Martin Luther's Understanding of God's Two Kingdoms: A Response to the Challenge of Skepticism (Texts and Studies in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought)

William J. Wright

ISBN 10: 0801038847 / ISBN 13: 9780801038846

Published by Baker Academic, 2010

About this Item

Seller Inventory # I-9780801038846

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Martin Luther's Understanding of God's Two Kingdoms: A Response to the Challenge of Skepticism (Texts and Studies in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought)
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801038847
• ISBN 13: 9780801038846
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

The concept of God's two kingdoms was foundational to Luther and subsequent Lutheran theology. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, that concept has been understood primarily as a political concept. But is a political reading of the two kingdoms a perversion of Luther's teaching?

Leading Reformation scholar William Wright contends that those who read Luther politically and see in Luther a compartmentalized approach to Christian life are misreading the Reformer. Wright reassesses the original breadth of Luther's theology of the two kingdoms and the cultural contexts from which it emerged. He argues that Luther's two-kingdom worldview was not a justification for living irresponsibly on planet earth.

About the Author

William J. Wright (PhD, Ohio State University) is professor of history and head of the history department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In addition to his many scholarly articles and presentations, he is the author of Capitalism, the State, and the Lutheran Reformation.