Hungarian Church Press, 1968 (20. évfolyam, 2. szám)

1968-06-01 / 2. szám

HOP Vol XX Special Number

1968 No 2- 31 -(07673)

worlds There are no realms of human life that were exempt fron the claim proclaimed in the message of the Gospel« Christ^ rule over the world is t;n rule of love. Christ ;s kingdom of love is manifested in two ways: in preaching and in the diakonia of the Church-, Hence it is setting up false alternatives if we contrast the teaching about Christas kingship with the Lutheran doctrine of the Two Realms as though the two would exclude one another.47)

The reign of Christ is now hidden; not visible to everybody, yet, in the form of service, through the ministry of the congregation, it is present in this world# This service is the continuous struggle for the good of man until everyone will see-the kingdom of'the One to Whom "all power was given in heaven and in earth"0 The state is under the rule of -Christ in that it is the instrument of that love, longsuffering and hope which propell the whole history of mankind towards its final destiny and consummation«

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When speaking about the universal kingdom of Christ we speak of the preaching and diakonia of the Church® On the other hand, "the Lutheran teaching about the Two Realms does not dery either that the Christian, in every aspect of his life, is under the royal claim of ’Jesus Christ"«^) Therefore, we are to consider the two basic types of Reformation doctrine, especially the teaching about the State, as special regulative principles which, on the one hand, warn us against the temptation of the secular paver (Luther) and, on the other hand,with the emphasis on the universal reign of Christ, against an introverted conception of the Church and indifference to serving in tie secular orders

c) The "State as a Functional Reality

Christian theology has its definite teaching both about the origin and about the function of the State« However, the social ethics cf Christianity , when it speaks of the State, does not give priority to the questions of ontology# The State, as a very important form of social life in, theologically in no absolute need of being given an explanation in order thatyTnristian may find his task, with a theological justification, in the state# The Christian teaching today about the State puts the emphasis on the fact that the modem State is a functional reality, and this view has rendered the ontological explanation and justification of the State obsolete« 19) The Christian ethic of social life displays the progressive tendency to speak about the essence, rights, dignity cf the State without raising the question as to the origin of the State# In other words, this ethid’ separates the question cf genesis#^)

Although one may find arguments in the New Testament to prove that the State belongs to the order of creation, just as others to prove that it belongs to the order or providence or to the order of redemption, the Bible, speaking of the reality of the State, does not place the emphasis on the genesis of the State but rather explains that the State, as the servant of God.