Ongoing research (in progress)

Jonas Holmstrand

NT 2026. The project, funded by the Swedish Bible Society, aims to produce a new translation of the New Testament. New aspects of the early Christian concept of faith. This project studies the concept of faith in early Christian times in an attempt to explain certain new linguistic constructions and expressions in early Christian literature. Grammar in New Testament Greek. The project involves the completion of a new, more comprehensive grammar of New Testament Greek based on partly new starting points.

James Kelhoffer

The Second Epistle of Clement: a distinct voice in 2nd-century Christianity. The Second Epistle of Clement is one of the very first early Christian texts to quote the words of Jesus from both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. A monograph on the Second Epistle of Clement and a commentary on the text for the Hermeneia series have been contracted for publication with Mohr Siebeck and Fortress Press, respectively. Central themes addressed include the text’s interpretation of the Bible, its image of God, soteriology, and its relationship to early Gnosticism.

Mikael Larsson

Reception criticism of popular culture. The project relates the use of the Bible in Lars von Trier’s films to the idea of the contemporary world as post-secular. How are motifs such as creation and passion transformed in genres such as horror and pornography? What are the implications with regard to gender and sexuality? Family metaphors in Isaiah. The project primarily concerns the motif of Israel as God’s children in Isaiah’s preaching. It touches on contemporary receptions of this imagery and aims to develop theory in the field of childhood studies.

Cecilia Wassén

At the end of the world. A transdisciplinary exploration of apocalyptic ideas in the past and present

The research program is funded by the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and involves 22 researchers from the humanities and social sciences. In her subproject, Cecilia Wassén examines how Jesus’ teaching on Jewish law relates to his apocalyptic message. She analyzes Jesus’ message in comparison with early Judaism in general and examines points of contact between halakhah and apocalyptic thinking—and the lack thereof—in extensive Jewish textual material such as the Dead Sea Scrolls.