Thoughts on Luther, part 2

In this section Luther talks about the limits of the sword. He says that the ruler does not have power over belief, just action. He also explains the Christian subject’s role under a secular prince (the most common kind). He says that we are to obey as long as he does not go outside his God ordained authority but if he does go beyond it, for instance he has Christians turn in their copies of the Bible, we are to disobey but accept the consequences of our actions, that is, do not hand over the Bibles but do not fight back when your house is searched and accept even death as punishment for it would be a blessing to suffer for our Lord Jesus.

Thoughts on Luther, part 1

Luther divides up human kind into two groups: Christian and pagan. He says that if every person were a true Christian that no law would be necessary. My question is, are all true Christians so perfect as to no longer need the law? Can we safely assume, as he does, that a world filled with only true Christians would need no law? I suppose I am asking, can a true Christian sin?

Rhetoric Quiz on Machiavelli

"The Prince is a concise statement of Machiavell's belief that classical and Christian political theory is unworkable in a world that defines politics as the exercise of power and the struggle for power. It is also implicitly a rejection of a nihilistic counterethic, that only power and brute force matter."
- (Dante Germino, Machiavelli to Marx: Modern Western Political Thought, p. 32)

Discuss to what extent you agree or disagree with this statement. What evidence can you bring to support your position?