Blaming Moses: Rejections of Mosaic Civil Law During the Early Reformation

From Luther’s quip, “We don’t want to see or hear Moses,” to Calvin’s rejection of exclusive Mosaic civil polity as “foolish” and “seditious” in 1536, no person seems to have drawn harsher criticism in regard to the political and social thought of the magisterial Reformation than the Old Testament lawgiver, Moses. Rejections of the need for Mosaic judicial laws, beginning early in the Reformation era, are varied, broad, and explicit. In some cases, such as Luther’s and Melanchthon’s attacks on Andreas Karlstadt, alleged proponents of Mosaic civil law are given by name. In other cases, such as Calvin’s denunciation just mentioned, they are anonymous. In all cases, however, it is not obvious whether anyone—named or not—actually held the view attributed. This situation leaves us with certain questions: Did any significant figure during the early Reformation period truly advocate imposing Mosaic civil law as the exclusive civil polity of the land? If not, were these various accusa