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Introduction
Martin Luther became known at a time when churches in Europe had started to dispute the authority that was being held by the Christian church. It was at that time that Martin Luther felt compelled to dispute the notion that one could buy themselves to heaven. This led to writing some popular historical books. Key among these included The Protestant Reformation, The freedom of a Christian Man; Concerning Governmental Authority among other works. All these books advocated for better governance and a complete change of the Christian church. On his part, Machiavelli was a man who was involved more in politics and patriotism to his country than in religious matters. His book The Prince and The Discourses led him to be portrayed as a dictator and corrupt person. He was a man whose views were conflicting. Politically he was perceived to be arrogant and someone who was against moral values in society.
Though both men had different views on diverse topics, there are some areas that their views concurred on. One of these areas was humanity. Their books The Freedom of a Christian man and The Prince respectively have the same ideas about human beings. They state that human beings by nature are destroyed by the fact that they are greedy and sinful. Luther also believed that human beings are full of sin, guilt and that no one is righteous and thus one needs Christ to be saved. According to him, People cannot be healed in their souls by any works and therefore sinfulness and immorality of the soul make one a slave of sin thus they deserve condemnation. He said that the flesh of a man always led him to sin and that man could not avoid sin by any means.
Machiavelli believed that human beings are unappreciative, unfaithful, insincere dishonest and that they are afraid of danger and eager when an opportunity presents itself to reap benefits. To him, people always break the union of love when an opportunity presents itself, and that when there is punishment for wrongdoing, they will be afraid. This led him to caution the leaders against people who may want to take away their throne when an opportunity presents itself.
Machiavelli did not support the idea of religion and Christianity in particular mostly because he was not for the idea of the institutionalized Christian church. He did not support the idea of the church and the Pope who was superior to the King because he believed that faith and Christianity were just meant to strengthen the society and not keep the society safe. Luther also was in conflict with the pope and the clergy because he saw that they were not doing the work of giving the word of God but were there because of the privileges they enjoyed. He wanted the popes to stop giving believers the idea that they could buy themselves to heaven without faith and the word of God.
Critical analysis of Luther’s and Machiavelli’s works
The views of Machiavelli and Luther are different in the way they perceived religious and social settings. In his book The Freedom of a Christian Man, Luther wrote that man is made up of a spiritual as well as a bodily nature. The spiritual part is the soul while the bodily nature represents the flesh and they are always conflicting against each other; the flesh against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. He says that the body may die but the inward spirit will always be alive. The outward flesh of a man will never at any given time be able to give a Christian any freedom and neither will it give Christian unrighteousness. He said that the spiritual nature of a person was the one that gave an individual true freedom from all evil.
Machiavelli on the other hand does not believe in the existence of the spiritual soul and derives his conviction on his experiences on earth. In his book The Prince, Machiavelli disputed the moral value that leaders need to be good in order to earn respect and be loved by the citizens. He believed there is no way to morally judge that one is using power lawfully or unlawfully. He said that command and power are basically equal and if someone holds power they are justified to command. He further explains that someone who is good does not have any power by the fact that one is good. He was clearly opposing the moral theory of politics by stating that the only thing that a leader should be concerned with is gaining power and protection of authority.
Luther states that by the outward body being free, taking good care of or when there are illnesses, anger or bondage, these are not things that dictate the freedom or slavery of the soul. This is why Luther believed that the body will not benefit in any way when an individual is living in holy places, or live in sacred offices, or even praying and fasting. He believed that there is a greater force that will be needed for the freedom of the soul and only hypocrites care about material possessions. He concluded that nothing will harm the soul whether a person dwells in high places or in an ordinary lifestyle since these kinds of things are practiced by hypocrites.
According to Machiavelli, a well-defined political administration should have good laws and fine weapons and that the legality of laws wholly depends on power to enforce it. He says that the administration of the ruler should be impeccable and splendid with total control of its people. The state should have a great authority which the leader needs in order to protect his kingdom. He also explains that the inferiors should be afraid of the leader and that force and deception is the best way to control the people.
Luther in his book The Freedom of a Christian Man believes that many people think Christianity is simple since they do not realize that it is a social value and since they have not experienced it, practically they do not know how valuable it is. He teaches that those people who have come to learn Christianity even for a short while have felt its power and cannot have enough of it. He says that Christianity is a living source, which leads to eternal life. He teaches that a Christian is a free person but makes himself a servant to others; he is obedient and is there to serve everyone and does not owe anybody but offers the love of God.
Machiavelli was portrayed by many people as being against the morality and religious standards of human beings. Many believed that his writings approved of immoral actions. He is believed to advocate for evil when he advises rulers to stay away from virtues such as fairness, compassion, self-control, good judgment, and love among themselves. He advocates for the use of violence, brutality, fear, and injustice in order to succeed as a ruler. Machiavelli believed that moral values have no importance in the choices a political ruler is supposed to make and to him, it is a very great mistake to think any other way.
Luther taught that the only thing that can give absolute Christian freedom and justification is the holy word of God which is the gospel of Christ. In other words, the soul can live without everything life has to offer except the word of God. Having the word of God makes one rich and the soul desires nothing else because it has the word of life, freedom, beauty, and all other good things in life. He said that Christ came for the word of God and that the ministers, bishops, and the clergy are there to help spread the word of God. He says that the word of God when it is preached sets the soul free to those who believe it since it is only by faith that salvation is achieved.
On the other hand, Machiavelli believes that power is the only thing that can give a ruler total fulfillment. He emphasizes that a ruler in order to sustain his power and authority must not be a weakling. The leader should be able to adjust to the situation as circumstances dictate without any consideration for ethics or principals. This means that the ruler should be flexible in doing good deeds and bad deeds as the conditions dictate. He describes the political arena as some kind of battlefield in which the leader should be able to possess the qualities to be able to understand what strategy to take in different situations. The leader should be able to master all the techniques of leadership and follow them to the book.
Luther believed that having faith in Christ is a very precious treasure that protects and keeps away one from all evil. He goes on to write that the faith that one has putting Christ in one’s heart relives all the burdens that one is carrying. He believes that those called by God to spread his word are doing the right thing of saving mankind. On his part, Machiavelli insists that the concept of having the right to rule does not add any value to acquiring power. He goes on to explain that being good and correct is not enough to help one take care of a political office. He explains that anyone who is a leader should be able to learn how authority is used since he believes that when one knows how to apply or use the power they possess, then one will be able to earn respect.
Luther believed that the man who has faith in God has no need for the law and in that case, he is free from the law. This to him portrays Christian freedom and does not mean one is careless but that they have received salvation. He insisted that a Christian is by faith lifted above and spiritually he reigns over all things and nothing can harm him. The law keeps people from doing evil but a Christian does not do any evil and therefore God put them above the law. Machiavelli writes that the law is supreme in the kingdom and should be strict so that no one can break it. Machiavelli believed that there is no godly order in which God dictates how rulers should govern their states. He advocates that during a transition of power people cannot be trusted and therefore they should be treated with kindness or trampled badly since one can revenge lighter wounds but not those that are serious. He believes that previous kingdoms should be done away with as soon as possible so that the new rulers can maintain the state without any problems.
Luther teaches that Christians should not just be satisfied by just preaching the word of God but to practice what they teach. He said that the priests and ministers of the word should always stay away from hypocrisy and repent to God so that they can receive everlasting life. He tells the people that Christianity will help model the life of even their leaders to govern them well. Machiavelli on the other hand does not support the fact that Christianity gives people the power to achieve greatness in life. He believes that one should protect his political power to achieve all they want without depending on religious believes. He does not think that Christianity is good for rulers who want to govern with power because it brings out the ideas of morality that he feels are not important in being a leader. He also says that citizens should obey every word from the ruler without questions. He further says that a ruler should try and make sure that the citizens and officials do not hate him and at the same time be able to use corruption when it becomes necessary.
Luther also cautions against false prophets and people who will try to trick Christians into believing they are heaven-sent. He tells the believers to always stay with each other and read the word of God often in order to avoid being swayed into evil doings. He says in his book The Freedom of a Christian man that God will protect those who believe in him from all harm. Machiavelli believes that the power of an army is enough to keep a ruler safe. He advocates for a forceful and ruthless army to protect the state and the ruler. He did not believe that good moral and being right to the citizens being governed would guarantee security.
Machiavelli believes that a leader should not gain power through family inheritance or because one has been given support by a popular leader but through one’s hard work, ability, talent and power. In order for the leader to preserve his kingdom, he can only count on his personality to direct the exercise of authority and set up his say on leadership. He further insists that the power of the leader is at stake because other people will always conspire to remove him from his throne. He does not believe in the issue of the firm constitutional state that is portrayed in the situation of modern days. Luther on the other hand does not put any importance on having power whichever way one acquires it. He believes that the most important thing all people should have is salvation through Christ and that one needs to have faith in God. He says that material possessions will be finished and when a person dies it is only the spirit that lives on. He further says that all people who are rich lie to themselves because richness is only achieved when one has received Christ in their life. (Germino 20)
Conclusion
Though Machiavelli and Luther had a few similarities in their writings about the life, they had more differences in their books. Machiavelli believed more in the political power a person should hold in order to be successful in life while Luther believed that religion and especially Christianity were very important in order to achieve spiritual freedom and peace of mind. They both received appreciation from their different readers and supporters for the views they portrayed in their writings. The work that they have put across has been perceived differently by various people and especially Machiavelli’s book The Prince that was banned because of the strong issues of corruption and immorality he was trying to portray in the society.
Works Cited
Germino, Dante. Machiavelli to Marx: Modern Western Political Thought. University of Chicago Press. 1979. Print.
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