Anden nu och då
En jämförande studie av pneumatologin i Kyrkans Tidnings Eftertanke och pneumatologin i Luthers lilla katekes och Luthers stora katekes
The purpose of this essay is to analyse and compare pneumatology in Eftertanke in Kyrkans Tidning, in a Swedish evangelical Lutheran context, with pneumatology in Luthers Small Catechism and Luther's Large Catechism. Through a descriptive, inductive and hermenutical approach the essay intends to answer two main questions regarding how these sources 1) describe the character features and 2) the function of the Spirit. The conclusions of this essay show that the character features of the Spirit in Eftertanke differ from the catechisms in describing the Spirit with words connected to nature and life, while the catechisms only describe the Spirit as holy. The discussion that follows implies that the Spirit in the catechisms is depicted as more personal whereas Eftertanke depicts the Spirit more as an impersonal force. There are similarities in how both the catechisms and Eftertanke depict a dialectic relationship between human beings and the Spirit. However, they differ in function: in Eftertanke the Spirit is foremost a giver of life and a creator of positive emotions as well as a giver of guidance, while in the catechisms the Spirit is foremost a sanctifier. There are also dissimilarities in how the catechisms emphasize that the Spirit works through the word, the church and the sacraments, while this is barely mentioned in Eftertanke. Eftertanke on the other hand emphasizes a more panentheistic function of the Spirit in the world.