“Certainly it is true that Christians, so far as they themselves are concerned, are subject neither to law nor sword, and have need of neither. But take heed and first fill the world with real Christians before you attempt to rule it in a Christian and evangelical manner. This you will never accomplish; for the world and the masses are and always will be un-Christian, even if they are all baptized and Christian in name.”

—  Martin Luther

Source: Temporal Authority: To What Extent It Should Be Obeyed (1523), p. 91

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seminal figure in Protestant Reformation 1483–1546

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