Page:Chelčický, Molnar - The Net of Faith.djvu/104



CHAPTER 30

THE DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN THE SPIRITUAL AND SECULAR

[ The real difficulty arises from the fact that present day Christians do not know where to draw the dividing line between their faith and the state. They enjoy the protection of the state and share in its advantages. Particularly the clergy and the learned doctors seem to have become allies of the state. In order to make their compromise more plausible they have divided all mankind into three estates ] namely:

► 	The estate of the ruling class, which conducts defensive warfare, kills, burns, and hangs. ► 	The estate of priests who pray. ► 	The estate of the common peasants who must slave and feed the two upper-class insatiable Baals.[369]

Behold the first Baal, fat and proliferated: the temporal lords. Behold the second Baal, also fat and proliferated: the spiritual lords. Both Baals suck the labor of the earth, the blood, and the sweat of the third class that, drenched with sweat, fills the fleshpots of the two Baals.

[ But the religion of Jesus does not approve of this system. When the rule of Jesus was foretold by the angel,[370] the House of Jacob meant the Church of the righteous, the sheep of Christ who hear his voice: ]

“Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” And again, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”[371]

Therefore he cannot rule over stinking goats (sic), that is, straying Christians, because they do not listen to his voice [ but rather obey the authority of the combined Church and state. ]

The world is unable to follow his (Christ’s) rule for its excellent perfection; for nowhere can man be governed both in matters which pertain to God and in matters which pertain to men, with such benefit for his soul as well as body, as in the sovereignty of King Jesus. We can confess these things by the (assurance of) faith. The royal[372] government has no similarity with the government of King Jesus. A good Christian lives by faith and follows Christ in works; but, as mentioned before, according to the doctors such a Christian should be king with a pagan exercise of power over his sheep; however, it is impossible to reconcile their utterances with the fact that they have ignored King Jesus and his fullness[373] who is the head of the Holy Church. The Church’s authority and sufficiency is derived from this head and is (channeled) to all the members (of the body). The doctors have forgotten these things if they