The Mystery of Creation, The Sacrament of Creation : Baptismal Theology in the Encounter between Tradition and Situation

The aim of the thesis is to investigate theological understandings in conjunction with the baptism of children and to develop such of these understandings as can be seen to be “trovärdiga” (credible or trustworthy) in the contemporary context of Church of Sweden. The theoretical point of departure is taken in a hermeneutical theological method of correlation between interpretation of “Situation” and interpretation of “Tradition”. A trustworthy theology emerges in a critical and/or constructive encounter between the interpretation of Tradition and the interpretation of Situation. Such an encounter can be established within an area of problematics. Three problem areas are identified that are present in the Swedish context of baptizing children in Church of Sweden. A) The first problem area concerns the theological interpretation of the relationship between those baptized and those not in a pluralistic society. B) Theological interpretation of “destruction” and what the theological tradition names original sin. How can a trustworthy baptismal theology be developed that takes suffering, oppression, the ecological crisis, seriously in the present situation and at the same time handle or solve the problems related to the theological tradition of original sin? C) How can a trustworthy baptismal theology solve or handle the problems related to a dichotomous construct of the relationship between God and the world? Four types of material are analyzed: sociological and statistical material, ecumenical theological resources for interpreting baptism, two different orders of baptism at use in Church of Sweden and baptismal liturgies celebrated according to these orders of baptism, and primarily Oriental Orthodox traditions of the Baptism of Jesus. Several understandings are developed and among them three over-arching concepts found fruitful for solving or handling the problems concerned: the baptismal tradition connected to the Baptism of Jesus interpreted in the light of A Trinitarian Theology of Creation that understands baptism as an expression of The Mystery of Creation, The Sacrament of Creation .Kolla att datum 16 oktober blev rätt!Kolla att de tre kursiveringarna på sista avsnittet i abstarct inte flyter samman till en enda (jfr pdf).Gordon Lathrop är professor emeritus från Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, och Yale Divinity SchoolKirsten Busch Nielsen är professor i systematisk teologi vid Köpenhamns universitet (opponenten