Bits and Pieces Database

Significant words

Keyword: Church vs. State
Expression:

"In the New Testament's boldest innovations, that which we call the State and that which we call the Church are agencies that cater to differentiable loyalties.  The State demands a loyalty that all men can give, irrespective of their religious orientation; the Church demands a loyalty which only he can give who believes in the Christ.  The State has a sword with which it constrains men, coerces them if need be; the Church has a sword also, but it is the sword of the Word of God, a sword that goes no farther than moral suasion."

Voice: Leonard Verduin
Circumstance: Foundational explanation of the Donatist Rebellion
Citation: Leonard Verduin, The Reformers and Their Stepchildren (Dissent and Nonconformity)(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1964), 22.
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The Reformers and Their Stepchildren (Dissent and Nonconformity)