Discuss Which, if any, of Martin Luther’s policy ideas would we want to see sup- ported by the politi- cians we vote for? Where do you think Luther is right or wrong? Why?
Shaving away our inequality T
what to do or doing it for you. T ey also note that when Luther had an opportu-
nity to help the poor by joining the so-called Peasants Revolt, he criticized their agenda for economic reform, siding with law, order and the status quo. Some also argue that Luther’s two-kingdom ethic is a lot like the American separation of church and state. T ere is a lot of truth in what these members say
about Luther, but for the whole picture, we also need to look at the Reformer’s other ideas about the economy. He wanted a just society (Luther’s Works, Vol. 9), but for him there was no justice without economic justice. Luther always balanced his talk of freedom with
teaching that Christians are simultaneously saints and sinners. He said original sin is like a beard: “T e original sin in a man is like his beard, which though shaved off today so that a man is very smooth round his mouth, yet grows again by tomorrow morning. ... Just so origi-
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www.thelutheran.org
nal sin remains in us and bestirs itself as long as we live ...” (Table Talk, No. 138). We are selfi sh people (the essence of sin), always
looking out for No. 1, Luther said: “For man cannot but be seeking his own advantages and love himself above all things. And this is the sum of all his iniquities. Hence even in good things and virtues men seek themselves, that is, they seek to please themselves and applaud themselves” (Luther’s Works, Vol. 25). T us, for Luther, we can’t trust the market, which
he calls a den of thieves: “Furthermore, at the market and in everyday business the same fraud prevails in full power and force. One person openly cheats another with defective merchandise, false weights and measures, and counterfeit coins. ... Or again, one swindles another in a trade and deliberately fl eeces, skins and torments another. Who can even describe or imagine it all? In
SHUTTERSTOCK
What Martin Luther said By Mark Ellingsen
here are ELCA members who say that when it comes to economics, the ELCA ought to “butt out” and let the market work to solve today’s income inequality. Aſt er all, Martin Luther and our heritage are all about freedom—not about the government telling you
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