Beruf in German, the word for “occupation,” and mounted a polemic against the view of vocation prevalent in the medieval church. 61 The church at that time understood itself as the entirety of God’s kingdom on earth, 62 and therefore only work in and for the church could qualify as God’s work. This meant that the only way to be called by God into service was as a monk, priest, or nun. They were called “the spiritual estate,” everyone else’s work was worldly, and secular labor was seen as akin to the demeaning necessity that the Greeks saw in manual labor. 63 Luther attacked this idea
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