Luther's Ethic In Present Day Crisis

Abstract

"The title of this essay could cause the reader some misgivings; these misgivings could occur on a variety of levels. Let me articulate some of them. First, what does Luther have to do with today's world? Have we not often made Luther a Protestant Pope who could speak on any given topic with a unique kind of authority? Second, what does Luther's theology have to do with ours? He was, after all, a medieval man. He read the Scriptures differently than we do today. Third, Luther's ethical concerns were different from ours! Luther formulated his ethic from the spirit of the Gospel in contradistinction to the work-righteousness of the Middle Age. Ethics meant for him the counter-part or result of the Gospel and not accomplishments of designated "good works." Finally, we must notice, no matter where we stand theologically, or in what church tradition, that his situation was radically different from ours. He lived in a world which was permeated throughout by Christian and religious thought. The institutional church had a monopoly even on the realms of science and politics"