Thinwhitedukism (Merveilles des Morte)

Thinwhitedukism (German: Dünnerweißerherzogismus) is a politico-religious system of governance based on the teachings of the Thin White Duke of Thuringia. Created in the Holy Roman Empire during the early 16th century, Thinwhitedukism is considered a political development of the Reformation begun in 1504 by Konrad Jung, and it largely influenced and was influenced by the Great Peasant War that began in 1515. Thinwhitedukism is chiefly an ideology and movement whose ultimate goal is the establishment of an Utopian society based on Christian (namely Jungist and apocalyptic) principles; a socioeconomic order structured upon the ideas of communal ownership, the absence of social classes and money, and the creation of the Messianic Kingdom alluded to in the Bible.

The movement is largely based upon Christian works such as the Book of Revelation, where it argues the belief that the Second Coming and the creation of a New Jerusalem is coming and imminent, necessitating the creation of a "foundation" for this kingdom, through the enacting of a Christian society based on the perceived life of the early church, which is alluded to in the Acts of the Apostles. The communal living and abolishment of a state through Jesus Christ is considered the goal of the movement, however, it is also argued that it is necessary to temporarily hold trust in a Vanguard Party of Apostles, for the purpose of safeguarding the Kingdom in its construction and interpreting the will of God prior to the Second Coming. In practice this has led the movement to not entirely usurp the feudalism it was born out of, rather it views class relations and social conflict through a materialist interpretation of historical development, and takes a dialectical view of social transformation.

Overview

The Thinwhitedukist movement is precipitated by the belief that Jesus Christ shall return to establish the Messianic Kingdom, and with this Judgement imminent, the faithful will create the foundation of this kingdom by enacting his will on Earth and through the creation of a perfect society. In the New Jerusalem ruled by Jesus, there will be no need for secular rulers, kings, priests, or any authority whatsoever other than God, but noting the need to safeguard the kingdom as it begins construction, in preparation for his return, the faithful shall be ruled by a vanguard group of Apostles and religious authorities, such as the President, who will temporarily interpret God’s will and govern the faithful until the Second Coming.

In the New Jerusalem all will live communally, without any private property, money, or divisions. The faithful on Earth will begin to enact God’s vision by living as close to this ideal as possible, and living as the Israelites and the original followers of Jesus Christ once did. The Bible shall be the primary source of authority for Christian faith and practice (“prima scriptura”), with scripture being illumined by tradition, reason and experience, with the concept of an infallible authority over the Bible (E.g. the Pope) being rejected.

The Pope/Papacy and the old church hierarchy must be removed, however, noting the importance of safeguarding the faith and preparing the faithful for the creation of the New Kingdom, the faith shall be governed temporarily on Earth by three heads (the Triumvirate). The Apostolic President shall be the chief spiritual prophet, seer, and successor of Jesus Christ, and this office shall be hereditary. The Ergacratic President shall govern the people’s secular lives, and this office shall be elected by the people. Lastly, the President of the Magi shall govern the priestly class of Apostles, in their role as advisors and performers of worship, and this position will be chosen randomly, to show God’s preference.

In Germany the Holy Roman Empire will be eclipsed by an empire directly centered around New Jerusalem and ruled by the Apostles. This nation will be divided into republics akin to the Holy Roman Empire’s provincial system. Other nations of the world, although spiritually following the teachings of the Apostles and the Prophets, will be independent, but will be compelled to model their governments off the model created in Germany, in addition to following religious tenets.

Beliefs

Foundation

• Foundation of New Jerusalem
  • Jesus Christ shall return to form the Messianic Kingdom, centered at New Jerusalem (“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” - Revelation 3:12) that shall be the city of the righteous believers. (“And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion.” -Moses 7:19)
  • The heavenly city will be reunited with the Earth, taking its place upon the foundation of the Messianic Kingdom prepared by its faithful. (Thuringia 3:15)

On Governance

• Communalism - The faithful shall be governed through communal ownership and federations of highly localized independent communities; the concept of "all things in common".
  • All people are to hold all possessions and property communally; resources must be shared for the mutual needs of all. (“And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.” -Acts 2:44-45) Private property among the faithful shall be abolished. (“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.” -Acts 4:32)
  • The distribution of the resources of the state shall be given to the Apostles, so that they may use their judgement to fairly take care of all the faithful. (“For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.” -Acts 4:34-37)
  • The possession of resources deemed for the Apostles, or the keeping of resources for one’s self instead of for the state, will be a sun. (“But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?” -Acts 5:1)
• Abolishment of Money
  • Money—the assets, property, and resources owned by someone or something; wealth—will be considered a sinful artifact ("the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" -Timothy 6:10), and being subservient to the accumulation or the pursuit of money is tantamount to a disservice toward God. ("No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." -Matthew 6:24)
• The Priestly Vanguard
  • It is paramount that the faithful lay the foundation of the New Jerusalem and prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ, creating a 1,000 year-old state transitional in nature, that will allow for the ideal society in the Messianic Kingdom. (“He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years and threw him into the pit and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be let out for a little while.” -Revelation 20:2-3)
  • The most religious-conscious and politically advanced sections of the faithful will form a hierarchy in order to draw larger sections of the population towards faithful politics, and will protect the faithful and temporarily rule over them in order to prepare the faithful for the New Kingdom. (“[these souls] came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years...This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.” -Revelation 20:4-6)
  • The vanguard will be known as the Apostles, and will serve as the Earthly ambassadors of God toward the enforcement of his will and toward the creation of the foundation of the New Kingdom. All Apostles will be “born again” through God. ("except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" -John 3:3)
  • Exactly 144,000 faithful Christians will rule in the state preparing for the coming of God as Apostles. They, with Jesus, will also perform priestly duties that will bring faithful mankind to perfect health and everlasting life. (“Then I saw, and look! the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who have his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads” -Revelation 14:1)

On Labour

• Allotment of Labour
  • The Apostles as the guides of the state shall determine the best use of resources, (“Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea" -Acts 11:39) and they shall distribute resources as needed. ("[...] to the emissaries to distribute to each according to his need" -Acts 4:35)
  • All must provide to the state and fulfill the commands of the Apostles, in order to receive the resources the Apostles have to distribute. (“For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.” -2 Thessalonians 3:10)
  • In the absence of money, all shall contribute to society through their labor for the benefit of all. All lands will be held communally, with the excess produce contributed to the rest of the community.
  • The Apostles shall be tasked with planning the infrastructure—roads, supply depots, and store rooms—so that excess produce can be stored in every community and taken from as needed by all walks of life.
  • The faithful will contribute to the state through the donation of their labor, required as determined by the state, toward the building of any infrastructure or toward the completion of any task.

Rätia System

• Rätia/Räte ("councils") - a political organization and governmental body, based on the synods of the Jungist faith.
  • The Rätia shall be the governing bodies of the people for the purpose of elections, decision making, and organization, and shall be convened to decide issues of doctrine, administration, or application, and to safeguard against anti-Rätian governance. (Thuringia 6:1-15)
  • As a form of local governance, the Rätia shall decide the policies of local governance, and will be the primary link of communication between the people and the Apostles (Thuringia 6:43)
  • The Rätian system will govern the provinces of the nations that form the foundation of God's kingdom, with each province self-governing but united in the common good. (Thuringia 6:50)

On Secular Nations

• Holy Roman Empire
  • New Principles
    • The Holy Roman Empire must be replaced by a new empire based on the values of the faith, so to serve as a model for all future states. (Thuringia 4:1)
    • The new empire, centered around New Jerusalem and ruled by the Apostles, shall be the direct successor and replacement of the Holy Roman Empire (Thuringia 4:3-5)
    • All nations of Germany shall be compelled to follow the faithful as direct members of the new nation, while compelling the nations of the world to follow their example.
• Other Nation states
  • The nations of the faithful should be organized under the principles of the faith, to mutually work together in the creation of the New Jerusalem. (Thuringia 5:11)

Important Works

Twelve Articles

Created in 1515, the Twelve Articles were an important agreement created between the Thin White Duke and the peasants of Thuringia, at the beginning of the Great Peasant War. The document is considered the first draft of human rights and civil liberties in continental Europe after the Roman Empire, and an important step in the implementation of a Thinwhitedukism government.

Key points:

• Every municipality shall have the right to form a council, and to elect and remove a preacher if he behaves improperly. The preacher shall preach the gospel simply, straight and clearly without any human amendment, for, it is written, that we can only come to God by true belief.
• It has been practice so far, that we have been held as villein, which is pitiful, given that Christ redeemed all of us with his precious bloodshed, the shepherd as well as the highest, no one excluded. Therefore, it is devised by the scripture, that we are and that we want to be free.
• It is unfraternal and not in accordance with the word of God that the simple man does not have the right to catch game, fowls, and fish. For, when God our master created man, he gave him power over all animals, the bird in the air and the fish in the water.
• The high gentlemen have taken sole possession of the woods. If the poor man needs something, he has to buy it for double money. Therefore, all the woods that were not bought (relates to former community woods, which many rulers had simply appropriated) shall be given back to the municipality so that anybody can satisfy his needs for timber and firewood thereof.
• The matter of excessive services demanded of us should be properly looked into as we are only required to serve according to God
• The peasant should help the lord when it is necessary and at proper times, in accordance with the plans of the Apostles
• Properties inhabited by honest men have affixed to them an unjust rent that shall be abolished, so that homes may be owned by those who inhabit them
• There are constantly new laws being made. One does not punish according to the offence but at discretion (raising fines and arbitrary punishment was common). It is our opinion that we shall be judged according to the case's merits, and not with partiality, as directed by the Apostles and the councils
• Several have appropriated meadows and acres (community land that was at the disposition of all members), that belong to the municipality. Those we want back to our common hands.
• The “Todfall” (a sort of inheritance tax) shall be abolished altogether and never again shall widows and orphans be robbed contrary to God and honour.