Ap Ro Pos the Two Realms and Separation of Church State

"Luther's ideas about God's twofold rule must be recognized as an outgrowth or a mere aspect of his all-encompassing way of seeing and understanding absolutely everything though the lens of Christian theology. Luther read Scripture, learned from the church and her fathers, and completely adopted and internalized a way of understanding human existence and the entire world that was shaped and defined always and only by the regula fidei of the church's true and so timeless teaching-precisely the teaching that was outlined in the Augsburg Confession." -Page 15In this Apologetics volume, The Two Realms and the Separation of Church and State, Joel Biermann explores the Christian teaching of the two realms-church and state-and the way the relationship between them is shifting in American society. The "doctrine" of the separation of church and state is a product of the Enlightenment, post-dating Luther's distinction of two kingdoms by many generations. The separation of church and state suggests that church and government (state) occupy two independent spheres, between which there should be no interaction, hypothetically preserving both from corruption. Luther's doctrine of two kingdoms instead suggests just one King-God-who rules in two different ways: by the Gospel (church) and by the "sword" (state). In the present era of uncertainty and confusion regarding the proper relationship of the church and the Christian to the government, the confusion of these two approaches leads to errors and uncertainties about the status and proper voice of the Christian as a citizen. Rev. Dr. Biermann not only distinguishes these two teachings but also articulates faithful Christian citizenship as informed by Lutheran theology.