Becoming Human Again: The Theological Life of Gustaf Wingren

A fresh exploration of the theological trajectory of Swedish theologian Gustaf Wingren, examining the influences on his work and how his ideas developed.

One of the most influential Swedish theologians of the twentieth century, Gustaf Wingren's career spanned more than forty years of upheaval both in his field and around the globe. Provocative and challenging, Wingren revelled in a good argument and this attitude set the tone for much of his scholarship. A Swedish Lutheran, he made his name through his research into the theology of Martin Luther, breaking away from both traditional interpretations of Luther and the theology of his famous teachers, Karl Barth and Anders Nygren, before shifting his focus onto systematic theology. In a fresh take, Bengt Kristensson Uggla delves into the influence of Wingren's second wife, Greta Hofsten, on the direction of his theology. Hofsten, a left-wing political activist who was searching for a new language of faith, wove Wingren's work together with her own political philosophy to create an unusual kind of Christian socialism. Her thinking had a profound effect on Wingren, causing him to recontextualise his older work entirely. In Becoming Human Again, Uggla examines how Wingren's combative nature often served him well as a theologian, driving him to engage with innovations in the field and re-examine his older views.