Luther and Bonhoeffer on the social ethical meaning of justification by faith alone

This article explores the social and ethical significance of the Lutheran dogma of justification by faith alone, as understood by Luther himself, and subsequently appearing in the ideas of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The main thesis is that a Protestant ethics based on ‘sola fide’ (‘by faith alone’) is a social ethics. The sola fide doctrine is Luther’s main theological heritage and permeates all Protestant social ethics. After a brief summary of this doctrine and contemporary skepticism about it, three interrelated themes are discussed: the sinful human condition, the social meaning of faith and the concept of vocation. As a result, some basic connections to an economics of community and gratitude are established. The Lutheran slogan sola fide, rightly understood, calls us to overcome our sinful selves, and by implication the egocentric grounds of our neoliberal marketplace and the boundaries of meritocracy. The gratuity needed for a social ethical economics is based on a gracious gift of God and, as such, an act of participation through faith. Our personal faith and vocation call us to assume responsibility for the common good.