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3. N o r w a y :
TRIBUTE TO OVERLOOKED REFORMER: "GOSPEL CHANGED COUNTRY"A BELATED TRIBUTE has been paid to the Christian reformer said to be behindthe country's rise from poverty and crime - two centuries on.
The renewal sparked by Hans Nielsen Hauge's preaching and example was the main catalyst for the economic and social advances that made Norway what it is today, says biographer Alv Magnus - who believes that the country is ripe for a similar season.
Published earlier this year to mark the 200th anniversary of the beginning of Hauge's ministry, Trailblazer With Blisters traces the dramatic impact Hauge made on Norway in his short lifetime, despite being persecuted by the State church and imprisoned 11 times.
"His vision was to see the common Norwegian awakened from his state of spiritual sleep and complacent dullness in workmanship and business, so he could 'shine for the world' in his deeds, says Magnus, national director of Youth With A Mission.
Writing from several years' university research into the impact of revivals on society, and Hauge's life, he traces Norway's growth from when the young farmboy had an encounter with God while plowing the fields in April 1796.
Norway was poor, largely illiterate and violent when Hauge began traveling the country and preaching. Revival spread across the country, with Christians challenged to work to rebuild society. New agricultural tools were developed, and new businesses started as many farmers moved to the cities. Literacyrates rose, and a number if Christians entered Parliament.
Once released from prison because his scientific skills were needed by the government, Hauge's last jail term was for ten years and he died at the age of 53 from sicknesses which developed from his time behind bars.
"Norway has never honored Hauge," says Magnus, who believes that national recognition is long overdue. The trial which led to his last imprisonment - for breaking religious orthodoxy - was "probably the greatest judicial failure in Noway's history."
Already in its second printing, Trailblazer With Blisters has been called "the new classic" on Hauge by one newspaper, and Magnus - who also serves as YWAM's Nordic area director - hopes that it will help see history repeat itself.
"My study of the Hauge renewal has convinced me that the gospel is a power unto social change," he says. "I believe that renewal comes when faith does not stay a private matter."( - reported by ND correspondent Haakon Norheim)
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