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Would you say the Kingdom of the Left is lived as individuals or as a community?
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Kingdom of the Left
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- May 15, 2020
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The question was addressed to Lutherans, and it's a common phrase among Lutherans. However, if members of the forum are not familiar with it, I can try to explain.
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Till Schilling
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Fair enough.
None. But I will ask, for the portion lived as a community, is that done formally (e.g. through social institutions) or informally (with your circle of friends)?
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Tigger gave a link in post #4. There is also this from the LCMS site: Life Library - Two Kingdoms - The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
The idea fits together with the Lutheran doctrines of Law and Gospel and the doctrine of vocation. It's been explained many different ways, but it essentially means there is a spiritual kingdom and an earthly kingdom. Though God rules all, the Kingdom of the Left (the earthly kingdom) is ruled by law and the Kingdom of the Right is ruled by grace. Therefore, man operates in the Left through reason and in the Right through obedience.
I've always liked the way Ryan Reeves expressed it: In the Right, God moves first. In the Left, man moves first.
There is an argument that claims this idea is a predecessor of America's separation of church and state, which may be true, but the American idea is not Luther's idea. In Luther's idea, God rules both and we are to obey God's will in both. However, there is an aspect to the idea (regarding vocation) that implies priests should not meddle in government and government should not meddle in the church. They each have their separate jobs and serve God by doing those separate jobs well.
That's somewhat the context of my question. Too often lay people sit around and wait for their pastor to do everything. But that was not how Luther thought it should be. Just as the pastor has responsibility for preaching the Word and administering the Sacraments, the laity has responsibilities as well.
Coming back to the OP, then, how do we meet God's will in the Kingdom of the Left? As individuals or as a community? the answer of @Till Schilling was a good one. The next question, then, is whether community efforts manifest as formal organizations or as informal circles of friends.
My experience is: barely either - almost none.
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