Perspectives on the Effect of Anders Nygren's Agape and Eros on the Theological Discussion in Finland

Aila Lauha Perspectives on the Effect of Anders Nygren’s Agape and Eros on the Theological Discussion in Finland Abstract: This essay traces the influence of Anders Nygren’s Agape and Eros among Finnish theologians. The essay argues that Nygren’s book was initially received with disinterest in Finland, but that sentiments shifted after World War II. Eventually, Nygren and the Lun- densian School came to exert significant influence on Finnish theology. Anders Theodor Samuel Nygren (1890–1978) was a professor of systematic theology at Lund University, Sweden, from 1924 to 1948. After that he was the bishop of Lund until 1958, and he was also the first president of the Lutheran World Federa- tion, serving from 1947–1952.1 Nygren has been known as one of the key figures of the Lundensian School of Theology, along with Gustaf Aulén (1879–1977) and Ragnar Bring (1895–1988). Together, they wanted to rediscover the major motifs of Christian theology and to discover how such motifs had been employed throughout history. Nygren was particularly interested in the motif of love. According to some scholars, strong religious conservatism combined with respect for the Lutheran heritage and individual religious experience had been characteristic of the Swedish Lutheran piety. The Lundensian theology is said to have been a kind of attempt to combine this older Swedish theological heritage with the new impulses from the theological liberalism of the twentieth century. Nygren’s most important scientific contribution was the two-volume work Eros och Agape (Agape and Eros), first published in Swedish between 1930–1936.2 In this work, consisting of more than 750 pages, Nygren analyzed the connotations of two Greek words for love, eros and agape. According to Nygren, eros is a need- and desire-based, egocentric, and acquisitive love, while agape is the only truly Christian kind of love that can be found in the New Testament texts. In his major work, Nygren traces the historical roots of what he perceives as the loss of this original concept of love. According to him, the focus on agape had been blurred 1 Anders Jarlert, ‘Nygren, Anders Theodor Samuel’, in Göran Nilzén (ed.), Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, vol. 27, Stockholm 1992, pp. 692–698. 2 Anders Nygren, Den kristna kärlekstanken genom tiderna: Eros och Agape, Stockholm 1930–1936. 200 Aila Lauha throughout the Middle Ages. It was Luther who finally rediscovered and refined the original Christian agape conception of love. Nygren’s Agape and Eros has been considered the most influential Protestant account of love in the twentieth century. It has been translated into various lan- guages, and a complete English translation was first published in 1953, with the title Agape and Eros: The Christian Idea of Love.3 In Finland, the book became an ecclesiastical ‘classic,’ and its impact on Finnish theological research and education has continued up to present day. Foreign Theological Impulses in Finland International impulses and cooperation have always been crucial in the history of Finnish theology. As early as the Middle Ages, young Finnish theologians studied at Central European universities. Later on, in the wake of the Reformation, the University of Wittenberg was especially popular. In 1640, the Turku Academy and the Faculty of Theology were founded. Nevertheless, studying abroad, especially for doctoral degrees, continued. From the late nineteenth century on, many new theological impulses from the neighbouring countries began to reach Finland, especially via the Swedish universities in Uppsala and Lund. In the twentieth century, the importance of Swedish contacts became increasingly prominent.4 When tracing international influence on the history of Finnish theology during the last 120 years, one must familiarize oneself with the oldest and most important Finnish theological review, the bilingual Teologinen Aikakauskirja – Teologisk Tidskrift (TA), founded in 1896.5 This review also offers an illuminating window into the appearance of Lundensian theology in Finland and the ensuing lively discussions, especially in connection to Nygren’s Agape and Eros. 3 Parts of the work had already been translated to English in the 1930s. Cf. Anders Nygren, Agape and Eros, London 1932; Anders Nygren, Agape and Eros: The History of the Christian Idea of Love, London 1938; Anders Nygren, Agape and Eros: The Christian Idea of Love, London 1953. In the following, the English title Agape and Eros will be used. 4 Simo Heininen & Markku Heikkilä, Kirchengeschichte Finnlands, Göttingen 2002, pp. 42–45, 94–98. The university moved from Turku to the new capital Helsinki in 1928 and is today called the University of Helsinki. Heininen & Heikkilä 2002, 160–161. 5 During the first decades the number of Swedish articles was considerable, but the situation changed in the late 1920s. Since 1930, the Finnish formulation of the title Teo- loginen Aikakauskirja has preceded the Swedish Teologisk Tidskrift. Matti Ijäs, Jaakko Gummerus kirkkohistoriantutkijana, Jyväskylä 1993, p. 142. Nevertheless, the bilingual nature of the journal remains. Anders Nygren’s Agape and Eros 201 Teologinen Aikakauskirja was run mainly by professors at the University of Hel- sinki and aimed to serve as a high level special journal for Finnish theologians. The first editor in chief from 1896–1915 and the founder of TA was G. G. Rosenqvist (1855–1931), professor of dogmatics and ethics. In 1916, he was succeeded by the leading church historian of the time, Jaakko Gummerus (1870–1933), who later became bishop of Porvoo. He in turn was followed by A. F. Puukko (1875–1954), professor of Old Testament exegesis. Understandably, the theological discipline of the editor in chief was reflected in the editorial policy. Nevertheless, TA endeav- oured to offer a balanced forum for all fields of theological study, and this was also valid for the introduction of new research from abroad. In addition to academic ambitions, societal aspirations were also characteristic of TA, especially during the inter-war era. There was a certain willingness to give positive impulses and support to develop the Lutheran Church of Finland − the ‘folk church’ – and to strengthen the morals and values of the young Finnish state; this was openly expressed in many articles. The patriotic undertone typical of Finnish culture and society at the time was thus evident.6 TA eagerly followed theological and ecclesiastical life in other Lutheran countries. In order to gather correct topical information, TA created a network of per- manent foreign correspondents in the Nordic countries. In addition, the editorial board received relevant information from Sweden via numerous professors at the new Swedish-language Faculty of Theology at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, which was founded in 1924. Many of the early professors in Turku were Swedish, and they later returned to Sweden. In the early phase, one of the most visible Swedish TA correspondents was Hjalmar Holmquist (1873–1945), a professor of church history at Lund Univer- sity. He was highly valued by his colleague and friend Jaakko Gummerus. It is therefore no wonder that Holmquist’s three-volume Church History was added to the curriculum at the Faculty of Theology as early as 1915, and for more than 50 years after that, all students of theology had to become familiar with it. Finnish translations by A. E. Jokipii (1893–1968), published between 1928–1932, helped the laborious study.7 Holmquist and Gummerus were forerunners of cooperation between the professors of church history at the universities in Lund and Helsinki. 6 Leena Isotalo, ‘Kirkko ja Teologinen Aikakauskirja 1896–1915’, Teologinen Aikakauskir- ja 102 (1997), pp. 412–414; Aila Lauha, ‘Teologinen Aikakauskirja sotien välisenä ai- kana 1917–1939’, Teologinen Aikakauskirja 102 (1997), pp. 452–455. 7 Hjalmar Holmquist, Gamla kyrkans historia till sjunde århundradets början, Uppsala 1907; Hjalmar Holmquist, Medeltidens kyrkohistoria till XIV:de århundradets början, 202 Aila Lauha Besides Holmquist, Torsten Bohlin (1889–1950) and Ragnar Bring were the Swedish researchers who most influenced the course of Teologinen Aikakauskirja in the 1920s and 1930s.8 Partly because of their efforts, but also due to the amic- able personal contacts between many other Finnish and Swedish professors, it is pertinent to say that besides Germany, Sweden was the country that Finland had to thank for providing new theological impulses during the inter-war era. Nygren and the Luther Boom In the 1920s and 1930s, a keen interest in studying Luther and the Lutheran heritage became characteristic of many European theological faculties, and this trend soon spread globally.9 Teologinen Aikakauskirja followed this boom. The tendency at first was rather historical, not least due to Jaakko Gummerus, who throughout his whole career emphasized the importance and value of the Protestant heritage and especially the great findings of Luther. In TA, Gummerus continually recommended the writings of the leading German Luther scholar Karl Holl (1866–1926), whom he knew personally.10 In addition to the historical interest in Luther, systematic theological Luther research became influential in Finland around 1930. The names of the German Luther scholars now repeatedly appeared in articles and book reviews in TA, often written by Eino Sormunen (1893–1972) and Yrjö J. E. Alanen (1890–1960).11 Both writers were successful academically: Sormunen became a professor of dogmatics Stockholm 1910; Hjalmar Holmquist, Den senare medeltidens kyrkohistoria, Stockholm 1914; Hjalmar Holmquist, Kirkkohistoria, Helsinki 1928–1932. 8 Torsten Bohlin was a professor of systematic theology at Åbo Akademi University in 1925–1929 and a professor of dogmatics and moral theology at Uppsala University in 1929–1934. In 1934–1950 he was the bishop of Härnösand, Sweden. Ragnar Bring was a professor of systematic theology at Åbo Akademi University in 1930–1934 (first as an acting professor) and at Lund University from 1934–1962. Gustaf Aulén, ‘Bohlin, Torsten Bernhard’, in Bertil Boëthius (ed.), Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, vol.

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