University Assignment: Religion and Emergence of Modern Politics

This homework assignment delves into the intersection of religion and modern politics, examining the perspectives of key figures such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Thomas Hobbes. The paper begins by outlining Luther's concept of a 'true Christian,' emphasizing the importance of individual faith and selfless service, and explaining why Luther believed such individuals were rare. It then explores Calvin's modification of the Two-Kingdom Doctrine, contrasting his views on secular government with Luther's. Finally, the assignment analyzes Hobbes' distinction between contracts and covenants, explaining why Hobbes preferred to use the term 'covenant' to describe the formation of civil society from the state of nature, focusing on agreements and obligations for societal order.

Running head: RELIGION AND EMERGENCE OF MODERN POLITICS
Religion and Emergence of Modern Politics
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RELIGIONAND EMERGENCE OF MODERN POLITICS
Table of Contents
Question -1.................................................................................................................................2
Question -2.................................................................................................................................2
Question – 3...............................................................................................................................3

2RELIGIONAND EMERGENCE OF MODERN POLITICS
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Question -1
According to Martin Luther, a true Christian is a person who is free and able to justify
his/her actions by himself/herself. His /her actions can only be justified by his belief in Jesus
Christ. He believed that the “True Christian” is someone who obeys and abides by the
commands of God, however, he believes that these obeying of commands by the Christians is
not only for the purpose of attaining salvation from Jesus Christ. A true Christian is someone
who serves and helps his/her neighbour as they see God in their neighbours.
According to Martin Luther, there are very few “True Christians” because the people
who are Christians do not abide by the true meaning of Christianity. Most Christians perform
their activities with self-interest. Since Luther believed that a True Christian would perform
his/her duties selflessly, out of love for God and would not think about achieving salvation,
he believed that there were very few “True Christians”.
Question -2
John Calvin had modified the Two-Kingdom Doctrine originally made popular by
Martin Luther. The main doctrine was that God rules the world or his left-hand kingdom by
secular government with the help of law while he rules the heavenly or right hand kingdom
with the help of grace or the gospel. Calvin on the other hand clearly distinguished God’s act
of salvation as well as his Earthly act of providence. Calvin defined his two-kingdom theory
not in terms of the church and the state but in terms of conscience and the outward approach
of the individuals.

3RELIGIONAND EMERGENCE OF MODERN POLITICS
Calvin differed from Luther on the concept of Two Kingdom Theory in that Calvin
believed that tyrants could be questioned and opposed for their activities while Luther
believed that the King or the Prince had to be obeyed by all means because the ruler is the
representative of God on Earth. Another important area that Calvin differed from that of
Luther is that Luther considered secular government as something that needs to be ruled with
religious toleration by the people of the state whereas Calvin considered secular government
as an agency for the establishment of the necessary conditions of external Christian virtue as
well as for the suppression of the dissatisfaction against the government.
Question – 3
According to Thomas Hobbes, a contract is an oral or a written agreement that can be
enforced with the help of the law. It can be used in all social ceremonies or activities by the
Government. A covenant is to a contract in the sense that it is a written agreement between
the two persons which consists of a pledge to stop doing any kind of activity.
Thomas Hobbes considers the term “covenant” for the creation of civil societies
protection of the outside the state of nature because in civil societies the rights of self-
preservation and the right to leave in peace which are not to be allowed in those of the civil
societies. Therefore, the concept of covenant has been used by Hobbs for the civil societies
outside of the state of nature.