Knut Heidelberg

I am happy to inform you all that the Norwegian translation of the
Hungarian Unitarian Catechism now is completed. You may download the
Norwegian translation here http://katekisme.unitarforbundet.org/ (78 pages.)

August 17 2007 several Unitarian Christian churches met to discuss what is our common Unitarian Christian identity. The result of these discussions are found in the so called Avignon Manifesto. The Manifesto, originally in French, is now translated into English, Italian, and Norwegian. You find the original and all translations available here http://08faq.unitarforbundet.org/

The Unitarian answer to «follow me».

by Knut Heidelberg.

Sermon delivered Friday 8^th February 2008.

Matthew 4.19: «And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.»

You know the story, Jesus is just beginning his ministry gathering a small group of men that all but for one, will follow him until he dies on the cross. Later most of these men also will suffer death as martyrs. Possessing some kind of extraordinary authority Jesus is approaching these men and simply telling them to leave their families and to follow him. So they did. And what is even more fantastic, they did not knew who Jesus was! He was a stranger suddenly appearing and if we believe they were to follow Jesus for some years, much of this time they would spend actually trying to figure out who Jesus is. And Jesus would challenge them, asking ‘who do you believe I am?’.

Imagine this story to repeat itself every time someone for the very first time hear about Jesus. Jesus is since long dead, and dead people does not walk around on the earth, so we do not believe those saying they have seen Jesus and talked with him or heard him speak. Some say they have experienced this. When I hear someone witness seen Jesus I think of those e-mails I from time to time receives from this person in Africa wanting to give me lots of money if I can help to get millions of dollars transferred to an account. Who am I to be blessed with lots of money from people I do not know? And who is this unknown person so important that Jesus should appear in front him and nobody else? I don’t believe the money to be real nor do I believe a living Jesus to be real.

But as Unitarian I of course believe that Jesus appears among us when we are gathered together «in his name», as we say. That is, when we read what he said and try to follow his teaching then Jesus is there in spirit. He has said so himself, didn’t he promise that where two or three of us are gathered there he will be among us? And how may dead people be among us? In spirit – in memory – in our hearts. They are not physically resurrected but spiritually. Yes, Jesus is resurrected in spirit. And as he promised he is together with us.

And here we are at the very foundation of Unitarianism. Jesus said there is one G-d, and Jesus told us to love the one G-d and our neighbours. That is the basics of Unitarian teaching. And that is why we to day have a Unitarian church. Only because Jesus still is the head of this church and together with it, this church has now survived for more that 400 years. And it all startet with the words «follow me». And the same words Jesus communicates in spirit to you via the Bible. And when you gather with Jesus in spirit you are invited to the Unitarian community – the church. This invitation is «follow me». So what is the Unitarian answer?

I am happy to say that this time we have only one possible Unitarian answer. It is not often but it happens.

But first, what does «follow me» mean? Is it to obey blindly? Is it to do as told? We have to turn to the Greek text. It says δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου which literally means «come after me». I find that to be a more nicer expression and more softer that the follow-me-statement. So Jesus invites us still to day to come after him. He does not say, I am so and so therefor follow. No, his invitation is come and see for yourself. That was what the first disciples did. Jesus did not tell them who he was. He asked them, who do you think I am? And he asks you the same to day.

This is why it is only one possible answer to his invitation. You must accept his invitation because that is the only way possible to answer his question, «who am I?» Therefor to decline the invitation is not to answer the question included in the invitation.

And there is another important thing. Jesus says, come after me. He does not say, come after me, learn who I am and then go beyond me. From time to time we hear about Unitarians arguing that Unitarianism has moved beyond Christianity. On the web site of the American Unitarian Universalist Association we can read that «Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion that encompasses many faith traditions. Unitarian Universalists include people who identify as Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, and others.»

But this is not what Jesus, the head of the Unitarian church, says. Jesus says «come after me». He does not say embrace many faith traditions and become Atheist, Agnostic Buddhist or something else you like. No, he says «come after me». And why should you do this? Because Jesus points to the one G-d that is your Unitarian faith. In this faith there is no room for Atheism or anything contradicting the reason for Jesus to invite you.

Yes, good things are found in many religions. Even the Catholic Church acknowledges this in a document from the Vatican 2 council. And to follow Jesus is also to love our neighbours which also must include the good things in their religion. We may learn important things from all religions and philosophies that are morally good.

But to come after Jesus is not to go beyond his teaching. His teaching is Unitarianism, and Unitarianism is Christianity because of Jesus, so there is no such thing as a Unitarianism that has gone beyond Christianity. When you live in one place you have one address for that place and when you move you get another address different from the first. You have moved away from your first address and brought with you all your memories of this first place. But you are no longer part of this old address. You have a new one. Jesus is the address of the Unitarian church, and this church has never moved to another liberal place but Unitarianism. The address is the same.

So what is the only one Unitarian answer to «follow me»?

I think you know it by now.

In the name of the Father, our one G-d, and his Son, our teacher, Jesus. Amen.

Happy to tell that we now introduce a new Unitarian Marriage Certificate here in Norway. The Unitarian certificate will come in addition to the official marriage certificate issued by the National register after the wedding has taken place and been reported by the minister in charge. The Unitarian marriage certificate is a translated modification of the certificate used by some Unitarian churches in Budapest. Thanks to Sandor that made this possible. Here you may see our new marriage certificate http://vigselsbevis1.unitarforbundet.org/ The original is in A4 and will for first time be issued during a Unitarian wedding taking place Friday this week.

Same sex partners will now be able marry as the Norwegian parliament
passed a new marriage law on Wednesday. Adoption will be easier and
lesbian couples will qualify for state funded fertility treatment. Read
more here http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2479146.ece

The periode 1893 to 1895 represents the beginning of organized Unitarianism in Norway.

After many years serving as Unitarian ministers in the USA both Hans Tambs Lyche (1859-1898) and Kristofer Janson (1841-1917) return to Norway and introduce Unitarianism mainly in Oslo (then named Kristiania (or Christiania)). For long historians considered Janson to be the first and only to carry out this mission, but as new research (see endnote) has revealed this may now be questioned. This short article will look into the whereabouts of Janson and Tambs Lyche from they returned and till Janson establishes the first Norwegian Unitarian church in 1895 and in this way demonstrate why Janson no longer can be considered the only one first to introduce Unitarianism to Norway and that Tambs Lyche and Janson independently of each other tried to organize a Unitarian movement. Only one of the would partly succeed.

Surely Tambs Lyche and Janson must have know each other from the Unitarian ministry in USA (the US Scandinavian Unitarian milieu at the end of the 19th century was easy to know). Despite this there are no records saying their return to Norway in 1893 was planned or in some way part of a mutual Unitarian mission. It is said that the reason for Tambs Lyche’s return was that he in Oslo received a position as editor to a periodical called Kringsjaa. The reasons why Janson left America are not that easy to see but his marriage was not working and because of his involvement with Spiritualism he was criticized by fellow Scandinavian Unitarians. He was disappointed, and there were little that held him back in America. It is probably a coincidence they both returned the same year.

Kristofer Janson almost immediately embarks on a lecture tour visiting the major cities of Norway. His lectures were to be published in the book «Foredrag» (1894). Later he was to write in his self biography that this tour was to test how Unitarianism would be received in Norway. But looking at the lectures to day this seems strange because they are not all dealing with Unitarianism but also with Spiritualism and re-incarnation. It may of course be that Janson considered these things to be important parts of Unitarianism. Then the spring 1894, he leaves Norway and travels to Denmark. At this time in Denmark there was no Unitarian church but a beginning Unitarian movement. Janson gathers a group for Unitarian worship in Aarhus. This group would later be «Aarhus Free Church Society». Janson would also be a source of inspiration for those founding the Unitarian congregation in Copenhagen, which to day still exists. The congregation in Aarhus has since long disappeared.

Although Janson’s work in Denmark is interesting the important here is the fact that he left Norway 1894. If his reason for returning to Norway would be to test how Unitarianism was received, why then leave? It seems somewhat bold to think he wanted by his own to introduce Unitarianism in both Norway and Denmark. On the other hand, Janson had both friends and family in Denmark and Norway. Since no records seems to shed a light over why he after his lecture tour left, my guess is that he in 1893 and 1894 was unsure of where to settle. This is to say that it was not a Unitarian mission or an attempt to «test» if Norway was ready for Unitarinism that was the main reason for Janson. He was simply unsure where to live. In 1895 he would end up in Norway but as often as possible spend the summer holidays in Denmark.

Hans Tambs Lyche on the other hand seems to have had a strong wish to introduce Unitarianism and as soon as possible to organize a Norwegian Unitarian church. Shortly after he settled in Oslo he published a leaflet addressed to all «liberal minded people». Here he outlines his understanding of Unitarianism and suggests that there should be organized a Unitarian church and a Unitarian society. This leaflet resulted in three things: 1. He ended up discussing Unitarianism with the State Church pastor Thorvald Klaveness (1844-1915). This discussion took place in the periodical «For Kirke og Kultur» (For Church and Culture) and is probably the first Unitarian Norwegian printed discussion. 2. About 30 people would gather in Oslo interested in establishing a Unitarian church but for some reasons Tambs Lyche argued that this was not enough and therefore no Unitarian church was founded in 1894. On the other hand he collected the names and addresses of those interested. This list he gave to Kristofer Janson on his return to Norway late 1894. 3. When failing to organize the first church he turns to publishing and creates the first Unitarian periodical to be published in Norway, «Frie Ord» (Free Words).

It is a puzzle why Tambs Lyche did find 30 interested people a too small number in order to organize a Unitarian church. When Janson returned from Denmark and received the list, he used it to organize the first Norwegian Unitarian church in 1895, «Broderskabets Kirke» (The Church of Brotherhood). And the church records show that the membership 1895 was almost 30 people. Still there may be one reason, and that is Tambs Lyche’s failing halth. In 1984 he has only four years still to live. It may be his reason for not establish the first Unitarian church was that his tuberculosis put a stop for it. It is not know how ill he actually was in 1894 but only three years later it is obvious he is no longer capable to keep up with all his work.

When Kristofer Janson in Norwegian history is given the honor of introducing Unitarianism to Norway it is because he in December 1894 arrived in Oslo, gave a speech explaining Unitarianism and then encourage people to establish a Unitarian church which he would lead. It is fair to say that Janson was a very much popular and famous writer that always collected large groups of people in public. The newspapers report that the audience applauded when Janson delivered his speech. In January 1895 The Church of Brotherhood was established and the first Norwegian Unitarian services took place in Oslo. I think it is fair to say that Tambs Lyche in 1894 was the one really preparing for this church but it was Janson that got the honor that secured him a place in Norwegian history as the one to introduce Unitarianism.

On the other hand this honor was short lived in the Unitarian milieu. Only some months after the foundation of The Church of Brotherhood Tambs Lyche started to print critical articles about Janson’s Unitarianism. In these articles he is warning against the Spiritualism of Janson and also arguing that Janson’s person seems to be too important. Shortly before he dies, Tambs Lyche writes an article saying there should be another Unitarian church in Norway. He was obviously very disappointed. And so was Janson’s congregation. In 1898 Janson was forced to quit as minister to the congregation and 1900 the congregation split into one group that later would follow Janson and another that would call a new Unitarian pastor from the USA, Herman Haugerud. What then happened is not the topic of this short article but will be dealt with in an article to come later this year.

—
This article is based upon: Knut Heidelberg: Frisinnet kristendom : unitarismen i Norge 1893-1937 (2006, Menighetsfakutetet, Oslo – The Lutheran School of Theology, Oslo). For details consult this thesis or contact webmaster.

I regret to have to inform you that the Unitaran Bishop, Ragnar Emilsen, of Sweden died in Malmö Hospital in Sweden yesterday February 5 2008. Bishop Emilsen was ordained to the Unitarian ministry in 1987 in Copenhagen, Denmark, by Unitarian Bishop Lajos Kovács of Romania. Emilsen served as Unitarian Christian Bishop to Scandinavia. May he rest in peace, RIP.

The Church of Brotherhood was the name of the first Unitarian church in Norway founded by Rev. Kristofer Janson in 1895. I have scanned and uploaded some Norwegian historical sources related to this church here http://morgenstierne.org/norskunitarisme/broderskabetskirke.htm

On August 17 2007 several Unitarian Christian churches met to discuss

what is our common Unitarian Christian identity. The result of these
discussions are found in the so called Avignon Manifest. The manifest is
available in French text here
http://afcu.over-blog.org/article-12204296.html As I understand Italian
and English translations will come later.
The Norwegian Unitarian Church was not par of these discussions but
never the less agrees that the manifest is an important mark of
identity. Even if it is not a creed or confession in any way it may be
considered as an important symbol for Unitarian Christian churches to
agree on in order to connect closer.
The Norwegian Unitarian Church will therefore study the text and
consider whether it should agree officially to the Avignon Manifest.

These days Norwegian authorities are discussing a new law of marriage (including a same-sex marriage law). Among other churches The Norwegian Unitarian Church has also been asked to comment upon the suggestion for a new law.

We have so far concluded on the four major topics discussed:

1)
a) Same-sex marriages should be accepted by law and in all aspects equal
to heterosexual marriages.
b) Churches should receive the right to marry same-sex couples but not
be forced to do so.
c) The Bét Dávid Unitarian Association (The Norwegian Unitarian Church)
is among those churches that want to marry same-sex couples.
2)
The old Law of Partnership is to be removed.
3)
a) Full rights of adoption for same-sex married couples.
b) The word “spouse” should be used both for same-sex marriages and
heterosexual marriages.
4)
All rights given by the Law of Biotechnology should be the same for both
same-sex marriages and heterosexual marriages.