Originally Posted By: BranShea
" The peasants mistook spiritual liberty for carnal license."
- Schaff, VII, §75, "The Peasants' War: 1523-1525"

"My opinion is that it is better that all the peasants be killed than that the princes and magistrates perish, because the rustics took the sword without divine authority. The only possible consequence of their satanic wickedness would be the diabolic devastation of the kingdom of God. "
(Letter to Nicholas Amsdorf at Magdeburg, from Wittenberg.)

From here "carnal licence" looks more like "licence to kill".
( 007 again )

Both quotes concern Martin Luther's reaction to the peasants' uprising in (from memory, don't quote me on the date) ca 1525. "Carnal license" means giving free reign to 'the flesh' (which means the sinful human nature). The peasants, in Luther's view, were simply venting their uncontrolled hatred and fury in an orgy of violence. Though he didn't recommend either, Luther preferred even Tyranny to Anarchy, since at least in Tyranny the basic infrastructure of society remains intact, and there is less bloodshed. Maybe if Luther was President of the US in 2002 the course of recent history might have been different...