During his lifetime, Luther fought against the catholic legal stance toward heretics and any political coercion with regard to belief. This followed from his doctrine of justification, which distinguished sharply between divine law and gospel, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world, and between spiritual and worldly governance: Only the preacher's office is allowed and able to proclaim the gospel and to awaken faith. The worldly government instead is limited to enforcing the Ten Commandments and preserving political peace. Therefore it must tolerate any peaceful doctrine of faith but limit its public spread as far as it violates the Ten Commandments and disturbs political peace. As the ensuing ages did not maintain Luther's theological foundation for and limitation of tolerance, the modern concept of tolerance was developed from secular roots.

Enthalten in:
Kerygma und Dogma; 2019/1 Zeitschrift für theologische Forschung und kirchliche Lehre (2019)

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Serie / Reihe: Kerygma und Dogma

Personen: Heckel, Martin

Schlagwörter: Luther Toleranz