Political Commentary Part 1 – Goodness or Prudence?

I have about three political posts brewing due to the upcoming election, which is currently causing me a lot of grief (I do not have a candidate to vote for, which I intend to explain later.) There is a popular quote by Martin Luther that caught my attention this morning:

“Better to be ruled by a wise turk than a foolish Christian.”

Problem is, it’s nearly impossible to find a citation on this one. CrossAlone tells us why: “Luther never said it so succinctly”

In a lecture on Deuteronomy, chapter 1, verse 13, he put it this way:

“The question has been properly raised whether a prince is better if he is good and imprudent or prudent yet also evil. Here [in Deuteronomy 1:13] Moses certainly demands both. Nevertheless, if one cannot have both, it is better for him to be prudent and not good than good and not prudent; for the good man would actually rule nothing but would be ruled only by others, and at that only by the worst people. Even if the prudent man harms good people, yet at the same time he governs the evil ones, which is the most necessary and suitable thing for the world, since the world is nothing else than a crowd of evil people.”

Luther’s Works 9:19

Food for thought.


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One response to “Political Commentary Part 1 – Goodness or Prudence?”

  1. Matt Avatar
    Matt

    Looking forward to the upcoming posts.

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