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

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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 () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...

, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

theologian, and the author of '' Christus Victor'', a work which still exerts considerable influence on contemporary theological thinking on the

atonement Atonement, atoning, or making amends 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 othe ...

Life

Aulén was born in 1879 in

Ljungby Ljungby () is the Urban areas in Sweden, 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 o ...

parish,

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg County, Kronoberg, Jönköping County, Jönköping, Blekinge County, Blekinge and Östergötland County, Östergötland. To the ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

to Rev. Johan Aulén and Maria Hildebrand. He married a Norwegian woman, Kristine Bjørnstad in 1907. After studying at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () 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 operation. Initially fou ...

, Aulén became professor of dogmatics at

Lund University Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...

in 1913, then Bishop of Strängnäs in 1933. Aulén wrote a huge amount of material in his lifetime and his most famous work –''Christus Victor'' – was published in Swedish in 1930, with an English translation in 1931. His other most well read book, ''The Faith of the Christian Church'' was published in six different editions in Swedish. The fourth edition, from 1943, was the first to be 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 and was heavily involved in the committee responsible for the Swedish Church's new hymn book published in 1937. Aulén composed the music for the hymn Fädernas kyrka. He was the president of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...

1944–1950. Aulén retired his bishopric in 1952, returning to Lund to devote himself to his academic work, surviving his wife who died in 1959. 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, Ragnar Bring and Gustaf Wingren. The Lundensian school perhaps resembles most closely

neo-orthodoxy In Christianity, Neo-orthodoxy or Neoorthodoxy, also known as crisis theology 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 19th ...

in the German and English-speaking theological scenes of the mid-20th century. It was also a via media that largely rejected 19th German liberal thought whilst it simultaneously embraced orthodoxy, though not without criticism. Two significant influences on Aulén's thinking were

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

, whose work Aulén consistently praises, and

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

, of whom Aulén is much more frequently critical.

''Christus Victor''

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

Atonement Atonement, atoning, or making amends 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 othe ...

theory. His book ''Christus Victor'' has established itself as one of the key reference points in contemporary discussion. The original Swedish title of the book was ''Den Kristna Försoningstanken''(EN: The Christian Idea of Reconciliation) but his English translator, A. Gabriel Hebert gave it the title ''Christus Victor''. In his autobiography Aulén said he preferred Hebert's title. Aulén identified three main theories of the Atonement: the 'objective' view, epitomised by

Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...

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

Peter Abelard Peter Abelard (12 February 1079 – 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, teacher, musician, composer, and poet. This source has a detailed description of his philosophical work. In philos ...

(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 '' Christus Victor'' has become synonymous with the 'classic' view he advocated.

Studies and career

: **Candidate of Philosophy 1899 **Licenciate of

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

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

Dogmatism Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

1910 *

: **Professor of Systematic Theology 1913 *Bishop of the

Diocese of Strängnäs The Diocese of Strängnäs () 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 (except for eastern S ...

1933

Selected bibliography of works in English

*''The Faith of the Christian Church''. Swedish: 1923, 1924, 1931, 1943 (English: 1948), 1957 (English: 1960), 1965 *'' Christus Victor: 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: 1965, English: 1970 *''Dag Hammarskjöld's White Book: An Analysis of 'Markings'.'' English: 1970 *''Jesus in Contemporary Historical Research''. Swedish: 1976, English: 1976

References