Theological Origins of Modernity

324 notes to pages 122–126
95. On this point see G. Ebeling, “Die Notwendigkeit der Lehre von den zwei Reichen,”
in Wort und Glaube, 3d ed. (Tübingen, 1967), 1:407–28.
96. Marius, Martin Luther, 366.
97. WA 11:251.25–28; LW 45:91. Th is argument could easily remind one of Machiavelli’s
prediction that unarmed prophets invariably come to grief.
98. Marius, Martin Luther, 230–31.
99. Th e true Christian, according to Luther, lives and labors on earth not for himself
but for his neighbor, and therefore the whole spirit of his life impels him to do
what he need not do but what is profi table and necessary for his neighbor. WA
11:253.17–32; LW 45:93–94. While it is not right to seek vengeance for oneself, it is
proper to do so for others. WA 11:259.7–16; LW 45:101.
100. WA 40.I:51.26–31; LW 26:12.
101. WA 11:277.16–27; LW 45:125.
102. Marius, Martin Luther, 366. “Th e temporal government has laws which extend
no further than to life and property and external aff airs on earth, for God cannot
and will not permit anyone but himself to rule over the soul.” WA 11:262.7–10; LW
45:105.
103. WA 11:267.1–13; LW 45:111–12. In praying for one’s daily bread, Luther suggests that
the subject is praying for good government, that is, for peace, just weights and
measures, solid currency, etc. Luther, “Ten Sermons on the Catechism, 1528,” WA
30.I:103–104.22; LW 51:176–78.
104. WA 11:246.23–25; LW 45:83.
105. WA 11:267.31–268.1; LW 45:113.
106. WA 11:269.32–33; LW 45:115.
107. WA 11:268.17–18; LW 45:114.
108. WA 11:270.16–24; LW 45:116.
109. WA 11:273.7–24; LW 45:120. Marius believes that it would have taken a superhumanly
sophisticated reader to believe obedience was due to such stupid wretches
as Luther describes, but Luther never saw himself as the leader of a rebellion. He
thus could extol a democracy of true believers and certify a tyranny for ordinary
men. Marius, Martin Luther, 368–370.
110. WA 40.I:410.24–412.14; LW 26:262.
111. Oberman, Luther, 255.
112. It is important to note that in Luther’s view all of Christ is present in the Eucharist
and not just some part, just as all of Christ is present in us in the infusion of grace.
While it is sometimes imagined that Luther favored the doctrine of consubstantiation,
his own language seems to leave him closer to transubstantiation. God is
not beside the host, for Luther, he is in the host. Th e crucial diff erence is the role
of the priest in bringing this transformation about.
113. Oberman, Luther, 245.
114. Oberman, Luther, 310.
115. Roland Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (New York: Mentor,
1950), 47.
116. Ibid., 155.