ESSAY: Gustaf Aulen and the Atonement

THE DOCTRINE OF THE ATONEMENT IN LIGHT OF GUSTAF AULÉN’S HISTORICAL ANALYSIS IN CHRISTUS VICTOR

Overview

In this essay I will be considering the doctrine of atonement with the help of Aulén’s internationally renowned book, Christus Victor.[1] I have divided Church history up into four epochs and taken a representative from each era; from the patristic period, Irenaeus; from the Middle Ages, Anselm; and from the Reformation, Luther. My representative from the previous century will be Aulén himself, so as well as looking at Christus Victor, I will also look at his later work, Kristen Gudstro i Förändringens Värld.[2] These first three authors have been chosen because Aulén’s earlier book specifically focuses on their works and his thesis provides a framework with which to analysis their theology. I will therefore be asking the question, does Aulén’s overview of the doctrine of atonement in Irenaeus, Anselm and Luther match up with what we can discover in reading their actual texts? [3] Whilst Aulén is best known for this historical analysis, I also want to ask the question what did the famous Swede himself say about the doctrine of the atonement? I will conclude by following Aulén and highlighting that agape love should be seen as the origin of God’s salvation plan enacted in Jesus Christ.

Introduction: Aulén’s history of the doctrine of atonement

Swedish Lutheran theologian, Gustaf Aulén (1879-1977) wrote one of the 20^th Century’s most influential books on the doctrine of the atonement.[4] The work, known in English as Christus Victor, is a historical analysis of the development of the doctrine through Church history from the post-biblical period until the 20^th C.. The Lutheran author wants to challenge the commonly held assumption that there was no attempt at a thorough presentation of the doctrine of the atonement prior to the publication of Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo? in c. 1100 as the focus in the early church lay on Christology and the doctrine of God.

Aulén maintains that there was a widely held view about the atonement in the early church period that he calls the classical or dramatic idea which is also summarised with the Latin phrase, Christus Victor. In this view, the reason why God became man was to defeat the powers of evil that held humanity enslaved in sin and death. Through Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, Jesus defeats Satan enabling all who believe in Him to also live in His victory, which is experienced partially now and fully in the age to come. Aulén’s primary example of an early Church Father who understood atonement in these terms is Irenaeus of Lyon, who wrote that “the work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind [sic] in bondage: sin, death and the devil”.[5]

Aulén’s interpretation is that this earlier understanding of the work of Christ was eclipsed by Latin theories of the atonement, so named because they have their origins in the western church. The high watermark of these theories finds its expression in Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo? where the then Archbishop of Canterbury propounds the satisfaction theory, which is also known as the objective theory of the atonement. Aulén contrasts Anselm’s objective theory with Abelard’s subjective conceptualisation of the atonement.[6] In practice, however, he hardly mentions this third theory confining it to the post-Enlightenment theology of writers such as Schleiermacher.[7] An example of the subjective theory whereby Christ’s sacrificial act is seen as an inspirational example to follow can be seen in Schleiermacher’s dialogue, Christmas Eve. Here we can read of Ernestine’s reminiscing of a childhood visit to the Church at Christmas.  She notes the love between a mother and her child, which encapsulates the Christmas message and causes Ernestine to give a gift to the child.[8]

After Cur Deus Homo? was published the objective theory became the most widespread in Western theology, not least in the wake of the Protestant reformation. Calvin, for example, interprets Christ’s work entirely within juridical-Anselmic categories.[9] But Aulén, wants to challenge the notion that Luther promoted the satisfaction theory. Controversially, he sees that the German reformer returned to the classical idea of the atonement. It was not Luther but his followers who promoted the objective theory which became part of Lutheran Orthodoxy as well as later influencing pietism.

So, in short, Aulén thesis is that Irenaeus outlined the classical view of the atonement, Anselm created a new theory of the atonement, the objective model, and Luther returned to the classical idea at the Reformation.

Does Aulén’s thesis match these Church Fathers’ texts?

Aulén’s thesis occupies just one hundred and sixty pages and has become a classic of modern western theology. But does Aulén’s views of Irenaeus, Anselm and Luther match what we can find in these Church Fathers’ own writings? I will be using primary texts, Irenaeus’ The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo? and Luther’s Smalclad Articles as well as two contemporary secondary texts[10] which reflect on Aulén’s thesis to answer this question.

Irenaeus of Lyon (c. 130-200)

Irenaeus’ approach to salvation is so different from that which would later frame debates around the doctrine of atonement, that we are almost dealing with a completely different subject. His theory is known as recapitulation and he sees the primary need of fallen humanity relating to their ontological otherness from God. Humanity needs to gain divinity so that true fellowship with God can be restored. Therefore, in Irenaeus’ work the focuses primarily on the incarnation, that God became man, as the means of salvation. This means that in his Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, the function Jesus’ death on a cross played in the drama of salvation is not covered. Instead, the death of Christ is a prelude to the more important fact that Jesus rose from the dead. So, we can read,

Now, if He was not born, neither did He die; and, if He died not, neither did He rise from the dead; and, if He rose not from the dead, neither did He vanquish death and bring its reign to nought; and if death be not vanquished, how can we ascend to life, who from the beginning have fallen under death? So then those who take away redemption from man, and believe not God that He will raise them from the dead, these also despise the birth of our Lord.[11]

From this quote we can see that Aulén is right in acknowledging that Irenaeus uses the motif of Christ’s victory when he talks about the crucifixion. We may also see that for Irenaeus it is the Incarnation that frames this discussion as the essential element of Christ’s life that brings about salvation. The cross, by comparison, is a minor motif.

Meyer on Irenaeus

However, it ought to be noted that other authors have reviewed Aulén’s thesis and suggested that it is an oversimplification to say that Irenaeus and the other early Church Fathers only taught the classical view of the atonement. Meyer looks at no less than fifteen Church Fathers saying that they also taught the objective theory of the atonement as well as Christus Victor. One example from Irenaeus is from his most well-known work, Against Heresies, where he tells us that,

“Christ became the Mediator between God and men; propitiating indeed for us the Father whom we had sinned”.[12]

So, whilst Aulén is right to underline the existence of the classical view of the atonement in early church history, he appears to be mistaken in suggestion that all other theories are not present in their works.

Anselm of Canterbury (c 1033-1109)

Anselm wrote considerably later than Irenaeus and McGrath notes that he has a problem with the earlier view of the atonement, specifically, that God appears to deceive the devil into crucifying Christ.[13] This goes against Anselm’s own conceptualisation of God’s justice which will play a central role in his understanding of the doctrine. McGrath observes that in Anselm,

“God is totally and utterly obliged to act according to the principles of justice throughout the redemption of humanity… [this] marks a decisive break with the dubious morality of the Christus Victor approach”.[14]

This features in the early chapters of Anselm’s ground breaking work, Cur Deus Homo? which was written in the style of a conversation with a friend called Boso. The then Archbishop of Canterbury follows his famous fides quaerens intellectum maxim with this book by trying to put forward a reasoned explanation for why God became man and died to redeem humanity.[15] Interestingly, Anselm thinks that what has been said in the “holy fathers and their successors”[16] is sufficient regarding this topic, implying that Anselm did not see himself as creating any new theory of the atonement as Aulén claims. Rather, he just wanted to explain the logical necessity of the incarnation.

At one level, Anselm’s system is incredibly simple. Man has been disobedient and sinned against God and in doing this owes the debt of obedience to God. However, humanity is unable to pay this debt. Therefore, God’s solution is to send the Word to become incarnate in Jesus Christ, the God-Man, who is fully human and therefore is the right being to pay the debt. At the same time, He is fully divine and us therefore is the only one capable of fully satisfying the debt. There is a form of undeniable logic about Anselm’s system and this, of course, was one of his great contributions to the Christian faith.

However, according to Aulén, “the essential structure of Anselm’s thought… is built on the basis on the penitential system… [meaning] that the required satisfaction for transgression must be made by man”.[17] That this is true can be seen, for example, when Anselm asks Boso, what works he is going to do for God as “payment” for his sin? He replies,

Repentance, a broken and contrite heart, self-denial, various bodily sufferings, pity in giving and forgiving, and obedience.[18]

That is to say – all the things a priest would have told the already baptised believer to do at the confession to avoid having to pay for their sins in purgatory. For Aulén, as an heir of the reformation doctrine of salvation by grace alone, this emphasis of humans’ penance raises the spectre of Pelagianism and works-salvation. So, Aulén asks,

“the crucial question is really this: Does Anselm treat the atoning work of Christ as the work of God Himself from start to finish?”[19]

Whilst Aulén’s acknowledges that Anselm sees “the Atonement as in a sense God’s work”[20] ultimately his answer to his own question above is ‘No’ because the former Archbishop “teaches a human work of satisfaction”.[21]

However, Anselm at several points highlights that the work of salvation cannot be a human work. One of the first reasons given is that if any other being saved humanity, then the race would be bound to them and therefore it can only be God Himself who is humanity’s redeemer.[22] He later adds that postlapsarian humanity has fallen into a state whereby he [sic] has developed an, “inability to restore what he owes to God”.[23] In addition, in Anselm’s logic humans as finite beings do not have the resources to pay the infinite debt caused by sinning against an infinite God. Further to this, all that humans have is God’s anyway so they cannot give God anything that He does not already possess.[24] The situation is so severe that when Anselm pushes his interlocutor further and questions, “What will become of you? how then will you be saved?”[25] Boso, like Luther 500 years later, is forced to admit his only resource is to trust God alone as there is nothing that he, as a human, can do to change the situation.

Conclusion to Aulén on Anselm

So, whilst it is almost impossible to disagree with Aulén’s suggestion that Anselm is the pioneer of the theory of satisfaction, it is difficult to agree with Aulén’s reading of Cur Deus homo? as promoting a salvation from below or a salvation by works. Instead, in Anselm we meet a theory of the atonement which attempts to prove with logic that humanity’s only hope is the God-man, Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.

Luther of Wittenberg (1483-1546)

Anselm’s theory of the atonement was largely accepted by the western church. But, Aulén wants to challenge the thought that Martin Luther saw the atonement primarily in objective terms. So, does Aulén’s interpretation of Luther as recovering the classical view over the satisfaction theory resonant with the German’s own work?

When it comes to the Smalcald Articles, the answer would have to be ‘No’.

In Article III of the document Luther discusses the topic of repentance. The problem humanity is faced with is “guilt before God”[26] and without the Gospel humans are left with the just punishments of “death and hell, and man [sic] must despair”.[27]  He continues by saying that the Catholics’ solution is too heavily dependent on humans act of contrition, confession and penance. Luther’s own “despair” was that he could never be sure he had done enough to secure God’s grace and notes that there was an ongoing need for “satisfaction”.[28] Freedom came to him when he saw that it was not his own imperfect efforts but only Christ’s perfect sacrifice which could satisfy the righteous demands of the Law. Note the contrast between the human’s and Christ’s oblation:

Neither can the satisfaction be uncertain, because it is not our uncertain, sinful work, but it is the suffering and blood of the [spotless and] innocent Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.[29]

So, taking the Smalcald Articles alone, we can say that Luther only talked about the objective theory of the atonement.

Kilcrease on Luther

However, Luther wrote many works and American Lutheran Kilcrease has looked at his writings in the light of Aulén’s Christus Victor thesis.  He suggests that both the classical motif and the satisfaction model are present in Luther. For example, we see a plurality of views of the atonement in one quote from the Larger Catechism:

For when we had been created by God the Father, and had received from Him all manner of good, the devil came and led us in to disobedience, sin, death, and all evil, so that we fell under His [God’s] wrath and displeasure and were doomed to eternal damnation, as we had merited and deserved. [30]

Aulén of Lund (1879-1977)

Let us start this section on Aulén himself by summarising what I have discovered so far. In Christus Victor he claims that Irenaeus taught the classical idea, Anselm the objective theory and Luther recovered the classical view. However, our examination shows that Irenaeus and Luther taught both theories. It must also be added that neither does Anselm teach that Christ’s sacrifice was only a human offering as Aulén suggests.

Whilst it is this historical thesis that has made him a world-renowned theologian, this is not the only text Aulén wrote about the doctrine of the atonement. In Den Allmänneliga Kristna Tron, he expressed his views as part of a systematic theology based on the Creed. The first edition of this book was published in 1923 when he was a professor in Systematic Theology at the University of Lund and the book went through five more editions in Swedish. When he retired from his bishopric, he again focused on his literary work. But instead of publishing another edition of the earlier book, he wrote a completely new text. It is this presentation from 1967, Kristen Gudstro i Förändringens Värld,[31] that is going to be our representative of modern theology.

As I noted in his critique of Anselm’s theory, Aulén emphasised the Christ, the Divine Son of God as the only active agent in the drama of salvation. Quite justifiably, his approach from the 1920-30s is called monophysitic by Peters[32] because of this almost exclusive emphasis on the divinity of Jesus. For example,

“Försoningen har m.a.o. helt och hållet sin grund i den ena partens, den gudomliga partens, handlingssätt”.[33]

The atonement in Kristen Gudstro i Förändringens Värld

However, in the later work, there is a much more balanced Christology which takes account of the fact that in Jesus of Nazareth, God became man:

Denna Kristi seger kan ses under en dubbel aspekt: såsom en Jesu mänskliga gärning och som en gudsgärning”.[34]

In Jesus’ humanity he shows solidarity with the species through his suffering, by which Aulén means embracing the conditions of life in the fallen world and not just the cross. During this earthly ministry Jesus was engaged in a fight for God’s kingdom against the powers of evil (e.g. Lk 11:20, Mt 12:28).[35] For Aulén, in the incarnation Jesus embodies God’s love. He writes,

“Det är denna Guds kärlek som >>inkarneras>> som tar gestalt i ett mänskligt väsen, som går in under det mänskliga livets villkor och som här utför sin frälsande gärning under kamp mot tillvarons fördärvsmakter”.[36]

That Jesus’ death is understood as a victory in the New Testament is reliant on the fact that the Scriptures always link the cross and the resurrection together.[37] This leads to Aulén to repeat his critique of Anselm – that his satisfaction theory only sees salvation as related to the death of Christ.[38] But when the cross is understood in terms of the classical view, there is a consistency between the actions in Jesus’ life and the cross as it is seen in light of resurrection. In a further demarcation against Anselm, Aulén highlights that he believes that in Christ God is enacting the process of reconciliation, he is the subject who is making the sacrifice and not the one who is receiving our offer.

Final reflections on Aulén’s later view of the atonement

I have highlighted that in the thirty-seven years between Christus Victor and Kristen Gudstro i Förändringens Värld that Aulén has nuanced his position. In particular, he has addressed the issue that his view of the atoning work of Christ was too heavily weighted towards his divine nature alone. Whilst I have been critical of some aspects of his historical analysis, it cannot be denied that he has made a successful case for the classical view of the atonement which means his name and the Christus Victor idea will always been associated with each other. Elements of this dramatic idea can be seen in the Passover rescue, the life of Jesus, his resurrection and in interpretations of the cross within the biblical texts (e.g. Col 2:15).

A weakness of Aulén’s presentations is that his approach is more clearly defined by what he is against – i.e., the Anselmic theory – than what is for, the victorious view. Aulén adopted a ‘less is more’ philosophy with his writings meaning the reader can leave disappointed when they want more details about the dramatic idea but instead, we are given recycled anti-Anselmic theology.

A second criticism is that he also tends towards viewing the Christus Victor idea as the only right interpretation, even if he says that his earlier work is historical and not apologetic.[39] He ultimately admits that this is not the case in the final paragraphs of the book. Here, we can read that the Latin theory is not Christian in origin whilst “the classical view of the Atonement… [is] genuine, authentic Christian faith”.[40] His one-sidedness is surprising given that he was heavily involved in ecumenical work and Den Allmänneliga Kristna Tron is specifically written from a non-denominational point of view. Had he taken a more ecumenical stance, he could have stood with the Nicene Creed[41] or the basis of the World Council of Churches[42] that allow Jesus Christ to be Saviour without needed to prescribe how that salvation is procured.  

However, I find his starting point of the doctrine of the atonement in God’s agape love appealing and an improvement on Anselm’s starting point in God’s justice. So, in the final part of my essay I will look further at this foundational motif.

Agape love – the “why” of salvation

Looking at Cur Deus Homo? nearly one thousand years after it was written, I can see that Anselm has overlaid aspects of the feudal and penitential systems of his day onto his ideas of God and salvation.[43] This basis of his thought, then, is that God’s justice the primary attribute of God through which we should interpret the cross. However, whilst not denying the justice motif, the Biblical witness point towards agape love as the foundation of God’s work of atonement. For example,

 But God demonstrates his own love [agape] for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.[44]

This is how we know what love [agape] is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.[45]

We also see in the Septuagint translation of the Torah, that divine agape is the foundational motif behind the rescue of Israel from the Egyptians:

I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God… showing love [LXX: agapōisin] to a thousand generations.[46]

But it was because the Lord loved [LXX: agapan] you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.[47]

So, in both the Passover and Christ’s crucifixion the driving motivation for the work of atonement is God’s own agape love towards His creature. This is the reason behind the provision and slaughter of the paschal lamb as well as the rescue from evil powers in Egypt. This is also the reason behind the substitutionary death of Christ as well as the defeat of demonic principalities at the cross. So, if I join Aulén in criticising Anselm, it is for a different reason. Whilst justice exists within God, when it comes to salvation, He chooses not to be just, but to act in grace, He choose to be motivated by His own agape love and step down into history in redemptive action, a work which is both a sacrifice and a victory.

Conclusion

In this essay I have looked at the doctrine of atonement by considering the theology of Irenaeus, Anselm and Luther with the help of Aulén’s book, Christus Victor. I have suggested that his thesis is not confirmed because Irenaeus and Luther taught both the objective theory and the classical view and that Anselm does not only see Christ’s offering as a human work. Looking at Aulén’s own theology outside of this historical reconstruction, I have observed that he changed his emphasis on the nature of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. In his later work he promotes a more traditional Christology that sees Christ’s atoning work as both a human and divine act. For Aulén the classical view holds the life, death and resurrection of Jesus together in a coherent unit as He works against the tyrannical powers of Satan, sin and death. His whole ministry is ultimately successful as the God of Agape Love is victorious over the powers of evil. I have observed that Aulén’s emphasis on God’s agape love brings us to the heart of the Biblical answer to Anselm’s question, Cur Deus Homo? – to demonstrate God’s love for humanity in sacrificial and saving action. Or as John’s Gospel puts it in Luther’s Little Bible:

For God so loved [agapaō] the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.[48]

Bibliography

The version of The Holy Bible that has been used is the New International Version UK from https://www.biblegateway.com and where the LXX or Greek text has been cited this has come from The Blue Letter Bible https://www.blueletterbible.org/.

Anselm. Cur Deus homo? Translated from the Latin by Deane, S.A. 1926. Chicago. The Open Court Publishing Company. https://ccel.org/ccel/anselm/basic_works/basic_works.vi.html .

Aulén, G. 1930. Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of Atonement, trans. Hebert, A.G. 1965. London. SPCK.

Aulén, G 1931. Den Allmänneliga Kristna Tron. Third edition. Stockholm. Svenska Kyrkans Diakonistyrelse.

Aulén, G, 1967 Kristen Gudstro i Förändringens Värld, Karlskrona, Verbum.

Calvin, J. 1559, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Beveridge translation). https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes/institutes.i.html .

Irenaeus, Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching. Translated by Robinson, A. 1920. London, SPCK.  https://ccel.org/ccel/irenaeus/demonstr/demonstr.iv.html .

Kilcrease, J. D. 2018. The Doctrine of the Atonement: From Luther to Forde. Eugene. Wipf and Stock.

Luther, M. 1537. The Smalcald Articles, English translation from https://bookofconcord.org/smalcald-articles/ .

McGrath, A.E. 2013. Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought 2nd Edition. Oxford. Wiley-Blackwell.

Meyer, J.D. 2020. The Patristic Roots of Satisfaction Atonement Theories Did the Church Fathers Affirm Only Christus Victor? Tyndale Bulletin. 71.2. 2020. 293–319.

Peters, T. 1972. Atonement in Anselm and Luther, second thoughts about Gustaf Aulén’s Christus Victor. Lutheran Quarterly. 24 no 3 Aug 1972. 301-314.

Schleiermacher, F. 1890. Christmas Eve: a dialogue on the celebration of Christmas. Edinburgh. T. & T. Clark. English translation from https://archive.org/details/christmasevedial00schl .

Spjuth, R. 2017. “Gustaf Aulén” 389-392 in Johnson, A.J. (ed.) T&T Companion to Atonement. Edinburgh. T and T Clark.

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[1] The book was originally published in 1930 in Swedish as Den kristna försoningstanken. Huvudtankar och brytningar.  But we will refer to it throughout by the first two words of the title it received when it was published in English in 1931 as Christus Victor – an historical study of the three main types of the idea of the Atonement

[2] This title could be literally translated as “Christian Faith in God in a Changing World”.

[3] Following Aulén I will call the classical or dramatic interpretation of the atonement an “idea” or “view” and reserve the word “theory” for the Latin-Anselmic-objective interpretation of the atonement. See Aulén, 1931, 157

[4] Spujth, 2017

[5] Irenaeus, Demonstration, I.20

[6] Aulén, 1930, 2

[7] Ibid., 135ff.

[8] Schleiermacher, 1890, 39

[9] Calvin, Institutes, II, 12

[10] Meyer 2020 and Kilcrease 2018

[11] Irenaeus, Demonstration, I.39

[12] Meyer, 2020, 303

[13] McGrath, 2013, 105

[14] Ibid., 107

[15] Anselm, Cur Deus homo?, i.1

[16] Ibid.,

[17] McGrath, 2013, 86 and 106

[18] Anselm, Cur Deus homo?, i.20

[19] Aulén, 1930, 86

[20] Ibid., 88, my italics

[21] Ibid.

[22] Anselm, Cur Deus homo?,  i.5

[23] Ibid., i.24

[24] Ibid., ii.6

[25] Ibid., i.20

[26] Luther, Smalclad Articles, III.2

[27] Ibid., III.7

[28] Ibid., III.21-24

[29] Ibid., III,38

[30] Kilcrease, Ch 2 also quoted in Peters, 1972, 310

[31] Specifically, I will look at Chapter 5, sections 1-3

[32] Peters, 1972, 307

[33] Aulén, 1931, 254

[34] Aulén, 1967, 95

[35] These two verses are referenced in ibid., 88

[36] Ibid., 89

[37] Ibid., 92

[38] Ibid., 93

[39] Aulén, 1930, 158

[40] Ibid., 159

[41] “We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ… who for us men, and for our salvation… was crucified”.

[42] The WCC is ”a fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour”, see https://www.oikoumene.org/node/6243

[43] McGrath, 2013, 106

[44] Rm 5:8

[45] 1 Jn 3:16a

[46] Ex 20:5-6

[47] Dt 7:8

[48] Jn 3:16

5 Swedish people who are not actually Swedish

What is a Swede? Someone who is tall, has blond hair and blue eyes and was born and lives in the country?

Definitions of nationality have never been that easy.

In an attempt to quantify immigration into the country, the Statistics Board came with a two tier system which attempts to differentiate between those who were born in and outside of Sweden.

In this definition a ”new Swede” is a Swedish citizen who themselves is born, or whose parents are born, outside Sweden.

Here’s a look at a number of well-known Swedes whose lives express the complexity of Swedish national identity:

1. Alfred Nobel

Born in Sweden to Swedish parents, the inventor of dynamite actually lived the majority of his life abroad. He travelled a lot for his work, and in the latter part of his life was based in Paris, France.

2. Saint Lucia

Sweden is the only Nordic country to celebrate Saint Lucia on 13 December as part of its Christmas celebrations. The modern interpretation of her story came to Sweden from Germany in the 1700s. It bares little resemblance to the original Lucia, whose name means light, who was an Italian women martyred in c 300 AD.

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Arguably Sweden’s most famous living sportsman, Zlatan is a new Swede born in Malmö to Serbo-Croat parents. His attitude of seeing himself as greater than the team-as-a-whole goes against the core Swedish value of jante lagen and he has not lived in Sweden since 2001.

4. ABBA

ABBA are one of the best selling pop-groups of all time, but partly owe that success to singing in a foreign language, English. Their breakthrough came in 1974 when they won an international competition, the European Song Contest, hosted by the English seaside town of Brighton.

5. The Swedish Royal Family

King Carl XVI Gustaf’s mother was German, as is his wife, Queen Silvia. This means Sweden’s entire royal household – the king, the queen and their children – are all new Swedes.

Furthermore, their third child, Princess Madeleine, married an British-American financier, so their three children will also be counted as New Swedes in any statistical analysis of the Swedish population.

5 Swedish icons which are not actually Swedish

We’re going to have a quick look at five typically Swedish things that when you dig a bit under the (cold and icy) surface are not really Swedish at all:

1. The Swedish flag

Sadly not actually Swedish, but a copy of the Danish flag, the oldest flag in the world, just with different colours.

2. The Swedish Church

No, not Swedish either. The Swedish Church is a Protestant Lutheran church, which originates with German reformer, Martin Luther.

3. Swedish companies

Swedish is famous for innovation but things are not also so straightforward when you look at who owns some global ”Swedish” brands today:

Furniture giant IKEA?  – no, Dutch;

Super safe car designer, Volvo? – no, Chinese;

SAAB Automobile when they went bust in 2011? No, they were Dutch too.

4. Fika – The Cinnamon Bun and Coffee

Fika is a classic Swedish break and social occasion. But cinnamon is not native to Europe and has been imported on The Spice Road from the Far East since the 1500s and coffee beans don’t grow in Sweden either. 

5. The Swedish language

The Sami/ Finnish group of languages is believed to have existed since c 1000-1500 BC and is likely to have originated in Northern Scandinavia or the neighbouring regions of Russia.

Swedish originated from German invaders from the south and is believed to be a unique language by c. 800 AD. So the Finnish group of languages can lay claim to being the original Nordic language whereas Swedish has derived from foreign settlers.

The Champions Hockey League begins!

This Thursday sees the start of the competitive hockey season here in Europe as the Champions Hockey League swings into action on 29 August.

It always gives a first look at the new formations as well as giving the chance to see new teams and the different playing styles of Europe’s hockey nations.

It will be on Friday when the current Swedish and CHL champions, Frölunda Indians start their trophy defense at home against Austrian newcomers, Graz 99ers.

And even without the top scoring back in CHL history, Canadian Olympian Chay Genoway, they are still my favourites to win the 2019/20 title. That’s because they still have the likes of CHL top scorer Ryan Lasch, former Anaheim Ducks’ Max Friberg and former Dallas Stars centre, Joel Lundqvist (above) in the squad.

Here in Sweden, SVT will show the majority of matches involving the Swedish teams. So look out for Luleå HF and Färjestad BK who will play at home on Thursday and my top match of the opening round on Friday as Skellefteå AIK take on Swiss, SC Bern On the same day Djurgården IF will start their campaign away in Poland.

Saturday and Sunday will also see all the teams play a second round match so the hockey season is truly starting this weekend! Let the games begin!

Behöver vi karismatiska förnyelse idag?

Vi redan har den Helige Ande

Det skulle vara solklart att kyrkan inte kan vara det som Gud vill utan den Helige Anden. Det är genom Honom att vi är frälste och pånyttfödda och få en relation med den Levande Guden som sträcker sig efter döden in till evigheten. Det som Jesus möjliggör genom korset och uppståndelsen gör Den Helige Ande levande till var och en som tror på Jesus.

Så utan Den Helige Anden kan vi inte vara kyrkan på riktigt.

Men behöver vi verkligen karismatiska förnyelsen med sin betoning för tungomål, helande, profetiska budskap med mer?

Det historiska perspektivet

Om vi läsa in i protestantisk kyrkohistorien kan vi se ett väldigt negativt drag kring mirakler. T. ex. Luther var väldig nervös och trodde att mirakler skulle antingen ersätta Guds Ord och till och med bekräftar de katolska helgon som Luther och andra reformerar betraktade som falska villoläran. Luther också krigade mot radikal reformerar, ibland kallade för anabaptister, som använde profetior att ge gudomliga vik till saker som såg tveksamma ut, som polygami (t ex. Jan van Leiden i Munster, 1534).

Framåt flera hundra år och i 1906 så bröt in Azusa Street Revival med en fokus på den Helge Ande som nästan aldrig har funnits förut. Drygt ett hundra år senare kan det räknas som en kvart av alla kristna i hela världen är pentekostala eller karismatiska. Det är så stor att det rymmer 8,5% av världens befolkning och har haft en oerhört mycket större tillväxt än den alldeles första pingstdagen i Jerusalem.

The chapel on Azusa Street

I Sverige har både Pingst och Evangeliska Frikyrkan (EFK) karismatiska utryck in sin grundläggande teologi och förståelse. I dagsläget finns det kyrkor i alla samfund, till exempel Svenskakyrkan, Alliansen Mission och Equmeniakyrkan som betraktas som karismatiska församlingar, men vi måste inte glömma Livets Ord, som är en av de största frikyrkoförsamlingar i landet.

Å på andra sidan kunde man säga att de flesta protestanter genom historien och ¾ av världens kristna idag är inte pentekostala eller karismatiska och inte hellre majoritet av kyrkorna i Sverige.

Så frågan kan ställas, än en gång, behöver vi verkligen denna förnyelse i våra församlingar idag? Kan vi inte har våra gudstjänsten utan konstiga tungomål, obekräftade helande och önskemål som klär sig som profetiska tilltal med orden – Ty säger Herren…

Jag vill inte hellre har de här sakerna om detta är karismatiska förnyelsen.

Men här gör jag ett klassiskt misstag – att tacka nej till en sak på grund av sina värsta exemplar, som Anabaptister som blev svartmålade på grund av Munster. Det är lika med att inte köra bil för att det kan hända olycka eller inte spelar hockey bara på grund av skaderisken. Ja risken finns, men det också finns mycket goda saker att upptäcka och tar del av som annars skulle man har saknat.

Tre orsaker att har förnyelsen idag: –

 i) Jesus herravälde – Guds rike är inne

Jesus gjorde under och tecken att bevisa att Guds rike var inne och befallde lärjungarna att göra det samma (Mt 10:1–8; Mt 28:19–20). När äkta mirakler händer i Jesus namn idag, i Sverige, är det inte först och främst en rolig upplevelse och inte hellre bara att göra en person frisk. Det är en proklamation av Jesu herravälde och att bara han har besegrade över synd och fienden genom korset (Kol 2:13-15). I nutids Europa är det ännu mer angelägen att kyrkan proklamerar Jesu herravälde på detta vis när andra källor, t.ex. new age, har en betydligt större påverkan i världsdelen.

ii) Helge Andens demokrati – allmäns prästadömen

På den alldeles första pingstdagen påpekade Petrus en viktig sak angående den Helige Andes utgjutelse – det var för alla (Apg 2:17-18), en ny epok i Guds relation med människan började. Tillgång till Gud blev till för alla inte bara en judisk manlig präst en gång om året men alla, oavsett estniskhet, kön och sysselsättning på en 24/7 basis.

Karismatisk förnyelse idag kan vara ett sett att säkerställa att hela församling kan vara involverade i gudstjänstlivet. Istället att det blir ett eller två proffs som stor på scenen och resten av församlingen konsumerar, kan det i bäste fall gör att flera kan vara med i delar kunskapens ord, profeterar och be för helande. Det är ingen slump att just i sammanhanget när Paulus skrev om andens gåvor att han också använde bild av kyrkan som en Kristi kropp med sina olika kroppsdelar och funktioner men ett huvud, Kristus själv (1 Kor 12).

iii) Fokus på det som bara Gud kan göra

Eftersom kyrkan är en samling av människor kan det mycket väl ser ut som andra ideella föreningar i samhället. Det är ingen fel i sig, men samtidigt är kyrkan en gudomlig organism som borde återspegla sitt ursprung i den treeniga Guden (Kol 3:3). Andens gåvor, under och tecken kan vara ett sett att bevisa den gudomliga dimensionen – att det finns mer än man kan se, att det finns någon som har makt över sjukdomar, döden mm.

 Förnyelse är ingen Quick fix

Karismatiska förnyelse är inte en fix all som gör att kyrkolivet blev frid och fröjd på en gång och inte hellre kan det lova att ge tillväxt och framgång. Det har sina fara och svagheter lika väl som alla andra kristna uttrycksformer. Kanske en av de viktigaste frågor är vad betyder det när helande inte ske? Eller, mer troligen, vad betyder det när min helande, eller de sjuka som jag bad för i Jesu namn blev inte friska? Vi kan inte miste att denna fråga har en väldig personlig dimension och att våra dåliga upplevelser av förnyelsemöte kan påverkar hur vi tänker kring dessa. Men som redan sagt, dåligt erfarenheter bör inte vara grund orsaker i våra teologiska funderingar.

Konklusion

Jag själv tror att det är värt att satsa på karismatiska förnyelse. För mig är det självklart att kristendom, enligt Nya Testamentet, var en plats när under och profetiska tilltal skedde ganska regelbundet och lika väl var nattvard och Ordet en del av gudstjänstlivet. Det karismatiska är en återupplevelse av protestanterna latinska ropar – sola scriptura! – semper reformanda! – Bara Biblen! Alltid Ändringar!

 

References

 

http://www.lutheranlayman.com/2014/10/luther-miracles-are-to-corroborate-word.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Münster_rebellion

http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/

 

 

Ekstraliga Speedway Friday 8 June – #LESGRU

Fogo Unia Leszno v Mr Garden GKM Grudziadz

Grudziadz put up a good fight as they tried to go one better than there impressive home draw against the league leaders last week. Their best riders were Kenneth Bjerre and Artem Laguta with 10 and 9 points each. But it was not enough to defeat Unia Leszno who cruised to a 57-33 victory on Friday night.

The away team managed a 3-3 in Heat 1 with Bjerre and Swede, Antonio Lindbäck taking second and third but it was uphill all the way and they never got ahead of their rivals. Eventually the inevitable happened and Emil Sayfutdinov (below), who had won Heat 1, made certain of the match win when he won again in Heat 14. He would finish the night with 11 points, just 3 behind the team’s top scorer on the night, captain, Piotr Pawlicki who had four wins from five starts.

Leszno continue there near perfect season where they still remain undefeated, they lost only one heat all night and are making all the right noises for a team trying to claim their fourth Ekstraliga championship in five years.

Polish Speedway – Friday 7 June – round 8

Fogo Unia Leszno (LES) v Mr Garden GKM Grudziądz (GRU)

A draw at GrudziądzGKM on 2 June (Sunday) saw no less that three Leszno riders take double points. That was Przemysław PAWLICKI getting 12+1, teammate Artem LAGUTA gaining 11+1 (including three wins) and Dane Kenneth BJERRE gaining 9+1.

For the home side Piotr PAWLICKI (below) had an incredible night dropping only three points in six races to come out with 15 pts. That includes four wins in his last four outings during the match.

Grudziądz had lead from Heat 3 all the way to heat 13 against the top team in the league. With heat 14 drawn with 3-3 it was left to Piotr PAWLICKI took an all important victory in the final heat for the home side. However the home crowd were denied the unlikely win with heroics from Leszno’s Pawlicki and Laguta. They took third and second place respectively denying GKM’s Emil SAYTUNDINOV a match winning point from the minor placing.

That lead to a tied 45-45 match, the only match Leszno have not won.

Today sees a return match and Foga Unio will be wanting to return to winning ways in front of their home crowd.

Speed Car Motor Lublin (LUB) v Bertrad Sparta Wroclaw (WRO)

In the other double header, Sparta Wroclaw led from Heat 4 and never gave up until they clinched the match. Lublin, to their credit, never gave up and it took t Heat 14 for the match to go beyond them. But their failure at home against the team placed x in the league means they are stuck means in relegation zone spot in seventh.

Poles Maciej Janowski and Maksym Drabik (below) lead the points scoring for the home side with 11 and 10+1. But Brit world champion Tai Woffinden struggled by his high standards gaining only 8 points in total, ”only” winning two heats and twice coming last in five races in total.

For the away side they owe the victory to an outstanding performance from Grigorij Laguta. The Russian took 17 points from his seven rides including four victories in a row at the meet. That included the match winner in Heat 14. Meanwhile Dane, Mikkel Michelsen was also in double figures scoring 11 plus 4 bonus points Sparta’s victory.

The two teams will meet again tonight, Friday at Wroclaw where Lublin will be hard pressed to find find their desperately needed third win of the season, especially if Woffinden is not on top form.

You can see highlights at:

https://youtu.be/4TGzdeAIDmE

Looking forward to the Champions Hockey League 2019/20

On 22 May, in the middle of the recent world championships in Slovakia, the draw for the Europe-wide club competition that starts on 29 August took place in Bratislava.

Last year was the first time in Champions Hockey League history a German team went to the final with Red Bull Munich playing away to eventual winners, Frölunda Indians from Sweden last February.

A year ago I tipped the Indians to win and Munich were my outsiders choice for the title. But this year I’m going back to the old favourites and expecting to see a repeat of the 2015/6 all-Nordic final with Frölunda against Finnish, Kärpät Oulu.

Below we take a look at my favourites for the competition as well as a brief look at the group draw.

Frölunda Indians (SWE)

Roger Rönnberg (seated, above) and his team from Gothenburg are my favourites to lift the trophy, this time for their fourth championship and achieving what no other team has managed to do in CHL history – win back to back championships.

One reason for this is that the management remains the same and the Swedish champions take the competition seriously- not as a warm up for their national season – but as something worth winning in it’s own right.

That said, the club has already lost some of it’s stars from the 2018/9 double winning season. Canadian backs, Jonathan Sigalet and Chay Genoway are both moving on. The first to Swedish rivals, Brynäs IF and the second moves back to the KHL where he has played most of his career since leaving North America in 2014. On attack, they also lose the Westerholm twins to Finland’s Lukko Rauma. All four are forfeiting their chance to play in the CHL by moving.

But it is not time to write off the Gothenburg club – they will still retain the top scoring CHL and SHL forward, American, Ryan Lasch (above) and Henrik’s twin brother Joel Lundqvist will stay remain as captain at the club. Both have one year on their contract and whilst the 32 year old import player has not been afraid to move around, 37 year old Lundqvist maybe playing his last season at the club he has been at for 10 years.

Frölunda is a club that produces great young players such Rasmus Dahlin who has just had his first season at Buffalo Sabres. Their current pairing of back Jacob Moverare (Los Angeles Kings) and forward Samuel Fagemo (to be drafted this summer) will probably stay another season at the club despite NHL interest and will undoubtedly play a crucial role in a successful season.

But the Indians are also able to attract great players. They have already got replacements at the back with 23 year Swede, Julius Bergman, coming in fresh from four years in the AHL to replace Genoway as a point scoring back. Genoway’s Olympic Bronze medal winning teammate, Karl Stollery will be coming from the KHL to replace Sigalet. And an interesting signing in regard to the CHL is that 29 year old Swede Niklas Lasu (below). The 2008 Atlanta Thrashers drafted centre returns to his home club after two years in Finland with no less than Kärpät Oulu.

The transfer window is still open but I have no doubt the Frölunda are going to be a force to reckon with in both CHL and SHL with their fantastic mix of up and coming Swedes, skillful returnees and super talented import players.

Kärpät Oulu (FIN)

Finnish international hockey is in it’s absolute prime, with its juniors winning the U20 championship and their seniors taking the gold against Canada. Even the women’s team can boast being the best European team by far as both Olympic and World Cup bronze medalists.

It remains to be seen whether this can be converted into club success and perhaps the Finnish team most likely to succeed in 2019/20 is Kärpät Oulu. They may have finished second in the Liiga and in the second pool in the draw for the CHL. But they are the only Finnish team in the competition that have been to the final before.

However, even more importantly, they have at least four players who have contributed in the national team’s success at Junior and Senior level. And if Munich’s experience is anything to go by, that self-belief developed in the international arena can be the make or break difference in key matches.

20 year old Aleksi Heponiemi (above) came eleventh in the Total Point in Liiga just 11 points behind the winner, Malte Strömwall. He is due to to start with the Florida Panthers in the autumn. But you can bet Kärpät will take him back in a flash if they can. One year younger, the second JWC gold medalist in the team, Rasmus Kupari (below) is technically on loan to the Finns from Los Angeles Kings but a decision about next year has not been made. If these two remain in the team they will be a force to reckon with in front of net.

A senior player who has been at Kärpät for the last four years and returns from Slovakia with a gold medal round his neck is 27 year old is Jani Hakanpää. Drafted in 2010 by the Stanley Cup finalists, St Louis Blues the big 195 cm/ 6’5″ defenseman played two full years in the AHL but on returning to Finland has also turned himself into a points scorer. His contract is also up but renewal could see more Champions Hockey League action for the Finn.

We can be more certain about 31 year old defenseman and captain for the 2018/9 season, Atte Ohtamaa (below). Back at his junior club last year after four years in the KHL he clocked in a career high 23 points in the season and captained his country during the Euro Hockey Tour. The Champions Hockey is one of the few things he has not won – can he lead the team to European club success?

The club have also signed two experienced players for the 2019/20 in the shape of Janne Pesonen and Ludwig Byström. At 37 Finn, Pesonen has signed a one year contract at the club he played for in 2004, the year his was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks. Most recently he has been in Sweden with Växjö Lakers where he won the championship with Elias Pettersson but the team lost the CHL final at home to Finnish underdogs JYP Jyväskylä.

Byström has played in the CHL in 2014/5 when he was at Färjestad BK with Milan Gulas, who now captain’s Czech CHL semi finalists, HC Pilsen.

The 24 year old has chosen to return to Finland instead of his native Sweden after four full years in the AHL mainly with the development team of the Dallas Stars who drafted him Swede in 2010. In his final two years in the AHL he started to develop the points scoring side of his game and it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the European game again.

The Eight Groups

Each of the eight groups will contain four teams and below you can see who I believe who will make it through to the knockout stages:

Group A:

This group should see Finland’s Tappara Tampere qualify. They are the only team in this group who have played in the competition but Swiss Biel Bienne are my favourites to go to the playoffs over Austrian and Norwegian competition.

Group B:

Even with Finnish champions HPK Hämeenlinna, in the group I am going to  go for Swiss EV Zug and Czech HC Pilsen as the two teams who are most likely to qualify from this group. Pilsen were excellent last year and that the Swiss have been in the tournament before may be an advantage against Finnish and Danish first-timers.

HC Pilsen captain, Milan Gulas at Färjestad

Group C:

Swedish champions from the regular season Luleå Hockey should qualify from one of the most open groups. But they will face a tough fight from Czech team Bílí Tygři Liberec and Germany’s Augsburger Panthers. Can Great Britain’s surprise survival in the World Championship be an inspiration for Belfast Giants to sneak into the playoffs?Back Paul Swindlehurst and veteran forward, Colin Shields, drafted in 2000 by Philadelphia Flyers certainly will hope so.

Group D: 

Another group which will be an open fight will see Czech Oceláři Třinec, Swiss Lausanne HC and Finnish newcomers Lahti Pelicans fight for the top two places. Lausanne’s Swedish assistant captain, Jonas Junland (below) has played in the first two seasons of the CHL with Linköping HC will be hoping to go further than the group stages in his fourth year in Switzerland.

Group E:

Kärpät’s biggest challenge to winning the competition may be getting out of the group stages where they will have to face NLA champions, SC Bern and Swedish powerhouse,  Skellefteå AIK. Despite enormous talent the Swedes have rarely performed well in the CHL and tend to be a team that flourish is the own playoffs in early spring. That should play to the Finnish and Swiss teams’ advantage.

Group F:

This is another group that is very difficult to predict where Germany’s Adler Mannheim return to the competition. They will face Austria’s Vienna Capitals and Sweden’s silver medal winners Djurgården IF. The Stockholm team of 2017/8 and 2018/9 was good enough to win the CHL, but have never rose to the challenge and have lost some of their best players already in the post-season.

Seconds before Larkin’s hit on Paille (black)

One player who will not be playing in the in the CHL this season unless Adler Mannheim go through to the knockout round is Thomas Larkin. That’s because in dying minutes of his last match in the competition on 7 November 2017 he tackled Brynäs IF‘s Stanley Cup winning forward, Daniel Paille, in an off-the-puck incident. The blindside hit ended Paille’s career and on 10 June 2019 the court will decide what, if any, punishment the London born, Italian national will receive in a civil action taken out by the Canadian. He, along with many others felt that the CHL gave out a punishment which was too lenient.  On the ice Larkin received two match penalties and then the CHL discipline committee gave him a three match ban for the hit and one for the ensuing fight.

Group G:

This group ought see Swedish Färjestad BK and last year’s finalists Red Bull Munich go through against Swiss and Slovakian opposition.

Group H:

Frölunda Indians as the champions have again be drawn against British opposition, both of whom were in the lowest seeded teams in the competition. This time it will be Cardiff Devils who will face the Swedish champions. But they will not be intimidated in this their third CHL in a row. They will also feel they have a chance against their Austrian and Czech opponents in this group. Can they produce the upset of the tournament and qualify behind the Swedish and CHL champions? The safer choice would be Mountfield HK from the Czech Republic. But British internationals Ben Bowns and Evan Mosey will want to provide a shock again. Netminder Bowns has shown that he has the credentials – he saved 230 shots during the World Championships, the most of all players in the tournament.

More details:

https://www.championshockeyleague.com/en/news/draw-complete-here-are-the-groups

Video:

https://www.championshockeyleague.com/en/videos/champions-hockey-league-draw-2019-20-chl-group-stage

 

#ForTheGame – 5 possible funding streams for Women’s Hockey

The collapse of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) and #ForTheGame movement highlights a serious crisis in women’s hockey – no one wants to fund it.

The CWHL ended up with having a church-steeple-like fundraiser where team shirts were sold on the internet for anything between $375-750 USD. Even trophies were sold off at auction with the aim of raising a measly $26,000 USD.

Meanwhile in the men’s game SHL winning team Frölunda Indians paid defenseman Viktor Ekbom (below) c. $67,000 USD this season. Average NHL salaries in 2011 were an incredible $2.4 million USD.

Funding – who is going to pay for this?

The Fans?

Obviously fans coming to matches and buying tickets can fund a sport. But the challenges can be seen if we take this theoretical example – If 1000 people see a game and pay $10 USD each, each of the 50 players/ staff involved only receive $200 USD each. That doesn’t include any up keep for the arena, equipment or travel costs.

And now let’s look at average attendance figures per match:

CWHL in 2012/3 – 255

SDHL in 2018/9 – 130

Empty seats at SDHL match in Leksand

We need to be realistic – at the moment there are simply not enough fans to be fund women’s hockey – a problem the NHL or English Premiership in football/ soccer do not have.

The Private Sector?

Company’s such as Betsson and Nordic Bet have been the main sponsors for the men’s SHL and every team’s jersey is littered with logos of companies who are willing to give money to hockey in return to have their name on players tops. Every televised match, photo and social media post is further adverting for their brand.

Nordic Bet sponsoring the SHL

But do not forget these are commercial businesses – no return for their money, no sponsorship – they need TV, photos and fans on the bleachers to see matches to get their name spread. And they want success. When drug scandals breakout, as in professional cycling, and league’s collapse the companies investment can be seen as risky and the desire to withdraw or invest in more secure areas increases.

Women’s hockey needs to seek out sponsors who are willing to pioneer, break new ground and stand up for equality. Who are these sponsors? How are leagues going to sell their product? Like all start-ups this element must be addressed to secure long term success.

The Public Sector?

In Europe one of the primary drivers of equality in society is the state, through legistation, funding of events and so on. The SDHL needs to start to put enormous pressure on the sources of state funding to raise the game in terms of equality.

In Sweden for example, it is absolutely clear that there is not equality in terms of the TV coverage on the state sponsored, SVT channel. I have written to them to complain about this.

SVT televised the entire SDHL final series

There appears to be no rules demanding that newspapers write equally on men and women’s hockey, either. Wages are not equal either. It took a strike from the US team in 2017 to get equal pay when men and women pay for the national team – a tactic that partly lies behind the current boycott.

The media help to support and create the values of a society. So, TV is a key area that SDHL need to work on for the spread of the sport to every home in the country. I cannot think of any logical reason why there cannot be a SDHL match every Saturday, just as there is for the men’s game. Perhaps they need help from organisations that work with equality issues to learn how to take up these issues with organisations.

Personal Advocates?

Maria Rooth and Kim Martin-Hasson have done a great job promoting women’s hockey here in Sweden by going on TV programmes here such as Mästernas Mästare, talking about thier acheivements and the challenges.

But the current system is so male dominated that it is going to take some key men to jump up and down and shout about this inequality.

Daniel Sedin and daughter Ronja (on right)

And what better people than Henrik Lundqvist, Peter Forsberg or Daniel Sedin to help out. All three are multi-millionaires known to Swedish and North American audiences who are going to find out that their own children- Charlise Lundqvist, Lily Forsberg, Ronja Sedin and Anna Sedin – will probably be denied a professional hockey by just one thing – their gender. These people have the ability to change a culture not just with money but by being advocates for gender equality in the sport they love and have represented at the highest levels. Who is going to challenge them to take up the gauntlet?

Men’s Hockey?

At the moment the focus of the hockey world is on the men’s game. The Winter Olympics ends with the men’s final on the final Sunday, not the women’s.

But particularly in smaller countries, such as Sweden, there is not a huge new market of hockey going public to be exploited – people have to chose between going to a men’s match or a women’s match.

So the men’s teams, associations and leagues have an active role to play. They can choose to set almost any terms and conditions they like in their negotiations because they have the hockey product everyone wants. What if they use this position to benefit the women’s game too?

Hockey family: Jenni Asserholt and Lucas Frey.

The most powerful group within men’s hockey in Sweden is without doubt the SHL organisation. If they were to demand that 10% of all money in the game, such as sponsorship deals, must go towards women’s hockey a stable funding stream could be established whilst still maintaining their profit margins.

Let’s look at a simple example. 10% is not much – 25 SEK of a 250 SEK ticket – most fans would accept this. This would mean an SHL match with 5000 people present would create 125 000 SEK ($13,000 USD) for women’s hockey and each men’s team plays 52 matches a year. And the men’s team would still walk away with 937 500 SEK ($98,000 USD). Not bad, for two hours work.

The national board or international IIHF could also demand such a ruling, if they want to.

Conclusion

Obviously all the areas are key in different ways and the public need to want to see matches if all this is going to work. This season I’ve seen five of the ten SDHL teams live and at least two others on TV. I believe the quality of the games has improved enormously from the first matches I saw in 2014 and that the SDHL as an entertainment product is just as good as the SHL.

For me in Sweden starting with the state based organizations, such as TV companies is the place to begin, but also with men’s hockey, particularly the SHL will be the first step.

References

https://work.chron.com/sport-highest-average-salary-10203.html

https://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/sport/blogg/mrmadhawk/2019/01/07/23-shl-spelare-har-offentliga-loner/

https://www.theicegarden.com/2019/4/27/18519749/cwhl-auctioning-off-trophies-canadian-womens-hockey-league

https://pointstreak.com/prostats/attendance.html?leagueid=1113&seasonid=9580

Going Coast to Coast – Two Californians who enable Gothenburg Frölunda win the SHL

On 2 May Gothenburg team Frölunda Indians won the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) title after a 4-2 series win over Stockholm rivals Djurgården IF.

That the Indians winning team contained five North Americans (including three Canadians) is not so surprising. But that both Americans come from California’s sun-soaked, surfing mecca Orange County and both are confessing Christians certainly doesn’t fit the norm for the profile of a successful hockey player.

But success has followed these two players, wherever they have gone.

Ryan Lasch

Born in Lake Forest, CA. in 1987, Ryan Lasch, has now played five of the last seven seasons in Sweden.

Like many emerging pros, Lasch’s early career saw him bouncing between leagues in Europe and North America as he sought to establish himself and hone his skills. In 2012 it looked like that he might get the much sought after dream ticket of playing in the NHL after becoming the first native of Orange County to be signed by local club, the Anaheim Ducks.

But at only 5’7″ (170 cm) his size was probably never suited to the more physical North American game and the larger European rinks gave him a chance to use his speed and agility to duck and dive out of tackles and develop into a potent goalmouth threat.

He maybe one of the shortest players in the SHL he is not short of trophies and accolades.

This year he picked up top scorer in the pan-European club competition, the Champions Hockey League (CHL), top scorer in the SHL Regular Season and the Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy as the Playoff MVP.

But Lasch himself says it is not really points he is after, but titles. In which case this year should count as a great success- for the second time in four years Frölunda are double SHL and CHL champions- a feat no other European club has ever achieved.

Rhett Rakhshani

Rhett Rakhshani‘s route to Swedish success is the result of a steady move eastward from Huntington Beach, CA. where he was born one year after Lasch. He moved from the Pacific coast, to the University of Denver and then to his first professional contract in 2010 on the Atlantic coast in Bridgeport, CT.

But his rise up the career ladder suddenly came to an abrupt end. Rakhshani was a success in Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but he was unable to register a single point in his NHL games with the New York Islanders.

At only 24 years old age, Rakhshani found himself at a crossroads in his career – continue in the AHL and hope to be one of the few to gain a ”veteran” contract or move to Europe and hope to adjust and establish himself on a different continent.

He took the risk to go further east, not as far as his grandfather’s homeland in Iran, but to Sweden, where he has been ever since.

The gamble sees to have paid off as 31 year old Rakhshani, with the classic hockey player’s toothless grin, has now won his second SHL championship in four years.

References

https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=106&artikel=563077

https://www.expressen.se/gt/sport/hockey/shl/lasch-om-tuffa-tiden-sprang-in-i-vaggen/

https://www.expressen.se/gt/sport/hockey/shl/darfor-valde-stjarnan-frolunda-avgorande/