Romerskt och evangeliskt. Tillbakablick på en avslutad genre

Abstract

In this article four Swedish books in the period 1885–1959 are examined. They are all an attempt to answer this question: which is the main difference between Roman-catholic and Lutheran conceptions of Christianity? These books form a special genre and address themselves to a wide circle of readers, but the authors are uni-versity theologians. The main difference is difficult to find, but most of the answers point in the direction of ecclesiology (Church authority) and the salvation through Christ (the concepts of meritum and synergeia). The cardinal point in the Reformation era, the doctrine of justification by faith alone, is hardly mentioned. After 1960 this genre has disappeared, undoubtedly because of the ecumenism.