Ole Kristian Hallesby (5 August 1879 – 22 November 1961) was a conservative, Norwegian

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, author and educator.

Biography

Ole Kristian Hallesby was born in

Aremark Aremark is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fosby. Aremark was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The new municipality of Øymark was ...

, in

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

, Norway. Hallesby grew up as the sixth of eight siblings on a family farm with a father also served as an assistant pastor. His family was from the Lutheran piety of the

Haugean The Haugean movement or Haugeanism ( no, haugianere) was a Pietistic state church reform movement intended to bring new life and vitality into the Church of Norway which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy. The movement empha ...

heritage. He graduated with a degree in theology in 1903 and was awarded his doctorate in 1909. Ole Kristian Hallesby taught at the Free Faculty of Theology from 1909 to 1952. He was chairman of the Norwegian Santal Mission 1902-1906 and chairman of the Norwegian Lutheran Inner Mission Society (''Det norske lutherske Indremisjonsselskap'') from 1923 to 1956. He was also central to the founding of

Norwegian Christian Student and School Association The Norwegian Christian Student and School Association (Norwegian: ''Norges Kristelige Student- og Skoleungdomslag'' or NKSS), is a Christian youth organization in Norway. Members refer to NKSS as "The team" (Norwegian: Laget). NKSS was founded ...

in 1924.

Nazi occupation of Norway

An outspoken opponent of the

Nazi occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until the ...

, he was arrested and detained at

Grini concentration camp '', '' no, Grini fangeleir'', location=Bærum, Viken, Norway, location map=Viken#Norway, built by=Norway, original use=Constructed as a women's prison, operated by=Nazi Germany, notable inmates= List of Grini prisoners, liberated by=Harry Söderma ...

for two years (until the end of the war). During a razzia in November 1948 it was revealed that the already-imprisoned Nazi agents, Gard Holtskog, Sten Blom Westberg and Hans Johann Krijom, were about to fabricate a document which probably was supposed to tie Hallesby to the Nazis.

Hell debate

In 1953, a radio speech by Hallesby caused a major debate in Norway on the existence of

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

. In the speech, Hallesby spoke to the non-religious that if ''you fell dead to the floor this moment, you fall at the same time into hell'', and ''how can you who is unconverted lie down calmly to sleep at night, you who don't know if you'll wake up in your bed or in hell?'' The speech was condemned on the front page of

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...

the following day, and criticisms were raised against

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

for hosting Hallesby's speech. NRK responded that since there was a

state church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

, they had to accept it as it was. Within the church, the debate ignited a conflict between liberal and literal interpretations of the Bible. The bishop of Hamar Kristian Schjelderup was the main spokesperson for the liberal side who argued that the damnation of hell was incompatible with a religion of love. Most of the church supported Hallesby's view of hell, though some did not support the wording in his speech. The debate also brought up questions whether there ought to be a state church. The debate may also have catalyzed the formation of the

Norwegian Humanist Association The Norwegian Humanist Association ( no, Human-Etisk Forbund; HEF) is one of the largest secular humanist associations in the world, with over 130,000 members. Those members constitute 2.3% of the national population of 5.47 million, making HEF b ...

. Da helvete var løs
("When hell was loose") Op-ed by Prof. Paul Knutsen in Dagbladet, January 25, 2003

Bibliography (US editions)

Hallesby wrote 67 books, mostly on

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 ...

and

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

, but is known for devotional writings. * ''The Christian Life: In The Light of the Cross'' (1922) * ''Infant baptism and adult conversion: An exposition of the relation between…'' (1924) * ''Why I Am A Christian'' (1925) * ''The Christian Home'' (1926) * ''Prayer'' (1931) * ''Conscience'' (1933) * ''Under His Wings'' (1933, 3rd ed.) * ''God's Word For Today: A Devotional Book For The Home'' (1937) * ''Religious or Christian'' (1939) * ''Temperament & the Christian Faith'' (1962, reprint)

References

External links

*
The Inferno
- Monday, Mar. 01, 1954

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

article about Ole Hallesby
Ole Hallesby debate's hell and damnation in 1953 .(NRK Kultur og underholdning)