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The Tragedy Of Lutheran Jurisprudence, Augusto Zimmermann
The Tragedy Of Lutheran Jurisprudence, Augusto Zimmermann
The University of Notre Dame Australia Law Review
The teachings of Martin Luther (1483–1546) launched the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Luther believed in a discontinuity between God and humans that makes it impossible to provide an account of morality by reference to natural law. Rather, Lutheran jurisprudence rejects natural-law theory and it largely remains in the shadows of narrow legal positivism. According to Lutheran jurisprudence, lawfully promulgated decrees are laws even if they are completely arbitrary in their purpose and effect. Luther derived his doctrine on civil government exclusively from Chapter 13 of St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. He saw in this passage no legitimate …