Bengt Hägglunds traditionshermeneutik: förmedling, förändring, förvandling

Abstract

Bengt Hägglund's Hermeneutics of Tradition

Bengt Hägglund was one of the first theologians in Sweden who successfully adopted the thoughts of contemporary philosophy of language in his theological work. Hägglund, who is well known for his deep knowledge of Luther in theology, uses these linguistic resources to create a hermeneutics that reflects Martin Luther's understanding of biblical interpretation. One common element is the conviction, that the reader is a passive receiver of the biblical message, not a creative co-writer of the text.

An important trait in the hermeneutical thinking of Bengt Hägglund is the defence of the unchangeable core of the Christian faith. This trait is, however, accompanied by an openness to change inherent in the concept of tradition. Hägglund states that the theological concepts have an open structure. In the process of transmission, these concepts receive new meaning and are nourished with new and richer interpretations, though still kept together by a common structure. In this article the author analyzes these seemingly contradictory traits in the hermeneutical thinking of Bengt Hägglund, and argues that the connecting link is the idea, that the content of the message can be the same even though it is expressed in new ways as long as it preserves its authentic structure. This structure is, according to Hägglund, the Rule of Faith.