In this situation, the Lutheran theology of the two kingdoms is the indispensable means of orientation which Christians must again and again employ when considering their role and action in the world. The temptation in today’s pluralistic world is to reject faith in God in favor of the idea of the autonomous individual and to accept the utopian idea of the present world as the place for ultimate happiness.
The authors need to be commended for compiling this valuable sourcebook of significant writings on the two kingdoms from notable theologians past and present. Mark Mattes-LBI Chair in Bible and Theology, Grand View University, Des Moines, IA This book is must-reading for anyone interested in how Christians should engage wider culture. Eschewing both quietism and fanaticism, Lutherans enter the public arena, aware of God’s “left hand” in which He provides order to a potentially chaotic world and His “right hand” which imparts the life-giving Good News. One Lord, Two Hands? is a one-stop resource that offers a Lutheran theology of politics that neither caves to a secular “naked public square” nor cavorts with a Reformed tendency to Christianize each inch of culture as if God were not already ruling there.
It provides readers with a sound, accessible, and current perspective into these ideas, alongside references to the works of Martin Luther.įor more information on One Lord, Two Hands?: Essays on the Theology of the Two Kingdoms, or to order the book, please visit cph.org, or contact Lindsey Scheetz, Public Relations, by email at for One Lord, Two Hands?Ĭurrent North American Christianity, whether inspired by the Marxist left or the Evangelical right, tends to politicize the Gospel, and so obfuscates both the Gospel’s purity and the integrity of Christian social responsibility. It is critical to vocation as the Christian navigates life in this world as one who is simultaneously a citizen of the heavenly kingdom through faith in Christ Jesus.” One Lord, Two Hands? is a perfect resource for Lutherans to reference for questions regarding church and state. In one way or another it touches on every article of faith from creation to eschatology. Harrison and Pless write, “The Lutheran teaching of the two kingdoms is not a stand-alone piece. Their new book, One Lord, Two Hands?: Essays on the Theology of the Two Kingdoms, discusses the Lutheran perspective on the two kingdoms, its foundation during the Lutheran Reformation, and the implications for doctrine and practice. While the nomenclature ‘Two Kingdoms’ is of relatively recent origin and Luther scholars often debate whether the language of two governments or two realms might be more appropriate, the fact of the matter remains that from the Holy Scriptures we know that the triune God is at work with both hands in the world He created,” write editors Matthew C.
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