Consent of the Governed versus Collectivism of the Government
Clash of two opposing viewpoints for the heart and soul of the country
The reformer Martin Luther wrote of the “liberty of conscience” over against secular authority.
Doctrine of the two kingdoms | Religion Wiki
Martin Luther's book, On Secular Authority, was an ardent expression of the principle of Liberty of Conscience. “Liberty of conscience” is the principle that forbids human authorities from coercing people’s spiritual beliefs. In this book, Luther insisted that “liberty of conscience” was one of Jesus Christ’s principles. According to Luther, the civil government’s role is simply to keep outward peace in society. The civil government has no business enforcing spiritual laws. “The laws of worldly government extend no farther than to life and property and what is external upon earth,” Luther insisted. Echoing Luther, writing on religious liberty, Thomas Jefferson stated, “The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others.” Jefferson may not have had Luther specifically in mind, but was perhaps an heir to the Protestant tradition which gave birth to this sentiment.
https://religion.fandom.com/wiki/Doctrine_of_the_two_kingdoms
Luther spoke of what “daily bread” means when praying the Lord’s Prayer.
Small Catechism of Martin Luther
The Lord’s Prayer
The Fourth Petition
Give us today our daily bread.
What does this mean?
In fact, God gives daily bread without our prayer, even to all evil people, but we ask in this prayer that God cause us to recognize what our daily bread is and to receive it with thanksgiving.
What then does “daily bread” mean?
Everything included in the necessities and nourishment for our bodies, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, farm, fields, livestock, money, property, an upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.
The seventh commandment, according to Martin Luther, prohibits taking what belongs to the neighbor and instead commands helping the neighbor to keep what belongs to the neighbor.
Small Catechism of Martin Luther
The Seventh Commandment
You shall not steal.
What does this mean?
We are to fear and love God, so that we neither take our neighbor’s money or property nor acquire them by using shoddy merchandise or crooked deals, but instead help them to improve and protect their property and income.
From my perspective, Martin Luther argues for limits on the power of government.
Luther, 1523: - On Secular Authority
Now the Sword is indispensable for the whole world, to preserve peace, punish sin, and restrain the wicked.
http://www.yorku.ca/comninel/courses/3020pdf/Luther.pdf
Martin Luther on Secular Authority: The Powers of Princes versus the Obligations of Subjects
Luther was putting forth a nuanced train of thought. In Luther’s mind, secular government plays a vital role, but always takes a back seat to the larger picture involving God’s Kingdom. God created the earth and everything therein, including secular government. This means that God’s laws govern everything, including government. But some rights are reserved only for God so that he may properly rule over the soul of men. Here Luther was arguing against governments’ enacting laws that might limit God’s ability to rule over the soul and thus in turn affect a person’s religious faith. “When a man-made law is imposed upon the soul to make it believe this or that as its human author may prescribe, there is certainly no word of God for it.” 26 God is the ultimate spiritual authority and yet he is also the reason for secular law. No government should restrict him by imposing laws on the human soul, and no government should be without God’s words in mind and heart when writing, enacting, and enforcing them.
https://history.hanover.edu/hhr/18/HHR2018-vaughn.pdf
Martin Luther influenced the principal author of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Two kingdoms doctrine - Wikipedia
James Madison, the principal author of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, explicitly credited Martin Luther as the theorist who provided the proper distinction between the civil and the ecclesiastical spheres.[14]
Luther's distinction was adopted by John Milton and John Locke. Milton wrote A Treatise of Civil Power. Locke later echoed the two kingdoms doctrine:
There is a twofold society, of which almost all men in the world are members, and from that twofold concernment they have to attain a twofold happiness; viz. That of this world and that of the other: and hence there arises these two following societies, viz. religious and civil.[15]
Sociologist Max Weber also wrestled with the tensions embedded in Luther's Two Kingdom Doctrine in his essay about the nature of politicians, Politics as a Vocation.
Two kingdoms doctrine - Wikipedia
Preamble
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
The U.S. Constitution: Preamble | United States Courts
The consent of the governed is opposed to the Divine right of kings where the population is reduced to serfs and given only as many rights as the king permits. The country that gave to the world Martin Luther also gave Karl Marx who wrote Das Kapital: A Critique of Political Economy, Adolf Hitler who wrote Mein Kampf, and now Klaus Schwab who wrote Covid-19: The Great Reset.
"The pandemic represents a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world" - Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum.
The Great Reset | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
By 2030, Western Values Will Have Been Tested To the Breaking Point.
You will own nothing and be happy.
8 predictions for the world in 2030 | World Economic Forum
Two viewpoints could not be more polar opposite: “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” on the one hand and “You will own nothing and be happy.” on the other hand.
The forecaster Martin Armstrong counters Marx, Hitler, and Schwab by asserting that Socialism violates the Ten Commandments which prohibit coveting what belongs to another.
Socialism/Marxism outright violates the Ten Commandments for you are not supposed to covet thy neighbor’s goods. Yet government ignores that command, declaring that freedom is bad and that they have the right to take from others who have more than they do.
Do You Believe in God? | Armstrong Economics
Socialism violates the Ten Commandments which prohibits anyone from coveting what their neighbor has.
Socialism v Capitalism | Armstrong Economics
I have stated many times, the very idea of Socialism violates the First Amendment freedom of religion for the tax rates are greater than the 10% advocated in the Bible and it violates the Ten Commandments which forbid coveting what others have. Perhaps one day the lawyers will wake up and actually protect the people and do what their oath was intended – file a major class action lawsuit against the government and socialism as a violation of the freedom of religion.
Socialism violates the Freedom of Religion | Armstrong Economics