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VOLUME 46, CHRISTIAN IN SOCIETY III contains 8 signifigant works by Luther. (1) ADMONITION TO PEACE (1525) in which Luther seeks to forestall insurrection and violence by the discontented peasants of Germany. (2) AGAINST THE ROBBING AND MURDERING HORDES OF PEASANTS (1525) Convinced that the peasant insurrection aims at nothing but revolution and anarchy, Luther encourages the rulers to suppress the rebelling peasants by overwhelming force of arms. (3) AN OPEN LETTER CONCERNING THE HARSH BOOK AGAINST THE PEASANTS (1525). Here Luther defends the position he took against the peasant uprising, although he disclaims responsiblity for the postwar atrocities of the rulers against the subdued peasants. (4) WHETHER SOLDIERS, TOO, CAN BE SAVED (1526). Luther takes the position that soldiery belongs to the office of the sword and endorses the principle of defense as the divinely appointed duty of every government. (5) AN ANSWER TO SEVERAL QUESTIONS CONCERNING MONASTIC VOWS (1529). Luther assures the devout Catholic ruler of Henneberg that the monastic interpretation of the number of biblical passages is not valid in light of the Gospel. (6) ON WAR AGAINST THE TURK (1529). While denying that the church has a right to wage such a war, Luther holds that the emperor may because God has appointed him to defend his imperiled subjects. (7) A SERMON ON KEEPING CHILDREN IN SCHOOL (1530). Luther seeks to persuade parent to give their children an education to serve God in church, state, and society. (8) ON MARRIAGE MATTERS (1530). Luther deals with matters of engagement, premarital intimacy, divorce, the conflict between ecclesiastical and imperial law, and the duties of pastors in counseling couples.
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