund University from 1924 and was elected Bishop of Lund in 1948 (emeritus 1958). He ...

and Ragnar Bring. The Lundensian school perhaps resembles most closely that of

neo-orthodoxy In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as theology of crisis and dialectical theology, was a theological movement developed in the aftermath of the First World War. The movement was largely a reaction against doctrines of ...

in the German-speaking and English-speaking theological scenes of the mid-20th century, with an emphasis on divine transcendence. Two significant influences on Aulén's thinking were

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

, whose work Aulén consistently praises, and

Friedrich Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional P ...

, of whom Aulén is much more frequently critical.See, for example, the number of references to Luther in particular, and also Schleiermacher, in the Index of ''The Faith of the Christian Church''

''Christus Victor''

Aulén's most influential contribution to Theology was in the area of

Atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ex ...

theory. His book ''Christus Victor'' has established itself as one of the key reference points in contemporary discussion. Aulén identified three main theories of the Atonement: the 'scholastic' view, epitomised by

Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury, OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also called ( it, Anselmo d'Aosta, link=no) after his birthplace and (french: Anselme du Bec, link=no) after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of th ...

(known as Satisfaction theory); the 'idealistic' view, epitomised by

Peter Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...

(known as Moral Exemplar theory); and what he referred to as the 'classic' view. Aulén advocated a return to this 'classic' view, which he characterised as follows: He argued that both the other theories put too much emphasis on the work of humanity in the Atonement: the Moral Exemplar view wholly so, and Satisfaction Theory in its emphasis on "the service which Christ ''qua homo'' renders". Regardless of whether they agree with his arguments, most contemporary discussions of the Atonement follow Aulén's three categories, and the term ''

'' has become synonymous with the 'classic' view he advocated.

Studies and career

: **Candidate of Philosophy 1899 **Licenciate of

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

1906 **Doctor of Theology 1915 **Lecturer of Theological Encyclopedia 1907 **Lecturer of

Dogmatism Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam o ...

1910 *

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Diocese of Strängnäs The Diocese of Strängnäs ( sv, Strängnäs stift) is a part of the Lutheran Church of Sweden and has its seat in Strängnäs Cathedral in Strängnäs, south of Lake Mälaren. The diocese is made up of the two provinces Närke and Södermanland ...

1933

Bibliography

*''The Faith of the Christian Church''. Swedish: 1923, English: 1948; 5th ed. 1952, English: 1960 *''

: A Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of Atonement''. Swedish: 1930, English: 1931 *''Church, Law and Society''. Scribner, 1948. *''Eucharist and Sacrifice''. Swedish: 1956, English: 1958 *''Reformation and Catholicity''. Swedish: 1959, English: 1961 *''The Drama and the Symbols''. Swedish: 1970, English: 1970 *''Jesus in Contemporary Historical Research''. Swedish: 1976, English: 1976

References