An Introduction

Last updated on: May 2, 2018 at 10:18 am by John Ehrett

An Introduction 2018-05-02T10:18:38-05:00 John Ehrett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The name of this blog—Between Two Kingdoms—is a reference to the Lutheran “doctrine of two kingdoms,” by which Lutherans affirm a distinction between spheres of sacred and secular authority. As theologian Hermann Sasse wrote in 1930, “the secular and the spiritual are indeed to be dearly distinguished and must not be mixed one with the other, but as good gifts of God, as true orders given by God, they belong together, just as creation and redemption belong together as works of God.” Sasse went on to argue that “Lutheranism is opposed to any attempt to draw the kingdom of God into this world, be it the attempt of the Roman Church to ecclesiasticize the world, or the attempt of fanaticism and Protestantism influenced by fanaticism, to Christianize the world.”

Certainly there’s a sense in which this “two kingdoms theology” raises more questions than it answers. For one thing, it’s certainly not a comprehensive template for political theology: “rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” isn’t always an easy distinction to draw, particularly within a cultural milieu where religious liberty is a wedge issue. And for those of a more philosophical bent, it’s not hard to see in this doctrine the seeds of secular modernity: doesn’t such a distinction between kingdoms necessarily “disenchant the world”? I think there’s validity to both these critiques, but am ultimately not convinced that either Scripture or reason offers a compelling alternative to the two kingdoms paradigm. Our human knowledge is frequently incomplete, and Lutherans are unafraid to acknowledge such gaps in our own understanding. In that spirit, this blog is put forward with the goal of seeking truth across both kingdoms, and exploring areas where the kingdoms seem to intersect.

Much of my educational and professional background is in law and public policy, so the commentary on this blog will likely reflect that (even if indirectly). Over the years I’ve also written a lot about movies for various outlets, so reviews and commentary on current films will likely show up here from time to time. Additionally, longer-form articles will continue to go up at Conciliar Post and elsewhere.

Thanks for reading.

Pro Christo,
John

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 1, 2022

The Best Books I Read This Year (2022 Edition)

Next Post

May 2, 2018 Pope Francis, Nondenominationalist?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Culture Ecclesiology Education Imagination Movies Political Theory Scripture Uncategorized Worship

Select a Month December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 June 2019 April 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: John's Gospel does not record any parables.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE