In 2023, we mark the 500th anniversary of Luther’s publication of Temporal Authority: To What Extent It Should Be Obeyed, in which he introduced the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms. This understanding of how God reigns over all things has important implications for Christians today, and, particularly, for classical Lutheran educators. That God rules in both the spiritual and the secular realms means that Christians are free to pursue all kinds of learning. We do not have to develop a distinctly “Christian” approach to every subject and profession. They are already God’s. To embrace God’s temporal kingdom, though, does not mean that we accept uncritically all secular ideas. The doctrine of the Two Kingdoms also has a critical function. Since His rule grows out of His creation and His moral law, views that deny His creation and His moral law violate the doctrine of the Two Kingdoms.
July 18-21, 2023 at Concordia University Nebraska, Seward, Nebraska https://www.ccle.org/ccle-xxiii/