Det hele menneske og en kristologisk funderet forsynstanke: Om brugen af “Sjæl” og “Støv” i to grundtvigsalmer

Resumé

Det hele menneske og en kristologisk funderet forsynstanke: Om brugen af “Sjæl” og “Støv” i to grundtvigsalmer

[The whole human being and a Christologically based belief in providence: On the use of “Soul” and “Dust” in two of Grundtvig’s hymns]

By Aage Schiøler

The reading of two of Grundtvig’s hymns, one much used and one less known, uncovers the influence of Old Testament material on his ideas of basic human conditions and on the wording of Christological dynamics within his notions about Divine Providence. First, the use of “Soul” and “Dust” is briefly surveyed. Then the hymns are analysed in order to clarify the impact of the terms on Christology as the crucial element determining the subject-matter of his view on Divine Providence. The outcome of the analysis is that only through inclusion of the existence of the individual person into the destiny of Christ as our equal and brother in life, death and resurrection, the hard questions posed by human existence can be challenged by reference to a God characterized by omnipotence, omniscience, and supreme goodness.

The omission of this Christological element, which in Grundtvig’s context is presented through the Preaching of the Gospel, granted the individual through Baptism, and continually maintained through The Lords Supper, would leave Divine Providence as idle talk or mere chance. Finally a modification of the concept of complementarity is used as a means to clarify the term Christian Hope as the liberating potentiality in Grundtvig’s ideas about Divine Providence.