Academic literature on the topic 'Swedish Pentecostal Movement'

AbstractThis article presents and analyzes the life and work of Lewi Pethrus (1884-1974), the leader of the Swedish Pentecostal movement. The argument is that Pethrus created a Christian counterculture in the midst of a secularized Western society. Although a radical congregationalist skeptical toward organization, Pethrus spent most of his life building institutions. The first institutions he created were for the benefit of the spiritual life of Pentecostal congregations and churches. These included a publishing house, an edifying journal, a hymn book, and a school for evangelism. During World War II, however, Nazism and Communism made Pethrus attentive to the dangers of secularization. He now began founding institutions that were part of the broader civil society, such as a daily newspaper, a radio station, a bank, and a political party. His goal was to turn Sweden into a Christian society. He did not achieve this, but what he did leave was the legacy of a Christian counterculture.

This article aims to orientate and introduce potential researchers into Swedish Pentecostal movements, or those who wish to provide an overview of Scandinavian Christianity, by giving a brief summary of the history of Pentecostalism in Sweden and an overview of the main academic monographs that have been produced on this particular branch of Christianity. The idea is to highlight areas where we find relevant research and to point to areas into which there has been little or no investigation. Following, by way of introduction, a brief historical sketch, there is a note on spirituality before we are given a review of some thirty major academic works on the subject that a potential researcher would need to take into consideration.

Abstract In this article, I explore how eight female Pentecostals express their everyday religion in contemporary Sweden. This article indicates that a shift has taken place in religious practice in Swedish Pentecostalism from earlier decades. The world-rejecting attitude and individual pietistic heritage have been toned down and replaced by what I will term a relational piety that emphasizes the relational side of being “Christ-like” and encourages adherents to practice their everyday religion together. The informants depended on their family, friends, congregation, and Christian networks to maintain and deepen their religiosity and Christian lifestyle. The study is also an example of a broadly gender-equal expression of Pentecostalism and points to the movement’s ability to adjust to different contexts.

A Free Church Ecclesiology? Peter Halldorf’s View of the Church under Discussion There has been a change in the ecclesiology of the well-known Pentecostal pastor and author Peter Halldorf. His ecclesiology was first centered on the individual Christian and he appears to have regarded the church as a group of praying individuals. This ecclesiology could perhaps be regarded to be in line with the ecclesiology of the Swedish Pentecostal movement, the starting point of Halldorf’s ecclesiological processing. Halldorf’s later ecclesiology has taken a controversial turn and is influenced by the Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Movement. The Pentecostal movement in Sweden has in recent decades undergone major changes which have led to an unclear self-understanding. In spite of the fact that Halldorf is very influential as a pastor and writer, his alternative ecclesiology has not been received as a serious alternative within the Pentecostal movement. In this article I discuss trajectories in Halldorf’s ecclesiology in relation to the ecclesiology of John Howard Yoder. My aim is to provide a Free Church evaluation of Halldorf’s trajectories and my claim is that his development does not necessarily stand in disagreement with the Swedish Pentecostal movement, if one considers the movement’s Baptistic roots. It is therefore possible that Halldorf’s trajectory is a path to follow for the Swedish Pentecostal movement, a movement searching for an identity. It is at the same time possible that the Free Church ecclesiology of Yoder may deepen Halldorf's own ecclesiology.

Pentecostal hermeneutics: How do Swedish Pentecostal preachers interpret the Bible? 
 In this article I present a study of Swedish Pentecostal preachers’ interpretations and applications of biblical texts. The study is based on 19 sermons that were published on the website “Söndag hela veckan”, January 19, 2020, by churches with “Pingst” (Pentecostal) in their name. The aim of the study was to contribute to the field of Pentecostal hermeneutics through an analysis of interpretative patterns in present day preachers’ sermons. The study shows that the preachers address a putative desire for a more devoted Christian life and that they do not practice exegetics in the sense of making historical readings searching for the original authors’ intention. Instead they apply the texts to the present here and now, thereby bringing the texts from them to us. This is done by means of generalizations, abstractions, and analogies in the form of parables and narratives. In this way the studied preachers endeavor to encourage and challenge their listeners to continue searching for the richer Christian life they long for. In relation to previous studies, I claim that the studied sermons constitute a special act of interpretation that cannot be compared with academic exegetics. I also suggest that the hermeneutics in the sermons cannot be described as narrative or, for example, poststructuralist. There are some marginal similarities with interpretations of fiction, but the sermons can on the whole be described as “a distinctive interpretive activity”. The message of the sermons is consistent with previous descriptions of Pentecostal theology, except that the preachers do not emphasize the story of the Pentecostal movement and, more remarkably, that traditional eschatology hardly has any place in the sermons.

Meaning and Belonging: Young Adults in Today’s Pentecostal Congregations in Sweden
 The focus of this article is to explore where and how young adults in the contemporary Swedish Pentecostal movement experience meaning and belonging in their congregation and what impact meaning and belonging have for them. This article builds on a study from 2019, in which young adults in today’s Swedish Pentecostal congregations described their beliefs and their congregational life; Gemenskap, individualism och andlighet. Tro och församlingsliv bland unga vuxna i den samtida svenska pingströrelsen (Sand, 2019). The data was collected through interviews and a survey, in which both young-adult members and leaders were questioned. The results from the 2019-study will in this article be analysed and discussed based on Meredith B. McGuire’s theory on meaning and belonging in Religion: The Social Context (2008). In addition, the results will also be compared with related research. The results show the young adults mostly experience meaning and belonging in the smaller gatherings the congregations offer. The smaller groups offer the opportunity to form close bonds to other members and the possibility to strengthen their faith. The groups also work as a “safe haven” where the members can share their everyday life and personal challenges. Although the large parish community in the congregations can provide both meaning and belonging, such as volunteering in the church activities, worship and prayer during the Sunday services; they do not produce that to the same extent as the smaller gatherings. This article shows that the experience of meaning and belonging is important both for the development of the young adults’ faith and their belonging in the congregations.

The aim of the thesis is to examine how a group’s self-image is created, sustained and if necessary changed during the revolutionary 20th century. The study takes its point of  eparture in the idea that a self-image is essential for an organisation’s cohesion and collective identity. The study object is the Pentecostal Philadelphia church in, Sweden, established in 1910. In concrete terms, the thesis examines the self-image of the church as it is expressed in its narratives and activities from 1910 to 1980. The lf-image is analysed with the aid of the concepts ‘boundaries’ and ‘symbols’ and in relation to social and organisational change processes. In the main the empirical material  onsists of official documents such as jubilee publications, annual reports and the weekly newspaper Evangelii Härold. The main contribution of the thesis is an analysis of the church’s historical narrative. In this narrative the overall theme appears to be the small and faithful group that due to God’s influence and despite opposition became a major  nd significant church -- a success story. The theme also remains the same when the circumstances change. Narrative theory emphasises that the narrative has to be changeable order to be serviceable. However, my study shows that the narration, at least at the level highlighted in the thesis, is inert. The self-image seems to be difficult to change but is not necessarily static. The narrative is shown to include strategies for dealing with internal change processes and changes in society.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:20:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Samuel Pereira Valerio.pdf: 4442140 bytes, checksum: 84d1cdd1820301f985c9c104eb9e6fab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-11-04<br>Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior<br>The Swedish Baptist church arises in Brazil in 1912, in Guarani, a small countryside village in the south of Brazil. Today it is present in 752 places of worship in Brazil, the number of members is 58.319, according a recent statistic, and it is present in 11 countries. Born out of Örebromissionen - ÖM, a Swedish mission that sent Erik Jansson to Brazil as a missionary to take spiritual care of settlers in the so called missions region in Rio Grande do Sul. It is a Pentecostal and ethnic church in a first moment, and for account of this ethnic characteristic, has grown slower than other Pentecostals churches founded in same period. Subsequently it reached other ethnicities which resided in the region, such as Russians, Germans and Brazilians, among others. In our historical approach we demonstrate facts that corroborate to the presence of the Pentecostal movement within this church and the relevance of the pastor of Philadelphia Church in Örebro, Sweden, John Ongman, founder of ÖM. We approach the relevance of Andrew Johnsson for the implantation of Pentecostalism in Sweden, and yet ÖM as a center for this movement, which is also responsible for the sending of several missionaries to many parts of the world, including Brazil, where it founded several churches and in 1919 organized the Convenção Evangélica Batista Sul Rio-Grandense (South Rio Grande Evangelical Baptist Convention). We draw a profile of the Swedish Baptist Church in its early endeavor in our territory. Therefore the Swedish Baptist Church has as its central characteristic Migration Pentecostalism, becoming the third entry of Pentecostalism in Brazil<br>A Igreja Batista Sueca surge no Brasil em 1912, em Guarani RS, hoje esta presente em locais de culto 752 total de membros 58.319, segundo uma estatística recente da CIBI, e hoje está presente em 11 países. Nascida da Örebromissionen ÖM, missão sueca que enviou Erik Jansson ao Brasil como missionário para cuidar espiritualmente dos colonos da região das missões no Rio Grande do Sul. Trata-se de uma igreja Pentecostal e étnica em um primeiro momento, e por conta desta característica étnica, tem um crescimento mais lento que outras igrejas pentecostais fundadas na mesma época. Posteriormente se abriu para outras etnias que residiam na região: russos, alemães e brasileiros, entre outros. Na abordagem histórica em nossa pesquisa demonstramos fatos que corroboram a presença do movimento Pentecostal dentro desta igreja. A importância de John Ongman, pastor da Igreja Filadélfia de Örebro e fundador da ÖM. Abordamos a relevância de Andrw Johnsson para a implantação do Pentecostalismo na Suécia, e ainda a ÖM como centro deste movimento e responsável pelo envio de vários missionários para muitos lugares do mundo, incluindo o Brasil, onde se inaugurou várias igrejas e em 1919 organiza-se a Convenção Evangélica Batista Sul Rio-Grandense. Traçamos um perfil da Igreja Batista Sueca no início do trabalho em nosso território. Portanto, a Igreja Batista Sueca, tem como característica central o Pentecostalismo de Migração, sendo uma terceira entrada no Pentecostalismo no Brasil

This thesis explore how the contemporary Swedish Pentecostal movement view childrens way to salvation. Is it possible to discern certain theological systems represented in the movement and has the movement’s view changed over time? The study reaches the conclusion that the view has changed and that there exists two logically opposite systems in the movement, leaving it with a theological double vision. The study explores the theological basis and the practical implications of both systems, and seek to discern what system is the prominent one. The study shows that the pelagian system stands out against the arminian system and that an ongoing theological renegotiation seems to strenghthen its position. The study also interacts briefly with two international pentecostal movements and finds the arminian theological system to dominate in that context. The result of the study raises questions whether the Swedish Pentecostal movement is aware of it’s double vision and the changes that is underway. The study ends by emphasizing the need for the Swedish Pentecostal movement to work through some main elements in its theology, in order to reach a clear view of children’s way to salvation.<br>Studien undersöker hur dagens svenska Pingströrelse ser på barns väg till frälsning. Vilka teologiska system finns representerade i rörelsen? Vilken teologi bygger dessa på och vilken praktik leder de till i förhållande till barnen? Studien söker också att besvara vilket teologiskt system som dominerar inom rörelsen samt om rörelsens syn på barns väg till frälsning har förändrats över tid. Studien visar att två oförenliga teologiska system, det pelagianska och det arminska, finns representerade i Pingströrelsen och att det pelagianska systemet är mest framträdande. Resultatet pekar på att den svenska Pingströrelsen har en dubbelsyn på barns väg till frälsning vilket leder till en skiftande praktik i förhållande till barnen. Studien utvidgar kort perspektivet och jämför den svenska Pingströrelsens teologi med teologin hos två internationella pingströrelser: Pentecostal World Fellowship och Assemblies of God. Studien avslutas med en uppmaning till den svenska Pingströrelsen att arbeta igenom sin teologi så att den kommer fram till en skarp syn på barns väg till frälsning och därmed till en välgrundad praktik i arbetet bland barnen.

This thesis is a contribution to a hitherto neglected area of research: The African Pentecostal Churches, that do not belong to those called African Indigenous Churches (AICs). It is a case study from the perspective of southern Burundi, the periphery of the ancient kingdom. The Pentecostal Movement in Burundi was born in the encounter between Swedish Pentecostal missionaries and the population in the southern part of the country. This study highlights what happened in that encounter. The thesis consists of six parts. The first is a survey of the Pentecostal Movement in Sweden. The diachronic structure of parts two to five focuses on the development within the Burundian Pentecostal Churches and their relationship to the Burundian society 1935-1960. In the sixth part the diachronic approach is augmented by structural analyses, showing how aspects in the Pentecostal Movement developed. The Pentecostal missionaries accepted in part the traditional world view, the belief in a spiritual world and non-rational explanations to misfortunes in life. They encouraged the Burundians to do spiritual experiences, and especially the baptism in the Holy Ghost. The Burundian evangelists and church elders played a decisive role. It was their task to reformulate the Pentecostal message in Kirundi, which was not spoken by the missionaries. They moulded the message into a Burundian Pentecostal message, at the same time respecting the teaching of the early missionaries. They succeeded in doing that so well that the Pentecostal Movement became a popular movement, in certain places the dominating Christian denomination, in spite of the parallel work done by the Catholic Church, encouraged and supported by the Belgian state. This thesis builds on material taken mainly from unpublished sources from archives in Burundi, Sweden, Rome, Great Britain and Denmark. These are supplemented by interviews, most of them made by the author.

This study takes its point of departure in the tradition of Christian women covering their hair for religious and cultural reasons, hereafter called veiling. The aim has been to investigate what ideas were projected onto the veil in Sweden during the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as when and how the tradition of veiling disappeared among most Christian Swedes. My definition of what constitutes a veil has little to do with the form of the head covering. If an item is used in the mean of covering women’s hair for religious or cultural, rather than practical reasons, then it is considered to be a veil.In his first letter to the assembly of Corinth (1 Cor. 11), the Apostle Paul advocates a veil as a sign of women’s subordination. He also states that women’s hair is a sign of honour and to have it cut would be a disgrace. In 19th century Sweden, it was tradition among the rural populations for women to have long hair, covered indoors as well as outdoors. The sources show that people were aware of the words in 1 Cor. 11 about female subordination and the veil as a sign thereof. Women’s hair became the means for an individual’s inner body to show its virtues via the outer, physical body.In the mid-1920s it became popular for young women to cut their hair short. By accentuating how the world had changed, short hair became a symbol of modernity. Within a decade short hair for young women became the norm all over the country. There were no significant protests of this from the Swedish Church, though free-churches with a more fundamentalist understanding of the Bible remained disapproving. As the century progressed women gradually appeared bare-headed in church. Paul’s words about subordination became considered as an Oriental influence rather than a divine command. By projecting the inequalities of the sexes as an ancient Oriental idea, the western society’s identity as modern and democratic could be asserted. Essentially, everyone agreed that Swedish Christian women were not veiled, nor ever had been, nor should be. Hence the tradition of veiling disappeared in the Swedish Church without much notice.In the more fundamentalist Swedish Pentecostal movement the hair itself began to carry the religious symbolism otherwise given to the veil. In this manner, the hair had indeed become like a veil, as Paul had written. Renouncing long hair was in the end a renunciation of Paul’s words and the hierarchical system assigned by God. Nevertheless, short hair for women eventually became accepted within the Swedish Pentecostal movement as well.