Of the good works

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Title page of the Augsburg print from 1521, woodcut by Hans Weiditz

Von den gute Werken ( Von den gute werckenn ) is a work by Martin Luther , written in early New High German in 1520. It contains a foundation of Reformation ethics .

Origin and addressees

Luther found himself exposed to criticism that his doctrine of justification would lead to moral decline. Ethical action had to be justified anew from faith. Georg Spalatin was impressed by a sermon (sermon) by Luther on the subject of Faith and Works and suggested that the text be prepared for publication. Luther made good progress with the drafting; on March 25, 1520 he wrote to Spalatin: "If it progresses like this, it will probably be my very best book."

The book is dedicated to Duke Johann the Steadfast , the brother and successor of Luther's sovereign Frederick the Wise. Duke Johann is addressed as the epitome of a Christian layman . Luther's target group is lay people, which is why the script is written in the vernacular. Through the dedication, Luther combined the newly conceived Protestant ethics with the political force that was able to enforce the Reformation.

At the beginning of June 1520 Von den gute Werken was published by Melchior Lotter in Wittenberg and was immediately reprinted in Augsburg, Nuremberg, Hagenau, Basel and Halberstadt. As early as 1521 a Latin translation appeared under the title De bonis operibus liber (printed by Johann Gronenberg , with Melanchthon's preface ), which was also reprinted many times. Including translations into other languages, the script saw 23 reprints by the 1530s.

content

Good works are defined by Luther as actions commanded by God. The first and fundamental good work is faith in Jesus Christ . This belief is the fulfillment of the first of the Ten Commandments, and all other good works are derived from it. Because God pleases the faith out of which these works are done, it does not matter whether the works are great or small, difficult or easy. The difference between profane and cultic behavior becomes obsolete. Everyday activities such as eating and drinking or exercising the profession (craft) can also be worship in this sense. In contrast, Luther declares religious acts such as pilgrimages , fasting and prayer null and void if they are not based on faith.

The text is designed as a sermon on the Ten Commandments . Luther combined the first three commandments into a "ring"; they formed a unit. The fourth commandment of parenting is developed broadly and is given a special status. Wherever the Bible speaks of parents, ecclesiastical, state and professional authorities are also meant. With this, Luther sanctioned, according to Martin Honecker , a patriarchal social order . Luther internalized the remaining commandments and interpreted them, as they did later in the Great and Small Catechism . Manslaughter, theft or adultery are not only forbidden as acts, but also as bad emotions and desires.

Luther distinguishes four categories of people:

  1. Believers who voluntarily do good and need no law;
  2. Lazy Christians using freedom as a pretext; they must be driven, admonished, and instructed with the law ;
  3. Evil to be kept in check by the political authorities through laws and penalties;
  4. Naive, childlike people who can be motivated to do good through church ceremonies until they come to an adult faith.

These diverse people live together in a community; ethics must take this into account. According to Svend Andersen , this is Luther's starting point for the later formulated doctrine of usus civilis legis : “According to Luther, the world cannot be ruled with the gospel because it is shaped by people of the third category. Where there is no faith ... it is necessary that the law be enforced with a demand for outward observance. "

Expenses (selection)

  • From the good works DML WA Volume 6, pp. 202-276
  • Of the good works . In: Martin Luther: German-German study edition . Volume 1: Faith and Life . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2012. ISBN 978-3-374-02880-1 . Pp. 101-254.
  • Martin Luther: Dawn of the Reformation. Writings I. Verlag der Weltreligionen, Berlin 2014, pp. 18–109.
  • Albrecht Beutel , Uta Wiggermann (Ed.): Luther. Reformation main writings of the year 1520 (= study series Luther Volume 12). Luther-Verlag, Bielefeld 2017.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ WA Correspondence 2.75.10.
  2. ↑ Thomas Kaufmann : The middle of the Reformation: A study on book printing and journalism in the German-speaking area, on their actors and their strategies, staging and forms of expression. Mohr, Tübingen 2019, ISBN 978-3-16-156606-6 , p. 138.
  3. ↑ digitized version .
  4. ↑ Martin Luther: The basic Reformation writings in four volumes. Volume 1: God's works and human works. Newly transmitted and annotated edition by Horst Beintker , dtv, Munich 1983. ISBN 3-423-06125-1 . P. 168.
  5. ^ Johannes Wallmann : Church history in Germany since the Reformation . 4th, revised edition Mohr, Tübingen 1993. ISBN 3-8252-1355-2 . P. 39.
  6. ↑ Martin Honecker: Introduction to Theological Ethics. Basics and basic concepts. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1990. ISBN 3-11-008146-6 , p. 96.
  7. ↑ WA 6, p. 213 f.
  8. ^ Svend Andersen: Introduction to Ethics, 2nd, expanded edition 2005, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2005. ISBN 3-11-018425-7 . P. 113.