Martin Luther’s two kingdoms has been overlooked by many as the church wrestles with what it looks like to engage with the post-Christendom political landscape. Much of this is due to the fact that a perverted version of Luther’s two kingdoms was used to justify acquiescence to the Nazi party in German. Luther’s actual two kingdoms theology calls for a critical engagement in politics that is motivated by love, operating through God’s two governments. Luther’s theology of the two kingdoms provides a way forward for political engagement after Christendom by avoiding the extremes of civic disengagement on the one hand, and a wholesale return to a Christendom synthesis on the other. / Thesis / Master of Divinity (M.Div)

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Trinity Lutheran Seminary, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-173).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, 1993. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-186).

There is no consensus on whether Church of Sweden should comment on political issues and participate in the political debate or not. The opponents argue that religion and politics should be kept apart, while others claim it is the duty of the church to raise its voice on political issues when it witnesses injustice and oppression. As an Evangelical Lutheran church, Martin Luther's two kingdoms doctrine is a part of the theological tradition in which Church of Sweden stands. The purpose of this essay is to analyze parts of the debate about Church of Sweden as a political actor during the 21st century, based on Luther's two kingdoms doctrine and later interpretations and comments on it. Debate articles from Swedish newspapers have been the primary source in the study of this debate, along with both historical and contemporary Lutheran documents on the two kingdoms doctrine. The outcome of this argumentation analysis shows that the arguments defending a politically active church are to be considered the strongest. A prophetic political theology can be partially supported in the 16th century interpretation of the two kingdoms doctrine. The Lutheran World Federation, in its document The Church in the Public Space, speaks even more in favour of this view of the relationship between church and politics. The Lutheran tradition of keeping an ongoing interpretation and exposition of the faith in each new era is also an important factor in assessing what can be considered a reasonable view of the Church of Sweden's role as a political actor. To legitimize its political commitment, it is crucial for the church that this always derives from and is motivated by its faith. The 16th century reformists as well as the Lutheran World Federation of today identifies the political task of the church to be to take action motivated by its faith, when the governing power pursues a policy incompatible with the word of God. Thus, it is crucial that the church can motivate its political commitment theologically. If the church does, it can justifiably act as an non-governmental organization in political debates.

The following work is an analysis of Martin Luther's Two Kingdoms Theory. This influential and controversial theory was introduced in his 1523 treatise, Von weltlicher Obrigkeit--Secular Authority. Although this document was written almost 500 years ago and takes its cue from the writings of St. Augustine and the Bible, it continued to have a significant effect on German society in both the political and religious realm well into the present day. Based on an analysis of the text and on the culture and literature that led Luther to write Von weltlicher Obrigkeit, this thesis evaluates various interpretations and applications of the Two Kingdoms Theory. The specific effects of Luther's teaching during the Nazi era are examined politically and theologically. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Religionsloses Christentum--Religionless Christianity and Martin Luther's Zwei-Reiche-Lehre--Two Kingdoms Theory will be compared to demonstrate that they illuminate the same truth from different vantage points: neither people nor their rules are viable substitutes for God. A brief introduction explains the means of analysis used in this thesis, which is based on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's call for a new religionless language as described in letters written during his imprisonment by the Nazi regime.

The challenge of the just war theory in the post-modern era is compounded by technologic advances in warfare and the friction among state actors in a decentralized state system. The inquiry of this investigation on just war is the extent of its validity in an era that extols the sciences and human reason on the one hand and economic necessity on the other as the standard by which state actors regulate their political objectives. The thesis Just war; unjust consequences examines the longevity of the just war tradition, its moral necessity throughout history and its indispensable application in the nuclear age. Chapter 2 examines the moral foundations of the ‘two kingdoms’, which formulates the background of the just war theory, from the biblical account of the great controversy between good and evil to the formation of modern church/state relations. Within the ancient and contemporary setting, ecclesiastical and theological traditions have provided a public platform to establish moral parameters in regards to state actor intent and post-modern application, such as the U.S.-Iraq war. Chapter 3 investigates Augustine’s enduring contribution to the moral and historical formation and longevity of the just war theory. From its earliest development to its modern antecedent the just war theory has been an integral aspect of the philosophical and theological analysis distinguishing ‘why’ and ‘how’ wars are fought and the import of moral parameters to manage international conflict. Chapter 4 examines Reinhold Niebuhr’s contribution to the realist tradition and U.S. foreign policy in the 20th and 21st centuries. This section examines the impact of the modern state actor’s intent for war. The primary issue is that the classical formulation that identifies human nature as the catalyst of social disorder and war is superseded by the scientific method, which adheres to the viewpoint that war is complicated by numerous economic and political factors. Hans Morgenthau’s realist tradition of international relations theory, which advocates that humankind is the centric disruptive force by its abuse of power at all levels of human interaction especially among nations was eventually eclipsed by Kenneth Waltz’s neorealist school of thought, which shifted the culpability of war from the egocentricities of human nature to the disproportions of economic and military power among competing state actors in a decentralized state system. This shift in international relations theory within the framework of weapons of mass destruction contested the validity of the just war tradition in the nuclear age. Chapter 5 reasserts the Christian realist tradition’s viewpoint that the perpetrator for war is the individual actor within collective competitive self-interest, epitomized by the state actor. The classical model is reinstated as a plausible cause for war. It is within this framework that a contemporary adaptation of the just war moral theory is provided to contest the contemporary complexities of warfare in the 21st century. Chapter 6 investigates the practical challenges of modern warfare. The background of Operation Iraqi Freedom reveals the complications of state actor competition in international politics, and the necessity of moral parameters to thwart unwarranted state actor aggression. Finally, Chapter 7 reiterates, the prolonged necessity of the just war tradition in both the ancient and modern eras and, the import of moral parameters to thwart unwarranted state actor aggression and provides a reformulation of the just war moral theory to challenge the viewpoint that deems the utility of weapons of mass destruction as viable national security alternative and its tactical application in warfare. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / gm2015 / Practical Theology / PhD / Unrestricted