Source: martin luther, an admonition to peace, 1525.
"you assert that no one is to be the serf of anyone else, because christ has made us all free. that is making
christian freedom a completely physical matter. did not abraham [gen, 17: 23] and other patriarchs and prophets
have slaves? read what st. paul teaches about servants, who, at that time, were all slaves. this article, therefore,
absolutely contradicts the gospel. it proposes robbery, for it suggests that every man should take his body away
from his lord, even though his body is the lord's property. a slave can be a christian, and have christian freedom,
in the same way that a prisoner or a sick man is a christian, and yet not free. this article would make all men
equal, and turn the spiritual kingdom of christ into a worldly, external kingdom; and that is impossible. a
worldly kingdom cannot exist without an inequality of persons, some being free, some imprisoned, some lords,
some subjects, etc.; and st. paul says in galatians 5 that in christ the lord and the servant are equal.
1. analyzing the document: what issue is luther addressing? what is his message?
2. does this reflect luther as a revolutionary or a conservative? explain
3. using one of the hipp describe the role of this document.