AG10a: 1885, Worldly Authorities II: Secular Authorities (part 1): obey, and disobey

      This continues from Part AG9b (Table of Contents in Part AG1a) in a series presenting Walther's essays to the Western District that supported his theme "That Only Through the Doctrine of the Lutheran Church is All Glory Given to God Alone". — At the 1885 Western District convention, Walther first addressed the remaining Theses left from the 1883 convention on Churchly Authorities, then moved on to the Theses on Secular Authorities. For this Thesis Walther provides much historical evidence that goes along with Prof. Lindemann's essay on Religious Freedom. Also this subject matter will be of great interest to readers in today's world, and especially in America today where the political situation has changed dramatically from Walther's day. But Walther's counsel is still appropriate for he covers historical situations that were even worse than America's political climate today. — From the 1885 report, pp. 13-66:

Notable Quotes:

14: Thesis VII: "…even secular authorities have neither the right nor the power to rule over the faith and conscience of their subjects"

15: "the authorities may not demand anything that violates the commandment of the one who is also their Lord. In such cases, obedience must be refused. In all other matters, however, their commandment is divinely binding."

15: "Romans 13:1–7 is the basis for the doctrine of authority."

15-16: "…at the very time when the Apostle Paul wrote this to the Romans, the bloodhound Nero sat on the Roman imperial throne and used his power to cruelly torture Christians."

16: "we read much in the pages of history about revolts against the authorities in Catholic and Reformed countries."

17: "…we must not resist tyrannical authorities with violence. But the Lord gives us one permission in Matthew 10:23: 'When they persecute you in one city, flee to another.'" [Counsel for today!]

19: "nevertheless, Christ submits to the Roman governor Pilate"

20: "But what if the authorities demand that we do something that is sin? Then our church teaches that we must refuse to obey"

21: "the secular authorities b. have no right to command their subjects to do what God has forbidden, or to forbid what God has commanded, or to compel them to do anything against their conscience"

21: "There is a King above all kings; therefore, His commandments are far above the commandments of all human kings."

21: The apostles "therefore establish the rule in Acts 5:29: 'We must obey God rather than men.'"

22: "What is the work of the Lutheran Reformation other than obedience to the words: 'One must obey God rather than men'?"

23: "a Christian soldier should rather give up his life than go to war at the behest of his king in an unjust war."

24: Luther: "if you do not know, or cannot find out, whether your master is unjust, you should not weaken your uncertain obedience for the sake of uncertain justice, but rather do your best for your master"

24: "no man should allow himself to be used for this purpose, nor be obedient to the emperor [for the Pope], but be certain that it is strictly forbidden by God to obey the emperor in such a case"

27: Thesis VII, 2: "a. the secular authorities are indeed obliged to protect the church in its freedom against injustice and… b. have neither the right nor the power to usurp the government of the church and to compel it to adhere to the true faith."

28: "We therefore highly praise our local [American] authorities for not only refraining from interfering in the government of the church themselves, but also for not tolerating others interfering in it"

29: Treatise: "it is incumbent upon kings and princes…to ensure that the Church's power to judge is not taken away, and that everything is judged according to the Holy Scriptures and the Word of God."

30: In Reformation times: "Far from considering the so-called ecclesial acts of the princes to be princely official acts, they were rather seen as burdens that the princes bore only provisionally…"

31: "It is therefore contrary to Christ's kingdom and spirit to try to force people to the true faith by external force."

31: "our [Lutheran] church…teaches and professes that the secular authorities as such have nothing to do with spiritual and soul matters, that is, with matters of religion and the church."

32: ""A bishop [and prince] as bishop has no power to impose any statutes or ceremonies on his church without the consent of the church"

32: "We Lutherans also celebrate the so-called National Day of Thanksgiving every year, which our governors and presidents recommend that we celebrate; but we would not do so if they ordered it by virtue of their office."

34: "Luther fought earnestly against the consistories as soon as he saw that they wanted to become 'spiritual authorities.'"

35: "Luther finally declared: 'We must tear apart the consistory, for we want, in short, to have neither the lawyers nor the pope'"

35: "Emperor Constantine the Great…in reality the decline of the Church began with him"

37: It is "far from the true Lutheran Church to call upon the help of secular authorities to compel those outside to embrace its faith."

37: "the so-called Paris Blood Wedding [or “St. Bartholomew's Day massacre”] of 1572, celebrated by the Papists…Without doubt, it is with reference to this that the princes of the Augsburg Confession wrote a few years later [1580] in the Preface to the Book of Concord…"

38: "many martyrs were also found among the  Sacramentarians …were not killed because of the doctrine of Holy Communion, but because they did not want to worship the papal abomination, as Lutherans"

39: Luther against violence: "so that no harm comes to the secular authorities, they should also be satisfied and attend to their own business… and no one should be forced by violence. For faith is a free work…"

This portion on Worldly Authorities was an eye opener for me. — In the next Part AG10b we conclude Secular Authorities, part 2, with full downloads of the files.