Two kingdoms doctrine of Martin Luther and its relevancy in Indonesia

Abstract

This work is intended to examine whether Luther’s Two Kingdoms Doctrine (TKD) - Luther’s political-theological thought-is relevant in Indonesia. The content of Luther’s TKD is that in the spiritual power and temporal power are created by (God for the sake of world peace, and that both powers must be separated. The spiritual power is led by the gospel, while the temporal power is carried out according to the political order. In other words, Luther's TKD deals with the relationship of church and state. Historically, both powers compete with each other to the best government. There was a time in the Old Testament (OT) when both powers were united, while Jesus in the New Testament (NT) separated both powers. After Jesus time the church had been struggling with its relationship with the state, because of church persecution and the alternation of the church to become a state religion. In Indonesian church history process of, during the zending (mission) period, in the independency struggle and afterwards, the relationship between church and state was always complicated. This complication had become more distinct since the involvement of Christians in the process of Indonesian nation construction until now when many churches are closed and the reinforcement of Islam law (syariah) as a side effect of the autonomy legislation. Do the Lutheran churches in Indonesia understand their relationship with the state in those situations according to Luther’s TKD? Luther’s TKD faced challenges in Luther’s own era and especially after World War II, because Luther’s TKD was seen to be related with the cruelty and harshness of Nazism. Lutheran churches in Germany were accused of allowing the Nazi government to act arbitrarily, based on the understanding that the church should not interfere in state matters. But those who stood on the side of Luther’s TKD, insisted that the church’s attitude is based on the wrong interpretation of Luther’s TKD. Here we find the function of theology as a science handling a problem in a new manner and contextually. Luther’s TKD was an answer to the concrete situation of its era, which jumbled the spiritual and temporal powers. Thus it was thought the idea was a contextual one, which was probably not suited for the situation in Indonesia. In Indonesia the relationship of religion with the state is regulated in the UUD 1945 (Indonesian Constitution of 1945) and Pancasila (the five principles of Indonesian national philosophy), which historically receive the challenges from Islam that always wants to unify both powers. In order to research the relevance of Luther’s TKD in Indonesia, this research also tried to understand the attitude of Lutheran churches in Indonesia in their relationship with the state. Three out of 12 Lutheran churches in Indonesia, as members of the Lutheran World Federation, (LWF) are taken as the samples. They are HKBP, HKI and GKPI. The research is done through library and field research. In the process of researching the relevance of Luther’s TKD in Indonesia, this effort is simultaneously useful to deepen the understanding of Lutheranism in Indonesia and of the faithfulness of churches in their dedication and call to serve their Lord and the state.