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Nils Arne Bendtz Papers

 Collection
Call Number: RG 202

Scope and Contents

This collection documents the life and work of Lutheran theologian and ecumenist N. Arne Bendtz.

Series I, Correspondence is divided into five subseries: Professional / work-related correspondence of Bendtz, Personal correspondence of Bendtz, Family correspondence, Correspondence of others, and Swedish language correspondence. Of most interest in this series are the letters related to Bendtz's work with the National Lutheran Council and when he was stationed in Indonesia.

Series II, Writings, consists primarily of unpublished typescript writings by Bendtz on subjects related to theology and missions, but also includes some writings of others, including "A History of Augustana Foreign Mission" by Dr. Eric Wahlstrom.

Series III, Documentation of Activities, includes printed material, minutes, reports, etc. regarding organizations with which Bendtz was involved.. These materials should be considered in connection with correspondence from the same era.

Series IV, Collected Material, includes materials not specifically associated with Bendtz's work, but which he had collected over the years.

Series V, Personal Items and Memorabilia, includes biographical information and clippings re. Bendtz as well as photographs.

Dates

  • 1927-2003 1953-1990
  • Majority of material found within 1953 - 1990

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright has not been transferred to Yale University.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of N. Arne Bendtz, 2004

Arrangement

  1. I. Correspondence, 1930-1990, n.d.
  2. II. Writings, 1947-1990, n.d
  3. III. Documentation of Activities, 1942-1984, n.d.
  4. IV. Collected Material, 1927-1990
  5. V. Personal Items and Memorabilia, 1931-1991

Extent

9 Linear Feet (19 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.202

Abstract

This collection documents the life and work of Lutheran theologian and ecumenist Nils Arne Bendtz. Bendtz received his B.D. and Ph.D. from Yale. He served as a missionary in China under the Board of Swedish Missions, with prisoners of war during World War II under the YMCA World's Committee, in Sumatra under the Commission of Younger Churches and Orphaned Missions of the National Lutheran Council, as a professor at Augustana Theological Seminary, as a pastor at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, NY, and for the Lutheran World Federation.

Biographical / Historical

1914 October 2
Nils Arne Bendtz born in Stockholm, Sweden, son of Nils T. and Emma Bendtz
1933-1935
Attended Inner Mission Bible College and Lutheran Independent Theological Seminary, Oslo, Norway
1935-1936
Attended China Inland Mission College, London
1936-1941
Served as missionary in China under the Swedish Board of Missions
1942-1946
Director of War Prisoners Aid of the World's Committee YMCA in China
1944-1946
General Secretary of Christian Welfare Association among Korean refugees in China
1946
Married Elsa L. Linne
1949
B.D. cum laude from Yale Divinity School
1949-1950
McFadden Fellow at Union Theological Seminary , New York
1952-1957
Served the Batak Church, Sumatra, including as Liaison Office between Lutheran World Federation and Indonesia and Professor of Theology in seminary. Helped to found Nommensen University, the first Lutheran university in Far East.
1953
Ph.D., Yale University - Thesis: "The Meaning of Luther's Doctrine of Forgiveness"
1957
Returned to the U.S. from Indonesia due to health reason, served as guest lecturer at Augustana Theological Seminary, IL
1958
Field representative for Lutheran World Action of National Lutheran Council; visiting across the U.S. and in Colombia and Ecuador
1958-1959
Professor of Systematic Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, CA
1961
Married Britt M. Friman; one son - Nils Arne Bendtz, Jr.
1964-1971
Pastor of Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, NY
1965-1971
Superintendent, Leif Ericson Day School, Brooklyn, NY
1966-1971
Adjunct Full Professor, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY
1990s
Director, International Management-Education Foundation, Honolulu, Hawaii
2006
Died
Title
Guide to the Nils Arne Bendtz Papers
Author
Fantasia Thorne and Martha Lund Smalley
Date
2007
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

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