Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 65:3 (Sep 2022)
Article: Martin Luther, Political Theology, And The Contest Between Persecution And Toleration
Author: Cory Higdon

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Martin Luther, Political Theology, And The Contest Between Persecution And Toleration

Cory Higdon*

^* Cory Higdon is Director of Theological Research at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and an adjunct instructor of History and Humanities at Boyce College, 2825 Lexington Rd., Louisville, KY 40280. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: Martin Luther’s views on freedom of conscience became foundational not only for magisterial Protestantism but also for those who contended for liberty of conscience in the sixteenth century. This was explained by the way Luther’s political theology collided with various experiences throughout his life that caused him to question both the freedom and limits of human conscience. This article chronologically surveys Luther’s understanding of religious liberty, showing his development on the issue of conscience and pluralism. Indeed, the growing trends of religious pluralism in the wake of the Reformation engendered significant conflicts in Luther’s life that wrought important shifts in his attitude toward liberty of conscience and the role of the magistrate in matters of religion.

Key words: political theology, Reformation theology, Martin Luther, religious freedom, church and state

Martin Luther’s voice made its way into an unlikely appeal for liberty and freedom—unlikely not only because the document in question called for complete religious freedom, but also because its author was a Baptist.1 John Murton, a prisoner at the wretched Newgate Prison in London, penned an influential and early work on religious freedom. Throughout the document, Murton exposited several passages of Scripture as grounds for soul liberty to show the civil rulers that persecution for cause of conscience departed from biblical Christianity and represented the most ungodly practice committed by supposed members of Christ’s church. He wrote, “The vileness of persecuting the bodie of any man, onely for cause of conscience, is against the Word of God, and law of Christ.”2 In addition to his biblical exposition and theological justification for religious freedom, Murton, who wrote in 1621, cited in his short work a host of sources from church history—a cloud of

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witnesses that contended for the freedom of conscience. The author with the largest section of citation was none other than Martin Luther.3

Roger Williams, similarly, cited Martin Luther at length in The Blovdy Tenent.