home. The commandment of God says, “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.”[449] But he who goes to war does evil to them of whom he would wish that they do good to him; and what he would be loath doing at home, that he gladly does obeying the orders of his lords…
If all the Christian people should obey the commandments of God, how many of them would be imprisoned, and what great rivers of blood would flow from the martyrs of the paganized authorities! For (faithful Christians) would refuse to storm the walls, to run like cattle, to destroy, to murder, and to rob; instead, obeying their faith, they would rather perish under the sword than to do these things so revolting to the law of God. But here, this foolish cattle, dipped in holy water, has turned its back to God and His law, gladly doing everything evil, seduced as it is by the Church of Rome, and drunken by the wine of the great harlot with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, bathing the world in blood and iniquities.[450]
CHAPTER 56
INTERPRETATION OF ROMANS 13:3-4
Saint Paul goes on to say:
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good.[451]
Here we are always caught between the fences, as it were, when we look to the interpretations of the Church of Rome (derived from the Emperor), and it is difficult to get to the true intention of Saint Paul’s meaning. [ The Church applies these words to any authority and any prince. This interpretation caused the enslavement of the people. But Paul always spoke of the rulers who lived before the time of Jesus Christ, who were not Christian, and when as yet nobody ever heard of the Christians. The Church gives her interpretation in order to please the rulers and thus to induce them to join her. But in Paul’s days the pagan rulers persecuted the Christians. Having those cruel princes in mind, Paul says to the Christians: “Obey your authorities, do good, and do not antagonize the authorities against yourselves.” ]
And concerning the sentence, “rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad,” we must remember that the rulers were pagans. How then could they be able to distinguish between good and bad deeds? [ The Roman rulers and princes knew legal goodness only. That is, they were concerned with checking crass injustices, violence, theft, disputes, murders, robber bands, bandits, and adulteries. They checked these evils by their authority of compulsion. If they did not do so, their kingdom would perish. ]
For even among pagans peacefulness is a great virtue… The gospel praises the saintly people Zechariah and Elisabeth that they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments
