Gustaf Wingren's 'Luther on Vocation': A case-study in research during the Swedish Luther renaissance

The Swedish Luther Renaissance began at the turn of the twentieth century and encompassed three generations of theologians. Each of these theologians came to the study of Luther driven by challenges of their own time. In Luther's writings they found answers to these challenges, enabling them to move forward.;The first generation, led by Nathan Soderblom and Einar Billing at the University of Uppsala, faced a fundamental challenge to biblical authority caused by the rise of the historical critical method. Rejecting both traditional Lutheran orthodox theology and liberal ethical theology, they turned to the study of Luther. Here they came to a new understanding of Scripture, not as the infallible "Holy Book," but as the source of the Gospel of Jesus Christ---an understanding not disqualified by the historical critical method.;With the second generation, especially Gustaf Aulen, Anders Nygren, and Herbert Olsson, the center of the Swedish Luther Renaissance moved to the University of Lund. The second generation was confronted by new challenges, especially the challenge to theological method posed by idealism. Through the study of Luther, however, they gained essential insights into the fundamental motifs of Christianity; Luther's understanding was viewed as the purest example in the history of these motifs. Based on these motifs, they overcame idealism by developing a scientific method of theology, called motif research, which combined Kantian philosophy and historical research.;Finally, Gustaf Wingren of the third generation was driven by the question of the relationship between faith and life. Wingren found in Luther one who drew strong connections between faith and life, first in Christian vocation and then in proclamation. On the historical foundation of Luther's writings, Wingren was able to develop theology for his own day.;Although the methods of the researchers of the Swedish Luther Renaissance varied, each combined history and theology in some way. As Wingren's Luther on Vocation shows, this combination provided means to present aspects of Luther's thought in comprehensive terms by systematizing them. But the combination sometimes also altered the historical content of particular writings. Ultimately the theological task took precedence over the historical task.