Chapter 4
In: Protestant Periodicals in Transition
Search for other papers by Daniel Lindmark in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
Axel B. Svensson (1879–1967) was the leader of a Swedish conservative missionary organization, Bible-True Friends. In addition to editing the organization’s main organs, he was the editor of his private monthly religious magazine, Nya Väktaren, founded in 1907. Nya Väktaren had an apologetic and polemical profile, defending the confessional Lutheran faith and criticizing liberalizing forces within the established Lutheran Church of Sweden. One of Svensson’s main targets was the Swedish Association of Religious Reform, which from its foundation in 1929 advocated radical Liberal Theology. One of its most outspoken members, Vicar August Bruhn of Skepparslöv Parish, publicly questioned traditional dogmas without being reproved by the Chapter. To clarify the status of the Lutheran faith within the Church, Svensson reported Bruhn to the Chapter, and in 1937–1938 he ran a media campaign in Nya Väktaren against Bruhn and his alleged heresies. He continuously reported on the legal case and organized a public manifestation in favor of confessional Lutheranism that was eventually signed by two-fifths of the clergy. He kept the momentum by listing the names of the signers and publishing extracts from clergymen’s supportive letters. The “Skepparslöv Case” made Nya Väktaren an influential press voice and promoted Svensson’s political career.