Olaf M. Norlie
Encyclopedia
Olaf Morgan Norlie also referred to as O. M. Norlie, was a Lutheran minister, educator and scholar. He was a prolific author who is most remembered as the translator of the Simplified New Testament.
immigrant parents in Sioux City, Iowa. His father had emigrated from Fåberg
, in Oppland county, Norway in 1866. He went on to graduate from St. Olaf College
in 1898, completed his Master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin in 1901, then earned his doctorate at the University of Minnesota
in 1908. His dissertation was titled The Principles of Expressive Reading, a Study of the Human Voice. He also attended the Norwegian Lutheran United Church Seminary
.
in Minnesota for 8 years. Then he went into teaching, first teaching Greek and psychology at Luther College
in Decorah, Iowa. He then went on to serve as Dean and professor of Religion at Hartwick College
and Seminary. He went on to serve as librarian at St. Olaf College
until his retirement. The library at St. Olaf has archival materials from his life and a large collection of his writings.
Norlie was a member of the American Philological Association
and a poet. Due to his interest in statistics, in 1932 he was elected as a member of the American Mathematical Society .
titled Simplified New Testament. He originally had John’s Gospel published in 1943 as The Gospel of St. John: translated into modern English (published in Texas). Though he completed the entire New Testamemt in 1951, he could not initially find a publisher to print it. Finally in 1961, Zondervan
published it. It was so positively received that there was a second printing in that same year. It was bound together with The Psalms For Today A New Translation in Current English, translated by R. K. Harrison.
The following is a sample from his Simplified New Testament, Romans 1:21-23:
In addition to the books he wrote by himself, he was also editor and/or translator for a number of other volumes. Norlie wrote dozens of articles, both religious and secular. For example, a list of his writings for 1935 alone includes over 30 articles and scholarly book reviews, many in Norwegian .
Background
Norlie was born to NorwegianNorwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
immigrant parents in Sioux City, Iowa. His father had emigrated from Fåberg
Fåberg
Fåberg is a village and former municipality in Oppland county, Norway.The parish of Faaberg was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . On January 1, 1964 Fåberg was incorporated into the neighboring municipality Lillehammer. Prior to the merger Fåberg had 13,381 inhabitants.The district...
, in Oppland county, Norway in 1866. He went on to graduate from St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
in 1898, completed his Master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin in 1901, then earned his doctorate at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in 1908. His dissertation was titled The Principles of Expressive Reading, a Study of the Human Voice. He also attended the Norwegian Lutheran United Church Seminary
Luther Seminary
Luther Seminary is the largest seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . Located in the Saint Anthony Park neighborhood of St...
.
Ministry
He served for eight years as a pastor in the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of AmericaUnited Norwegian Lutheran Church of America
The United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America was the result of the union formed in 1890 between the Norwegian Augustana Synod , the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America , and the Anti-Missourian Brotherhood .In 1897, a group of churches left the UNLC and...
in Minnesota for 8 years. Then he went into teaching, first teaching Greek and psychology at Luther College
Luther College (Iowa)
Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...
in Decorah, Iowa. He then went on to serve as Dean and professor of Religion at Hartwick College
Hartwick College
Hartwick College is a non-denominational, private, four-year liberal arts and sciences college located in Oneonta, New York, in the United States. The institution was founded as Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick, and is now known as Hartwick College...
and Seminary. He went on to serve as librarian at St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
until his retirement. The library at St. Olaf has archival materials from his life and a large collection of his writings.
Norlie was a member of the American Philological Association
American Philological Association
The American Philological Association , founded in 1869, is a non-profit North American scholarly organization devoted to all aspects of Greek and Roman civilization...
and a poet. Due to his interest in statistics, in 1932 he was elected as a member of the American Mathematical Society .
Works
Norlie’s best known work was his translation of the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
titled Simplified New Testament. He originally had John’s Gospel published in 1943 as The Gospel of St. John: translated into modern English (published in Texas). Though he completed the entire New Testamemt in 1951, he could not initially find a publisher to print it. Finally in 1961, Zondervan
Zondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association .- History :...
published it. It was so positively received that there was a second printing in that same year. It was bound together with The Psalms For Today A New Translation in Current English, translated by R. K. Harrison.
The following is a sample from his Simplified New Testament, Romans 1:21-23:
In addition to the books he wrote by himself, he was also editor and/or translator for a number of other volumes. Norlie wrote dozens of articles, both religious and secular. For example, a list of his writings for 1935 alone includes over 30 articles and scholarly book reviews, many in Norwegian .
Selected bibliography
- A Guide to Literary Study (1901)
- A guide to literary study : for the teacher, student, and general reader (1901)
- United Church Home Mission (1909)
- Ness Jubelskrift (1911)
- Den forenede norsk lutherske kirke i Amerika (1914)
- The Academy for Princes (1917)
- Principles of expressive reading, impression before expression (1918)
- Norsk Lutherske Menigheter i Amerika (1918)
- Christian Keyser Preus, 1852-1921 with Oscar Adolf Tingelstad (1922)
- An elementary Christian psychology (1924)
- History of the Norwegian People in America (1925)
- The outlined Bible, for the preacher, Bible student, Sunday school teacher, and lay reader (1928)
- Elling EielsenElling EielsenElling Eielsen was an American minister and Lutheran Church leader.-Background:Eielsen was born on the farm of Sunve in Voss, Norway and brought up in the religious tradition of Hans Nielsen Hauge...
, a Brief History, Written for the Elling Eielsen Centennial (1940) - Prominent Personalities: WCAL Radio Talks (1942)
- Norwegian-American Papers (1847-1946) (1946)
- Eielsen Was First; a Bibliography (1942)
- Lars Lillehei (1944)
- He Made Good; a Centennial Sketch of Ole Halvorson Norlie, 1845-1896, A Norwegian-American Pioneer (1945)
- Ho ga te me (She Gave to Me); a Centennial Sketch of Martha Karolina (Juel) Norlie, 1846-1918, a Norwegian-American Pioneer - a biography of his mother (1946)
- Norlie-Bonhus family tree (1949)
- Poems to people (1953)
- Names of Jesus in the Bible, stated and implied (1955)
- Psychology of sin (1956)
- Creeds or chaos (1956)
- It pays to go to school; seen in attendance statistics at Norwegian-American higher schools (1956)
- Six generations of Gunder A. Bonhus (1958)
Other sources
- Hamre, James S. 1985. Three Spokesmen for Norwegian Lutheran Academies: Schools for Church, Heritage, Society. (Norwegian-American Studies, Volume 30: 221-246).
- Hamre, James S. 1985. The views of Herman Amberg Preus (1825-1894), D. G. Ristad (1863-1938), and Olaf M. Norlie (1876-1962). (Norwegian-American Studies, Volume 31).