Encountering The World’s Religions: Nathan S¨ oderblom and the Concept of Revelation • Derek R. Nelson 363 Encountering The World’s Religions: Nathan S¨ oderblom and the Concept of Revelation By Derek R. Nelson Abstract : Nathan S¨ oderblom’s research on the Christian concept of revelation vis-` a-vis the encounter of Christianity and the world’s religions is identified as a rich historical resource for the contemporary discussion on that topic. An appropriation of S¨ oderblom’s thought is proposed, particularly by recontex- tualizing the issue of non-Christian religions as an opportunity for the doctrine of revelation rather than a “problem” for soteriology. The article makes special mention of S¨ oderblom’s writings on revelation as “genius,” as experiencing holiness, and as intrinsic to the task of theology, and concludes with strategies for a practical appropriation of S¨ oderblom. Key Terms : Revelation, Creation, Nathan S¨ oderblom, inter-religious dialogue, genius, theological method. Setting the Context A major frustration for Lutheran theologians who work in the area of the world’s religions comes with the dominant approach to the issues that other thinkers have set, and which seems to be so squarely in place. The tripartite scheme of available options—exclusivism, inclusivism, or pluralism— does not seem to be a natural fit with a Lutheran theological mindset. The reader can look elsewhere in this volume to find a deeper articulation of why that is, but the datum nonetheless remains. The Lutheran voice is more or less silenced when those are the options set before us. I find this to be very unfortunate, indeed even nearly tragic. At the root of this unfortunate situation is the ques- tion of where, within systematic theology, the ques- tion of the world’s religions should be placed. Karl Barth, whose categories I will not be using in this article, but who remains influential on my thinking regardless, was perhaps the master of reinterpreting doctrinal answers by recontextualizing their ques- Dr. Derek T. Nelson is lecturer of religion at Thiel College in Greenville, PA. tions. The doctrine of the Trinity, for example, is not considered in the locus of the Church Dogmatics dealing with God, per se, but rather in the section on “method.” Election is not considered under the auspices of ecclesiology or soteriology, but rather as a reality within God, thus treated as a subset of that doctrine. The locus which has been the central feature of the question of the world’s religions has been de- termined by the moribund tripartite scheme to be soteriology. The putative question that we are to be asking is whether and how adherents of other of the world’s religions can be “saved.” Occasional reference is made to other aspects of the debate, but the interaction between the world’s religions and Christianity is largely viewed as a problem to be solved. This article proposes one possible way of reframing that question that sees our encounter with the world’s religions more as an opportunity for growth and an invitation to the kind of re- contextualization of the depositum fidei that makes Lutheran theology vibrant and animating for the wider theological milieu.