Gisle Johnson lived during a time of immense change. Norway, along with the entire world, was quickly modernizing: the rural farmlife enjoyed by the bønder class was now becoming mixed up with the industrial revolution, and the vast expansion of the cities—particularly Kristiana (Oslo)—meant that mercy ministry and pastoral care via the state church was stretched thin. The chairman of the Inner Mission Society, Gisle was able to utilize the resources of this organization to r

In First Timothy, the Apostle Paul considers the qualifications for elders, listing several qualities he feels are sine qua non for those in vocational ministry: "An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money" (1 Tim. 3:2-3). The word reading this list, there are some qualities that might stand out more immedi

The title page of student notes on Gisle's Dogmatik, fittingly adorned with flowers. A common structural devise in the nineteenth century is the concept of organicism. The word "organic" is generally used today to describe something growing, alive, and natural, as in the 'organic' sciences, i.e. the study of carbon-based compounds. Indeed, the nineteenth century theologians and philosophers often found the concept of an 'organic' relationship a helpful tool for articulated v