Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1943, Side 119

SWEDISH AND DANISH CHRISTIANITY
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Christian cultural tradition, and the representatives of this have
belonged to the great men of the country, appreciated in all
camps. An important Christian cultural line can be drawn
through the Swedish i9th century, characterized by the names
J. O. Wallin, E. G. Geijer, and Viktor Rydberg, and in this cen-
tury it has been continued first of all by Nathan Söderblom.
Wallin has been of greatest importance as a hymnist. Through
his efforts the Swedish church got a new hymn-book in 1819,
to which he himself was the most industrious contributor. The
hymn-book now used was adopted in 1937, but on the whole it
is based on Wallin’s work, and his hymns are still sung on all
occasions. Impressionable as he was, he had an understanding of
the different aspects of Christian life and wrote his hymns for
all kinds of situations. He had also a great influence as a preacher,
not least among the cultural circles of the capital. He ended his
days in 1839 as Archbishop of Uppsala.
E. G. Geijer, who died in 1847, was a professor of history
at Uppsala. In this office he exercised great influence on both
the students and the cultural élite of the country as a whole,
His many writings on historical, philosophical, and political sub-
jects in our day are more and more frequently taken up for
renewed study. In this connexion it is particularly of importance
that in everything he worked in his Christian conviction, which
especially dwelt on the importance of redemption. Whereas his
scientific works are often difficult of access, his Christian view
was more popularly expressed in his songs and hymns, which are
still frequently sung.
The third of the great Christian cultural personalities of the
i9th century to be mentioned is Viktor Rydberg, who died in
1895. His far-reaching influence on the educated classes of his
time was especially exercised through his writings of belles lettres.
His novels and poems belong to the imperishable pearls of
Swedish literature. Everything is imbued with a view of Chris-
tianity characterized by liberalism and a belief in evolution. Also
in purely theological works he stated his ideas, which often
brought him into conflict with orthodox theology.
Rydberg’s Christian humanism in our time has been carried
further by the best known representative of the Swedish church
during the 20th century, Archbishop Nathan Söderblom, who died
in 1931. Still more than through his writings he exercised an in-
fluence through his fascinating personality and his oratorical gifts.