(Note: This blog entry is based on
the text for Two Authorities, originally shared on November 5, 2020. It was the
sixty-second video for our YouTube Channel, Streams of Living Water (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KnYS1bpHKaL2OseQWCnw), co-produced with my wife, Rev. Sally Welch.)
Do you ever wonder where God is in government, or if God is there at all?
It’s been a crazy week on the
political scene, particularly national politics, and it looks like it’s going
to get crazier as we move into the litigation phase.
It kind of reminds me of
another election when victory came down to Florida and the hanging chads on
their punch card voting system. A man was injured in a traffic accident and,
when the paramedics came they first sought to assess his mental awareness.
“What’s your name?” He knew it. “What day is it today?” He knew it. “Who is the
president?” Aaaa, Ummm.”
The race for the presidency is
still too close to call, and the lack of closure after a bitter political season
is prolonging our national anxiety about the future.
Oh, we’re also in a global
pandemic that may now be worsening. We are setting records for new cases. We’re
at a point in the pandemic where and some say that politics is to blame.
So, I thought I might share a
few thoughts on one of the most important Christian doctrines for our times.
The Two Kingdoms Doctrine is
mostly associated with Martin Luther, but the basis for this view is not Luther
but the Bible, so I agree that, when rightly understood (and I’ll get to that
in a minute), The Two Kingdom doctrine can form the basis for an ecumenical, or
Christian-church-as-a-whole, approach to politics.
I was doing some reading on
this a couple of weeks ago, and I came across an article by Anders Nygren, a
Swedish theologian and bishop in the early 20th century. It was published
in the Journal of Lutheran Ethics in 2002, but it seems like it was written
today. It’s connected to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America somehow,
but I thought it does a pretty good job of standing on its own.
I’ll put a link to it in the
comment section below. https://www.elca.org/JLE/Articles/931
The Two Kingdoms doctrine has
been controversial and sometimes charged with being responsible for such things
as leading to Christian indifference to the world’s problems, the rise of
Hitler, and secularization. I think that these criticisms have come mainly from
those who have understood a two sentence description of the Two Kingdom doctrine
and figured that was all there was to know about it.
I’m going to give you the 20-sentence
description (! 😊) and, while I will certainly not be
complete in my description of it, will get you a little closer to something
important.
Professor Nygren writes that,
“The whole point of his (Luther’s) doctrine of the two kingdoms was in fact to
prevent the powers of this world from encroaching on the realm of conscience.”
One of Martin Luther’s
contributions to world civilization was the idea that a rightly formed
conscience is more authoritative for personal conduct than either the pope or
the emperor. “My conscience is captive to the Word of God”, he said.
How can that freedom be
protected?
Luther’s doctrine of the Two
Kingdoms states that all people, children of Adam and Eve, fall into two groups,
those who belong to the kingdom of God and those who belong to the kingdom of
the world, and that God works for the benefit of both.
Paul contrasts the work of the
old, original, Adam and the Law with that of Christ, the new Adam, and Grace:
*Romans 5:18-21
All people who believe in
Christ and live under Him belong to the Kingdom of God.
But, God has established
another kingdom, one with authority in this world. This kingdom exists because
evil exists. This kingdom of this world, made up of such things as the
government, law enforcement, the armed forces, and so on, exists to maintain
peace and order.
*Romans 13:1-7
If that was all there was to
know, we could be more inclined to say that Paul and Luther could be charged
with promoting Christian indifference to the world’s needs, the rise of Hitler,
and the absolute separation of the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this
world, with no belief that anything from outside it could influence politics.
But there is way more to know about the Two Kingdoms doctrine.
Let’s begin at the beginning.
The world is not the way its
supposed to be. Sin entered the world, separation from God bringing evil, and therefore
the kingdom of this world exists to restrain and moderate its effects.
The most important thing to
know about these two kingdoms is that God rules in them both. Both are equally
sacred, because God rules in both kingdoms. We meet God in the spiritual
kingdom with the Gospel and in the kingdom of this world with the Law.
But, Professor Nygren says,
“(God’s) will is made manifest to us in both Law and Gospel. The two kingdoms
exist side by side, both instituted directly by God for two different reasons.”
The earthly world is ruled
with power and the sword. The spiritual world is ruled with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and forgiveness of sin. One cannot rule the other.
Maybe “kingdom” isn’t a useful
term. We had a revolution to get rid of rule by a King, after all. Nygren also
uses the word “authority”, which I think works as well. God works in the Two Authorities.
The spiritual authority of God is not to claim worldly power, which would
weaken the power of the Gospel. The authority of this world should not seek to
rule the world with the Gospel, which would lead to anarchy.
Nygren, in summarizing the
relationship of the Spiritual Authority of God and the Authority of God in This
World, says, “It is not the business of the spiritual ministry to bear the
sword, but it must demonstrate the Christian way of bearing it.
This in no way suggests that
Christians should not be involved, not criticize, not support any aspect of the
kingdom of this world. The world, not the church, misinterprets this doctrine
to say that politics should not be ruled by anything outside itself. The Church
says that it not only should, but it must.
The church is not, or should
not, be critical of the policies of the earthly kingdom as just another voting
bloc seeking political power, but as the kingdom of God calling the world to be
faithful to God’s justice (i.e. God’s will) and the fruit of the Holy Spirit:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and self-control,
for fostering the abundant life that is God’s will for all people, to stand
against tyranny, reminding the earthly kingdoms that they, too, stand under God’s
law.
It’s like to the old answer to
“My country, right or wrong.” When that phrase was used to justify injustice.
“My country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right. When wrong, to be
put right.”
Nygren wrote, “Any use of
power for its own sake is serving the devil. Power is a deadly temptation to
selfishness and vainglory, and for that reason Luther utters the warning “He who
would be a Christian ruler must put away the thought that he would rule and be
mighty. For the mark of judgment is upon all life whose end is
self-advancement, and upon all works which are not done in love. And these are
done in love when their end is not the desire or advantage or honour or comfort
of the doer, but the honour and advantage and good of others.”
Martin Luther writes, “To
rebuke the authorities is certainly not a revolutionary act when it is done at
the Divine command and in accordance with the Law of God, openly fearlessly and
honestly. It would, in fact be much more dangerous to the public weal if a
preacher were not to rebuke authority for its injustices.”
Luther wrote, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject
to none. A Christian is a
perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.
We live not to be assimilated
or conformed into the world, but as servants of God wherever we serve, whether in
the Spiritual Authority of God or in the Authority of God in This World.
*Romans 12:1-2
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