Gustaf Aulén

Gustaf Emanuel Hildebrand Aulén (15 May 1879 – 16 December 1977) was the Bishop of Strängnäs in the Church of Sweden, a Lutheran theologian, and the author of Christus Victor, a work which still exerts considerable influence on contemporary theological thinking on the atonement.

Life

Aulén was born in 1879 in Ljungby parish, Kalmar County, Sweden to Rev. Johan Aulén and Maria Hildebrand. He married a Norwegian woman, Kristine Bjørnstad in 1907. After studying at Uppsala University, Aulén became professor of dogmatics at Lund University 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 1944–1950.

Aulén retired from his bishopric in 1952 and returned to Lund to focus on his academic work. He outlived his wife, who died in 1959. In 1975, he published his autobiography, My Ninety-Six Years: Happenings and Thoughts, 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.

Christus Victor Aulén's most influential contribution to Theology was in the area of Atonement theory. His book Christus Victor has established itself as one of the key reference points in contemporary discussion. (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 (known as Satisfaction theory); the 'subjective' view, epitomised by Peter Abelard (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: Quote | Its central theme is the idea of the Atonement as a Divine conflict and victory; Christ – Christus Victor – fights against and triumphs over the evil powers of the world, the 'tyrants' under which mankind is in bondage and suffering, and in Him God reconciles the world to Himself.

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 Uppsala University: Candidate of Philosophy 1899 Licenciate of Theology 1906 Doctor of Theology 1915 Lecturer of Theological Encyclopedia 1907 Lecturer of Dogmatism 1910 Lund University: Professor of Systematic Theology 1913 Bishop of the Diocese of Strängnäs 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