Theological Origins of Modernity

122 chapter four
universally loving divine will. Only those who in this way fulfi ll the fi rst
commandment can fulfi ll the second commandment, loving one’s neighbor
as oneself. For Luther, there is thus no human love or moral action
apart from divine action. If human beings are not under the domination of
God, they are under the domination of the devil, and in this state they are
capable only of self-love and self-seeking. Without the love of God there is
no love of the neighbor, consequently no real charity or service to others.
In the absence of such love, humans are driven by pride and self-interest
both of which bring them into confl ict with others. Th us, for Luther “the
natural condition of the world is chaos and upheaval.” 91
Th is vision of the world as beset by chaos was not unique to Luther.
Indeed, as we saw above, it was a prominent trope in Petrarch and in humanism.
For the humanists, however, the solution to such upheaval is the
application of the human will to master the forces of chaos. Th is involves
the eff ective joining of knowledge and power in the manner Machiavelli
perhaps most clearly delineated. Luther sees this entire line of thought as
misguided. At best it produces only peace but not love and certainly not
salvation. Indeed, the desire for peace may actually undermine salvation,
for the proclamation of the word causes confl ict, especially in the last days
when Satan rages against the word. Th us, the attempt to establish worldly
peace may only be possible by the suppression of the Gospel.
Th is does not mean of course that government is unnecessary or that we
can dispense with it. It is true that for Luther no government would be necessary
if everyone were truly Christian. 92 “Now since no one is by nature
Christian or righteous, but altogether sinful and wicked, God through
the law puts them all under restraint so they dare not willfully implement
their wickedness in actual deeds.” 93 Th e law tells men what they ought to
do and what governments should permit and disallow. “If this were not so,
men would devour one another, seeing that the whole world is evil and that
among thousands there is scarcely a single true Christian. No one could
support wife and child, feed himself, and serve God. Th e world would be
reduced to chaos.” 94
God establishes rulers “to make a contribution in both family and society
to the survival of the world in the struggle against chaos.” 95 Princes
are appointed by God, and they rule by force because wickedness must be
restrained. 96 If someone tried to rule the world by the Gospel alone “he
would be loosing the ropes and chains of the savage wild beasts and letting
them bite and mangle everyone, meanwhile insisting that they were
harmless, tame, and gentle creatures.” 97 It is important in Luther’s view