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13 Christian Existence: Secular and Spiritual If we consider all its different aspects Luther’s theology appears not to be simple; rather, it is intellectually demanding. How can it be translated into Christian everyday life? According to the Reformer’s conviction what is important is “in the first place, that doctrine be completely correct and perfect, and then, that life move and be regulated according to it.” But the cross instead of self-determination, the breakthrough from the hidden to the revealed God, the tension between Law and Gospel, being both sinner and justified, simultaneously bound and free—what does all that mean for concrete living? We are tempted to suspect that this could only be about purely internal, invisible processes, even if they need not be understood in the sense of “innerliness” (Max Scheler) or even “quietism” (Herbert Marcuse). How does Christian life look from this perspective? Can we “see” it at all, or is it instead “hidden with Christ in God” (Col :)? Can its contours be described and made clear in comparison to the Christian lifestyle of other confessions, or to the life demanded by a purely humanistic ethos? Contemporary Questions Can we learn anything from Luther today about shaping and living a Christian life? He is supposed to have said: “Whoever loves not wine, women, and song remains a fool his whole life long.” It is clear from the outset that these words do not correspond seamlessly to his theology. But is there a kernel of truth in them? A joyous affirmation of the world and the pleasures it offers—that concept is more often practiced today by non-Christians. Religious people seek a different spirituality. There are calls for civility. The strictest orders attract the most entrants; the implacability of Islam is attractive. Even evangelical Protestants profit from this mood. On the other hand, mysticism of all stripes, from esotericism to classical Buddhism, has an increasing number of adherents. Even within Christianity charismatic movements are advancing. 349 350 The Theology of Martin Luther Illuminating examples of self-surrender such as Francis of Assisi or caritative engagement on the model of Mother Teresa are as impressive as ever. Can devotion shaped by the Reformation relate to these types of spirituality? Or does it fade into a kind of vague churchiness with nothing to offer besides church attendance and bourgeois virtues? Added to all this today are spiritual goals and tendencies that have never before existed, at least not to this degree. “Seekers” do not want to buy any packaged religious systems. They choose from among the various religions what seems useful to them: patchwork spirituality. Luther’s threefold “alone” is in radical contradiction to such a practice. Spirituality is supposed to refine, deepen, and enrich life; the psychic budget demands inner growth, harmony, and well-being: wellness spirituality. Is this desire damnable in the Reformer’s eyes, or is there some justification for it, even for Christians? Protestantism still adorns itself with the word “freedom.” Lutheran (“Evangelical ”) Church = “Church of Freedom.” But is it still an actively “liberating” church with a “liberating” theology? Freedom has long since become a common expectation—sometimes in a way the Reformer would abhor and that he began to flay even in his own time. Could it have anything to do with Luther’s theology that today it is above all those parts of Europe where the Reformation succeeded that are among the most secularized regions of the world? From today’s perspective the question arises whether Luther’s ethics were not extraordinarily backward-looking. Are they nothing but a counter-model to late medieval piety and thus imitative of it, and consequently passé? Can we find any kind of impulses here that could lead us onward? Luther argues fairly often in terms of natural law, as is still the case in Roman Catholic moral theology. Is Luther aware of any proprium of Christian, or even Lutheran/Evangelical ethics? The Necessity for Ethical Orientation Luther’s advice for daily life is simple. He distinguished only phenomenologically between secular and spiritual activities, in the sense of his twogovernments doctrine, but not in principle. This “shattered the idea of the scholastic social order, with its division of labor, according to which some pray for salvation while others work for those who pray.” For Luther all behavior and action is qualified by faith, be it “so small a thing as picking up a straw.” Work is proper to humanity. The...

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