Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2005, Page 146

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NEWS AND PROGRESS 2004
a model which originates to Schleierma-
cher, but has been presented in a unique
way by Dahl himself in his sermon in Tór-
shavn on the first Sunday in Advent 1934.
In his homiletical distinction Dahls makes
use of the Faeroese church with its chan-
cel, nave, and pulpit.
In this connection the chancel is said to
symbolise the Word of God and the the-
ology. The investigation shows, however,
that Dahl is not significantly influenced
by an older, lutheran orthodox or pietistic
conception of the faith as claimed by pre-
vious scolars. He has rather been affected
by professors like P. Madsen, C. Henrik
Scharling, and V. Ammundsen, whom he
heard during his studies at the University
of Copenhagen. His sermons reveal a lib-
eral conception of God, a subjective un-
derstanding of the atonement, a faith that
is at large based on subjective feelings and
experiences, and an ethics of the mind.
Furthermore the nave is seen as a sym-
bol of the congregation or the listeners.
Dahl claims that the Gospel must be an-
nounced to every new generation in its
own way, and this understanding is obvi-
ous in the strong element of contextuality
that caracterises his sermons. Clearly his
sermons have been preached in the Fae-
roes. The conditions of island life with its
joys and sorrows, the fragile structures of
the fishing society, actual events abroad
or at home, nature as a metaphor of the
heart - all these elements render a clearly
felt homely touch to his preaching. In this
matter Dahl is indebted to men like Th.
Klaveness and Olfert Ricard, great nordic
preachers of his days, who addressed their
Norwegian or Danish context in a similar
way.
In the Faeroese churches the pulpit is
always placed at the border between the
chancel and the nave, and this dialecti-
cal position describes the third aspect of
the sermon: the preacher himself. The
preacher must have heard the message of
the Word, before it can be announced to
others, and so it is inevitable, that the ex-
periences of life and faith and emotions,
the personal style and mood of the preach-
er have a deep inpact on the way, the ser-
mons are shaped and presented.
Since the sermons published in the vol-
umes I lýsing and Meðan hildið verður
heilagt were edited for the purpose of the
readers’ service, it has been presumed that
they were characterised by a general theo-
logical understanding and a timeless form,
and that the preacher had anonymised him-
self as well as possible. The thesis show
that this was not the case. On the contrary
it is the specific interplay between chan-
cel, nave, and pulpit that has determined
the shape, content, and purpose of these
sermons. They tend to be “modern ser-
mons” in the way described by the Ger-
man homiletician Niebergall. The conclu-
sion can fully agree with Blicher-Winther,
who at Dahl’s funeral foresaw, that his
sermons would be read for many years to
come, because they brought his words to
the hearts
In the homely dress of the mother tounge,
with the convincing heat of the heart,
with help and comfort from above.