Martin Luther's 'Whether Soldiers, Too, Can Be Saved'

“Whether Soldiers, Too, Can Be Saved” is included in volume forty-six of Luther’s Works: The Christian in Society III, edited by Helmut T. Lehmann and Robert C. Schultz. Originally published by Martin Luther on January 5th, 1527, “Whether Solders, Too, can be Saved” was written in response to a very controversial topic that is still debated to this date. The issue at hand was whether Christians could bear arms and become professional soldiers while still obtaining a pure connection with God and Christian values. Luther was called upon by counselor and soldier Assa von Kram of Duke Ernst, and by other soldiers who could not make peace between their religious conscience and their professions, to write an argument for what his stance was on the …show more content…
Luther then reasons that this is all based on the situation at hand. Luther begins his argument to say “it is not right to start a war just because some silly lord has gotten the idea into his head. At the very outset, I want to say that whoever starts a war is in the wrong. And it is only proper that he who first draws his sword is defeated, or even punished, in the end” (Luther 118). However, self-defense is claimed to be a “proper ground state for fighting and therefore all laws agree that self-defense should go unpunished” (Luther 120). Again, Luther points a finger at the Romans as a prime example. The Romans were attacked on multiple accounts by multiple enemies due to their large amounts of resources and riches, yet, they were not defeated because they were fighting in self-defense. Every prince and lord has the right to protect his kingdom and his people from those who threaten it. Luther does comment though that no war is just, but if war must happen then so be it. Luther emphasizes his stance with the following: wars of necessities versus the war of desires. Desires are wars that are founded upon greed and lust, and therefore go against God’s will, while necessities are wars that must take place when there are no other options. Luther states once again that God is with those pushed into the war, using The Scriptures as proof in the case of naysayers: “[God] scatters the people who delight in war” (Psalms 68 [:30]). Luther notes that just because a kingdom is attacked by an enemy though, self-defense is not always a valid reason to go to war and does not guarantee you will have God’s guidance. In times of war God is to be feared, and if one jumps into action with the upmost confidence, then God dismisses him. Confidence must only be in God’s will to allow an