A sketch of Luther’s political theology on the question of church and state with reflections concerning the current responsibility of the Church in society

Abstract

The state Luther knew and contemplated is different from the modern state, but his political theology is still meaningful in the sense that it deals with the essential function and limit of public power. The kingdom of the world, or the worldly kingdom of Luther’s two kingdoms doctrine, refers to the state as a political community. The church needs to be in the position of counterforce to the state for the sake of the conservation of humankind and the formation of true individuals. Luther’s theology of paradox requires churches today to recover the position of the prophet.