Sweden is among the most secular countries in the world and Jehovah’s Witness is a fundamentalist Christian organization with an ambition to present its interpretation of the Bible as truth. Emerging adults in Jehovah’s Witness are expected to behave and believe according to rules and a view of life which distinguish them from the values and teachings of the Swedish school. The aim of the paper is to present strategies and reflections among Jehovah’s Witnesses in Swedish secondary school to meet the expectations of the religious community, when these are in conflict with the values and teachings of the school. Interviews with eleven former Jehovah’s Witnesses, now adults, have been conducted in the tradition of grounded theory. Strategies found where; 1) to stand up for their belief; 2) double standard and 3) flight. The reflections concern what it is to be an authentic person and the social context.
God is not a he, yet “he” is by far the most common pronoun for God. This qualitative study looks at how some priests from the Church of Sweden preach about God in a non-masculine way. The study was done through interviews and analysis of sermons from four priests who all work with non-masculine language concerning God.
Question: How can a non-masculine language about God look like, in sermons and in the preparations of sermons, in the Swedish church today?
Sub-questions: What types of words, pronouns and imagery of God are used in the sermons that were studied?What were the reflections of the priests in the study regarding non-masculine language in the preparation of sermons?
From the interviews and sermons, a list has been compiled with words about God that are gender neutral and gender balanced. Although the importance of theological anchoring in the Bible is important there are also forgotten traditions and the congregations of the living folk church to anchor into.
I dagens välfärdspluralism antar idéburna organisationer roller som gemenskapsbyggare, röstbärare och serviceleverantörer. Det socialpolitiska landskapet är under ständig förändring – något som påverkar kyrkan och dess diakonala arbete. I kyrklig diakoni ryms praktik och reflektion, teologisk och socialpolitisk. Hur gestaltas detta? Vilka verksamheter prioriteras, hur organiseras och leds det diakonala arbetet? Hur kan diakoni utvecklas som hela församlingens angelägenhet? Vad är diakonens roll jämte andra anställda och frivilliga medarbetare, i de dagliga verksamheterna och i gudstjänsten? I boken diskuteras hur diakoni med sina bibliska rötter kan förstås i dag, bland annat ur ett genusperspektiv. Mänskliga rättigheter är ett sentida inslag i det diakonala arbetet. I antologins tolv kapitel ges också historiska tillbakablickar både vad gäller välfärdspolitik och syn på fattigdom.
I den här artikeln vill Elisabeth Christiansson Drake och Helena Inghammar bidra med historieskrivning och reflektion, kring det teologiska ramverk som omger diakonatet och peka på ett behov av fortsatt och fördjupat teologiskt arbete med diakonatets identitet.