Page:The Net of Faith.pdf/469

130* pray for them to God? These are the acts of our faith and these are the commandments of God. So, what can the state authority do about that position?... The state authority, therefore, because of its reliance on cruel compulsion, cannot direct a life of obedience to God. A certain tool cannot be used in every trade but each trade has to use its own suitable tools; a blacksmith cannot hold a horseshoe in the fire with a spindle and a woman cannot spin with a pair of pliers. Therefore, pliers are appropriate to the blacksmith and a spindle to the woman.

Similarly, the authority of the state is suited for other things than the Church of Christ. (: It is doing good in sofar as it restrains the evil-doers.:)

Rom. 13:10.