Between the State and the Eucharist - Paperback

by Joel Halldorf (Editor), Fredrik Wenell (Editor), Stanley Hauerwas (Foreword by)

"In the world, but not of the world"--this has been the motto of the Free Church tradition. But to what extent can freedom and independence from "the world" be realized in modernity, and how have these churches fared so far? These are the questions with which this book wrestles. The particular focus is Sweden, where a state-facilitated hypermodernity has created what some call "the most modern nation in the world." The Swedish free churches have in many ways succumbed to the pressure of the modern welfare state and as a consequence lost their distinctive voice. The argument of this book is that the rediscovery of practices left behind might be a way for these churches to recover a solid, particular, and deeply Christian identity. In dialogue with William T. Cavanaugh, the authors argue for a return to concrete, social practices: asceticism, table grace, written prayers, a turn to tradition, and the Eucharist. Here are lost treasures that might prove invaluable for the modern church at large, with her dual citizenship in the modern nation-state and the kingdom of heaven.

Author Biography

Joel Halldorf (MDiv, Lund University; PhD, Uppsala University) is Associate Professor of Historical Theology at the Stockholm School of Theology. His areas of research are Evangelicalism and modernity, historical pacifism, Pentecostalism, and worship in the Evangelical tradition. He is author of "Av denna varlden?" Emil Gustafson, moderniteten och den evangelikala vackelsen.

Fredrik Wenell (MDiv, MF Norwegian School of Theology) is a PhD candidate in Systematic Theology and World Views at Uppsala University. He has served as youth pastor in the Evangelical Free Church in Sweden for ten years. His previous publications include "Religion som politisk resurs" and Forever Young? ungdomens kulturer och frikyrkans gensvar (coauthor).