Martin Luther's Theology: Its Historical and Systematic Development

16. Luther's Dispute With Radical Tendencies to "Right" and "Left"

Chapter 16 LUTHER'S DISPUTE WITH RADICAL TENDENCIES TO "RIGHT" AND "LEFT" THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE TWO KINGDOMS AND THE TWO GOVERNMENTS THE SHIFT IN FRONTS Certain basic ideas appearing later in Ludier's distinction between the two king­ doms can be documented early on in his work. On the basis of Augustine's great work, De ciritate Dei, he customarily identified the church with die "City of God."1 In view of die various symptoms of decline in die late medieval church, he clearly placed more confidence in political dian in ecclesiastical government.2 When in his treatise To the Christian 'Nobility (1520) Ludier turned to die tem­ poral audiorities and, due to die obvious failure of die spiritual heads, summoned them to undertake comprehensive measures of reform in die temporal and ecclesi­ astical sphere, he reflected a view of die independence of die temporal audiority diat had its peculiar task from God and was not subject to churchly audiority. This view is not simply identical to late medieval dieory according to which emperor and 1 See WA 55 I, 378 (marginal gloss on Ps. 47, 2); 55 I, 596 (marginal gloss ort Ps. 86:3); 55 1,814, 816 (title and marginal gloss on Ps. 12l:4);lW:vol. 11 ,p. 543;4,402, 38 (scholiaon Ps. 121:4: "Ecclesia .. . edincatur ut civitas"). On the difficulty of translating the concept civitas Dei, seeWilhelm Kamlah , Christemum und Geschichtlichkelt: Untersuchungen zur Batstehung des Christentums und zu Augustins "Buigerschaft Gottes,"2d ed. (Stuttgart/Cologne: Kohlhammer, 1951), 155-90. 2 See above, p. 82-83. 151 152 LUTHER'S THEOLOGY IN ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT pope may represent each odier where needed,3 or to imperial positions adopted toward die papacy, say, in the fourteenth century. Nonedieless, Luther may have received some impulses from this quarter. Regarding the further development of his view, we can scarcely overlook diat during his sojourn at Wittenberg Ludier continually received sympathetic aid from his elector and above all the promise of temporal protection. His situation in the fall of 1518 was especially critical, once the hearing before Cajetan had mis­ carried and the papal warrant for his arrest was again in force. The fact that Fred­ erick wavered briefly over whether he could protect Luther, and soon thereafter resolved to promise protection, secured to Luther and the Reformation move­ ment increased possibility for action.4 Neither then nor later did Frederick simply follow Ludier's ideas. Nor was diere lack of tension between die elector and his professor. Still, Frederick always dealt sympathetically and discriminatingly with his stormy man of God. He never responded to Ludier widi an uncompromising no. For diis reason, it is scarcely surprising that Ludier's early confidence in die temporal power developed more and more into a view of its independence. By contrast, toward the end of 1521 and die beginning of 1522, Karlstadt ignored needed consideration for die elector, which, in view of die promise to protect Ludier, the elector could very well have expected. In his July 13, 1521, letter to Melanchdion,5 Luther first unfolded his principal ideas on the nature and task of die temporal power. If Luther's concern was to establish the independence of the temporal power in opposition to Rome, now he had to accent the need for temporal order in opposition to the more radical reformers. This shift in fronts occurred during the development of the Wittenberg Reformation under Karlstadt in 1521/1522, but soon took on greater significance when revolutionary forces attempted to reshape conditions by violence and erect a supposed reign of God. For this reason, Luther's view of the spiritual and temporal power, till now stated only in first attempts, soon had to be more precisely reflected upon and given further shape. Here too biblical statements had to have decisive sig­ nificance for him. 3 See, e.g., Wilhelm Kolmel, Wilhelm Ockham und seine klrchenpolltischen Schiiften (Essen: Ludgerus-Verlag, 1962). 4 See Ingetraut Ludolphy, Prledrich derWeise-Kurfurst von Sachsen 1463-1S2S (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1984), 397-444. 5 See above, p. 149. LUTHER'S DISPUTE WITH RADICAL TENDENCIES 153 LUTHER'S TREATISE ON TEMPORAL AUTHORITY, TO WHAT EXTENT IT SHOULD BE OBEYED (1523) Evidently as early as the summer of 1S22, Luther conceived die idea of a treatise on audiority.6 In his sermons on 1 Peter, published in the late summer of IS22, he interpreted the section...