T h e r e l a t i o n between church and state was of immediate and practical concern to Chris tians from the very first. Jesus handed down the basic canon to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s (Matthew 22:21). Peter admonished the be lievers to be subject for the Lord’s sake, to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right (I Peter 2:13, 14). Paul, writing to Rome, the political capital of the world, explained that every person should be subject to the governing authorities: “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who re sists the authorities resists what God has ap pointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. Would you have no fear o f him who is in au thority? Then do what is good, and you will re ceive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute His wrath on the wrongdoer. There fore one must be subject, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake o f conscience. For the same reason, you also pay taxes, for the authorities
are ministers of God, attending to this very thing” (Romans 13:1-6). According to Scripture, governmental authority is not based on a social contract but on the will of God. It is God who wills the existence o f govern ments for the happiness o f mankind. Therefore a government is agreeable to God’s will as long as it promotes that happiness. These biblical principles inform both governments and subjects o f their re spective duties. Starting from a philosophical vantage point, Karl Jaspers expressed his conviction that the basic ideals o f law can only be secured effectively in our lives if force is available for their realization. The idea of law as such can only prevail by allying itself with force. The law is morally based, but its effec tiveness is due to force. Although the rights o f men have been pro claimed ever since the eighteenth century, it has been impossible to give them historical reality. Rights can be made secure only when they command force. An individual can rely only on the rights he possesses by virtue o f his nationality; in other words, by virtue of a power that commands force. He who would rely on the rights of man and tries to do so as a stateless person — and this has been the experience o f the author — will find out that he has actually no rights at all.
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THE KINO'S BUSINESS
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