Love Your Enemies

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

SUMMARY: The commandment of the law was to love your neighbor, but the Lord commanded us to love your enemy. Christians cannot kill their enemies or sentence them to be burned or stoned. The Lord took from the Jews the right to make war on their enemies, to fight for their country, and to put to death or otherwise punish adulterers, murderers, or others who were guilty of similar crimes. The early Christians, such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Tertullian, and Origen, understood the New Covenant commandment to love your enemies to be a fulfillment of the prophecies: "Neither shall they learn war any more," in Isaiah 2:4, and Micah 4:3. Based on this command to love your enemies, the early Christians were, without exception, opposed to taking part in warfare. Christians refuse to make war on our enemies. Christians are trained not in war but in peace. Soldiers of the civil authority must be taught not to kill men and to refuse to do so if they are commanded. After the name of Christ was heard in the world, wars diminished. Unlike those who try to be useful to their country, a just man does not injure, hate, rob, or put to death. Yet the early Christians also mention that there were Christian soldiers. The quotations below from Tertullian, Tertullian, and Hippolitus, Hippolytus, explain the seeming contradiction. As Christians shared the gospel in the Roman Empire, many pagan Roman soldiers were converted. Once baptized, those who were already in the military could not simply resign because leaving the Roman army was punishable by death. Although joining the military was not allowed by the early church, they permitted converted soldiers to remain in the army after baptism as long as they did not use the sword, swear oaths, or take part in idolatrous practices. Even the Nicene Council forbade military service and set a penance for those who violated their former repentance. The First Council of Nicaea declared, as many as were called by grace and showed the first zeal, having cast aside their military girdles but afterward returned like dogs to their own vomit so that some spent money and by means of gifts regained their military stations. Let these, after they have spent the space of three years as hearers, be for ten years prostrators. But in all these cases, it is necessary to examine carefully their purpose and what their repentance appears to be like. For as many as give evidence of their conversions by deeds and not pretense, with fear and tears and perseverance and good works when they have fulfilled their appointed time as hearers may properly take part in prayers. After that, the bishop may decide even more favorably concerning them. But those who take the matter with indifference and who think the form of not entering the church is enough for their conversion must fulfill the whole time. Though people's commitment to Christianity changed dramatically during the reign of Emperor Constantine, the Council of Nicaea is still representative of the dominant orthodox views of the broader church at the time. If they were disciplining disciples who failed to keep the repentance needed to enter the church, then how can anyone argue that the post-apostolic church had no problem with military service? Jesus commanded his disciples not only not to hate people but also to love their enemies. Christians love all people and are persecuted by all. Loving one's enemies does not mean loving wickedness or impiety or adultery or theft. It means loving the thief, the impious person, and the adulterer. Pray for those who persecute and hate you and for the enemies of the cross so that your fruit may be clear to all and so that you may be perfect in him. If we are commanded then to love our enemies, who do we have to hate? The Lord proclaims the Father to be good. Disciples are called to imitate God as his children. The Lord was giving commands for salvation and training his disciples toward perfection. The Father wants us to be perfect by aiming at sinlessness and living blamelessly according to obedience to the gospel. TATIAN: You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those that curse you and deal well with those that hate you and pray for those who take you with violence and persecute you. That you may be sons of your heavenly Father, who makes his sun to rise on the good and the evil and sends down his rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? For the tax collectors and sinners also love those that love them. And if you do a kindness to those who treat you well, where is your superiority? For sinners also do likewise. And if you lend to him of whom you hope for a reward, where is your superiority? For the sinners also lend to sinners seeking recompense from them. But love your enemies and do good to them, and lend, and do not cut off the hope of any man. That your reward may be great and you may be the children of the highest. For he is lenient towards the wicked and the ungrateful. Be merciful, even as your Father also is merciful. And if you inquire for the good of your brothers and sisters only, what more have you done than others? Is not this the conduct of the publicans also? Be now perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is perfect.

ORIGEN: Celsus, a pagan critic, asks: how could he command them through Moses to gather wealth, to extend their dominion, to fill the earth, to put their enemies of every age to the sword, and to destroy them completely? This is what he himself did, as Moses says. He also threatened them that if they did not obey his commands, he would treat them as his openly declared enemies. But on the other hand, his son, the man of Nazareth, announced laws that were very different from these. He declared that no one can come to the Father who loves power, or riches, or glory. He said that people should not be more careful about getting food than the ravens are. He said they should be less concerned about their clothing than the lilies are. He said that to the one who has struck them once, they should offer to receive another blow. So which is it, Moses or Jesus, who teaches falsely? Did the Father, when he sent Jesus, forget the commands that he had given to Moses? Or did he change his mind, condemn his own laws, and send out a messenger with opposite instructions? Origen's response. However, if we must briefly point to the difference between the way of life and laws that were given long ago to the Jews by Moses, and the way of life and laws that Christians, under the direction of Christ's teaching, now want to establish, we would say this: it must be impossible for the laws of Moses, taken only in a literal way, to fit with the calling of the Gentiles and with their being under the Roman government. And on the other hand, it would be impossible for the Jews to keep their civil system unchanged if they were to accept the gospel. Christians could not kill their enemies. They also could not sentence people to be burned or stoned, as Moses commands, when those people had broken the law and were judged to deserve those punishments. In fact, the Jews themselves, even though they want to carry out their law, are not able to give those punishments. But for the ancient Jews, it was different. They had their own land and their own form of government. If you took away from them the right to make war against their enemies, to fight for their country, and to put to death or otherwise punish adulterers, murderers, or others guilty of similar crimes, you would be putting them in danger of sudden and total destruction whenever an enemy attacked them. Their own laws would then hold them back and keep them from resisting the enemy. And that same providence that long ago gave the law and has now given the gospel of Jesus Christ did not want the Jewish state to continue any longer. So it destroyed their city and their temple. It ended the worship that was offered to God in that temple through the sacrifice of victims and through other ceremonies that he had commanded. And just as it destroyed these things because it did not want them to continue, in the same way it has spread the Christian religion day by day. Now it is preached everywhere with boldness, even though many obstacles stand against the spread of Christ's teaching in the world. But since it was God's purpose that the nation should receive the benefits of Christ's teaching, all the plans of people against Christians have come to nothing. The more kings, rulers, and peoples have persecuted them everywhere, the more they have increased in number and grown in strength.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. God certainly forbids us to hate, even if we think we have a reason to hate. He commands us to love our enemies. God forbids us to curse, even if there seems to be some reason to do so. He commands that we bless those who curse us.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Our religion commands us to love even our enemies. It also commands us to pray for those who persecute us. It aims at a perfection that is all its own. It looks for something in its disciples that is higher than the ordinary goodness of the world. Everyone loves those who love them. It is unique to Christians alone to love those who hate them.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian, for this means changing what you used to be and beginning to be what you were not before. This happens so that the new birth from God may shine in you. It happens so that godly training may answer back to God the Father. Then, as you live in honor and praise, God may be honored in a human life. God Himself urges us, warns us, and promises a reward to those who honor Him. He says, "Those who honor Me I will honor, and the one who despises Me will be despised." For this honoring, the Lord shapes us and gets us ready. The Son of God puts into us the likeness of God the Father. So He says in His Gospel, "You have heard that it has been said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'" But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who makes His sun rise on the good and on the evil, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. People feel joy and honor when they have children who are like them. It is even more pleasing when they have had a child. And then that child, as the next one in the family line, answers the parent by showing the same kind of character. How much greater is the joy in God the Father when someone is born in a spiritual way, so that in his actions and praises the greatness of his divine family line is made known. What a victory prize of righteousness it is. What a crown it is to be someone like that, so that the Lord would not say about you, "I have begotten and brought up children, but they have despised me." Instead, let Christ praise you and invite you to the reward. Let Him say, "Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom which is prepared for you from the beginning of the world."

LACTANTIUS: How can a man be just if he injures others, hates others, steals from others, or puts others to death? And those who try to be useful to their country do all these things.

IGNATIUS: Pray without stopping for other people, because there is in them hope of repentance so that they may reach God. So then, make sure they are taught by your actions. If there is no other way, be gentle when they are angry, be humble when they brag. When they speak blasphemies, answer with your prayers. When they are in error, stay firm in the faith. When they are cruel, show your gentleness.

POLYCARP: Pray for all the saints. Pray also for kings and rulers and princes and for those who persecute and hate you, and for the enemies of the cross. Do this so that your fruit may be clear to everyone, and so that you may be perfect in Him.

THE DIDACHE: The teaching is this: Bless those who curse you; pray for your enemies; fast for those who persecute you. For what thanks is there if you love those who love you? Do not the Gentiles also do the same, but love those who hate you, and you will not have an enemy.

JUSTIN MARTYR: We used to hate and destroy one another. Because of their different customs, we would not live with people from a different tribe. Now, since Christ came, we live closely with them. We pray for our enemies. We try to persuade those who hate us without a just reason to live in line with the good teachings of Christ. We do this so that they may share with us the same joyful hope of a reward from God, the Ruler of all. About our love for everyone, he taught this: "If you love them that love you, what new thing do you do? For even fornicators do this. But I say to you, pray for your enemies, and love them that hate you, and bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you." He also said that we should share with the needy and do nothing to get glory for ourselves. He said, "Give to him that asks, and from him that would borrow do not turn away. For if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what new thing do you do?" Even the publicans do this. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where moth and rust corrupts, and where robbers break through. But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupts. For what has a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Lay up treasure therefore in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupts." And he said, "Be kind and merciful, as your Father also is kind and merciful, and makes his sun to rise on sinners, and the righteous, and the wicked."

JUSTIN MARTYR: And when the spirit of prophecy speaks and predicts things that are going to happen, he speaks this way: "For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." And we can convince you that it did happen this way. From Jerusalem, men went out into the world, twelve in number. They were uneducated and had no skill in speaking, but by the power of God, they announced to every race of people that they were sent by Christ to teach all the word of God. And we who used to murder one another do not only now hold back from making war on our enemies; we also willingly die while confessing Christ, so that we will not lie or deceive our examiners. But if the soldiers enrolled by you, who have taken the military oath, choose loyalty over their own life and over parents and country and all relatives, even though you can offer them nothing that lasts forever, then it would truly be ridiculous if we, who deeply long for what cannot decay, would not endure all things in order to receive what we desire from him who is able to give it.

JUSTIN MARTYR: But those who were raised in sinful, out-of-control habits, and who are biased by their own opinions, should kill and hate us. We not only do not hate them, but, as has been proved, we pity them and try to lead them to repentance.

JUSTIN MARTYR: Jesus commanded us to love even our enemies. This was predicted by Isaiah in many passages. These passages also contain the mystery of our own new birth. They also contain the new birth of all who expect that Christ will appear in Jerusalem and who, by their works, try earnestly to please Him.

JUSTIN MARTYR: But I want to show that the Gentiles would repent of the evil in which they lived, led astray, when they heard the teaching preached by his apostles from Jerusalem, and which they learned through them. Let me show you this by quoting a short statement from the prophecy of Micah, one of the twelve minor prophets. It is as follows: "And in the last days the mountain of the Lord will be clearly seen. It will be established on the top of the mountains, it will be lifted up above the hills, and people will flow to it, and many nations will go and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and they will teach us his way, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion will go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he will judge among many peoples and will rebuke strong nations far away. And they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, and they will not learn war anymore. And each man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one to terrify him. For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it. For all people will walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever. And it will happen in that day that I will gather her who is afflicted, and bring together her who is driven out, and those whom I had struck. And I will make her who is afflicted a remnant, and her who was oppressed a strong nation. And the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from that time on, and even forever." Now I know that your Jewish teachers, sirs, admit that all the words of this passage refer to Christ. I also know that they claim he has not yet come. Or if they say that he has come, they claim it is not known who he is. But when he becomes clearly seen and glorious, then it will be known who he is. And then they say the events mentioned in this passage will happen as if there has been no result yet from the words of the prophecy. You men without reason, you do not understand what has been proved by all these passages. Two comings of Christ have been announced. The first is the one in which he is shown as suffering, without glory, dishonored, and crucified. But the second is the one in which he will come from heaven with glory. At that time, the man of apostasy, who speaks strange things against the Most High, will dare to do unlawful deeds on the earth against us Christians. We Christians have learned the true worship of God from the law and from the word that went out from Jerusalem through the apostles of Jesus. We have fled for safety to the God of Jacob and the God of Israel. And we who were once full of war and mutual slaughter and every kind of wickedness have each, throughout the whole earth, changed our weapons of war. We have turned our swords into plowshares and our spears into tools for farming. And we practice reverence toward God, righteousness, love for others, faith, and hope.

JUSTIN MARTYR: Martyr: Truly, your hand, the Jews, is raised high to do evil because you killed the Christ and do not repent of it. But instead of repenting, you hate and murder us who have believed through Him in the God and Father of all, as often as you can. And you curse Him without stopping, and you also curse those who side with Him. Meanwhile, all of us pray for you and for all people, just as our Christ and Lord taught us to do. He commanded us to pray even for our enemies, to love those who hate us, and to bless those who curse us.

ATHENAGORAS: if I go into the details of our teaching, do not be surprised. I do this so you will not be carried away by the popular and irrational opinion. I want you to have the truth clearly in front of you. When we present the beliefs we hold to as not human ideas but words spoken and taught by God, we will be able to persuade you not to think of us as atheists. So, what are the teachings we are raised in? I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be the sons of your Father who is in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

MATHETES: Christians love all people, and everyone persecutes them. People do not know them, and they condemn them. They are put to death, and they are brought back to life. They are poor, yet they make many people rich. They lack everything, and yet they have plenty of everything. They are dishonored, and yet even in their dishonor they are honored. People speak evil about them, and yet they are shown to be right. People insult them, and they bless. People treat them with contempt, and they repay the insult with honor. They do good, yet they are punished as if they were evildoers. When they are punished, they rejoice as if they were brought to life. The Jews attack them as foreigners, and the Greeks persecute them. Yet those who hate them cannot give any reason for their hatred. To sum it up in one word: What the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world. The soul is spread through all the parts of the body, and Christians are spread through all the cities of the world. The soul lives in the body, yet it is not from the body. In the same way, Christians live in the world, yet they are not from the world. The soul cannot be seen, but it is protected by the body that can be seen. In the same way, people can see that Christians are in the world, but their godliness cannot be seen. The flesh hates the soul and fights against it, even though the soul has not harmed it at all. The flesh hates the soul because the soul keeps it from enjoying pleasures. In the same way, the world hates Christians, even though Christians have not harmed it at all, because Christians turn away from pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and it also loves the body's parts. In the same way, Christians love those who hate them. The soul is trapped in the body, yet it keeps that same body alive. In the same way, Christians are kept in the world like in a prison, and yet they help keep the world going. The soul that cannot die lives in a body that will die. In the same way, Christians live as temporary residents in bodies that can decay, while they look for a home in heaven that cannot decay. When the soul has little food and drink, it becomes stronger. In the same way, even though Christians are punished day after day, they grow even more in number. God has given them this honored place, and it would be wrong for them to abandon it.

IRENAEUS: Irenaeus. Jesus commanded his disciples not only to not hate people, but also to love their enemies. He told them not only to not swear falsely, but to not swear at all. He told them not only to not speak evil of their neighbors, but to not even call anyone "wracker" and "fool." He said that otherwise they were in danger of hellfire. He told them not only to not strike others, but even when they themselves were struck, to offer the other cheek to those who mistreated them. He told them not only to not refuse to give up the property of others, but even if their own property was taken away, to not demand it back from those who took it. He told them not only to not injure their neighbors or do them any evil, but also when they themselves were treated wickedly to be patient, to show kindness to those who injured them, and to pray for them. He said to do this so that, through repentance, they might be saved. In this way we should not imitate the arrogance, lust, and pride of others in any respect.

IRENAEUS: Irenaeus. The long-suffering, patience, compassion, and goodness of Christ are clearly shown. He suffered, and He also forgave those who had treated Him badly. The Word of God, who said to us, "Love your enemies and pray for those that hate you," did this very thing on the cross. He loved the human race so much that He even prayed for those who were putting Him to death.

IRENAEUS: Irenaeus. The new covenant which brings back peace and the law which gives life has gone out over the whole earth, just as the prophets said. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall rebuke many people, and they shall break down their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and they shall no longer learn to fight. If, therefore, another law and word went out from Jerusalem and brought in a rule of peace among the Gentiles who received it, the word, and if it convinced many nations through them that they had been foolish, then it would seem that the prophets spoke about some other person. But if the law of liberty, that is, the word of God, preached by the apostles who went out from Jerusalem through all the earth, caused such a change in the way things were, that these nations did shape their swords and war lances into plowshares and change them into pruning hooks for harvesting grain, that is, into tools used for peaceful purposes, and if they are now not used to fighting, but when struck, they also offer the other cheek. Then the prophets did not speak these things about any other person; they spoke about him who made these things happen. This person is our Lord. In him, that statement is proven true. It is he himself who has made the plow and introduced the pruning hook. That is, he brought the first sowing of the seed of man, which was the creation shown in Adam, and he also brought the gathering in of the harvest in the last times by the word. For this reason, since he joined the beginning to the end and is Lord of both, he has finally shown the plow. He did this in that the wood has been joined to the iron, and in this way he has cleansed his land. This is because the word, having been firmly united to flesh and in its structure fixed with pins, has reclaimed the wild earth. In the beginning, he showed the pruning hook through Abel. He was pointing out that there would be a gathering in of a righteous family of people. He says, "For see how the just man perishes, and no man considers it, and righteous men are taken away, and no man lays it to heart." These things were acted out ahead of time in Abel. They were also announced earlier by the prophets. But they were completed in the Lord's own person, and the same is still true about us because the body follows the example of the head.

THEOPHILUS OF ANTIOCH: And we should be kind, not only to people of our own family line, as some think. Isaiah the prophet said, "Say to those that hate you and that cast you out, 'You are our brothers and sisters.' That the name of the Lord may be glorified and be clear in their joy." And the Gospel says, "Love your enemies and pray for them that despitefully use you. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?" This the robbers and the publicans also do.

TATIAN: I do not want to be a king. I am not worried about being rich. I refuse military command.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: "Revenge is payback for evil. It is done for the benefit of the person who takes revenge, the one who teaches us to pray for those that despitefully use us, will not want us to take revenge."

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Because it is not in war, but in peace, that we are trained. War needs a lot of preparation, and luxury wants too much. But peace and love are simple and quiet sisters; they need no weapons and no extra preparation.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: In their wars, the Etruscans used the trumpet, the Arcadians used the pipe, the Sicilians used the pectides, the Cretans used the lyre, the Lacedæmonians used the flute, the Thracians used the horn, the Egyptians used the drum, the Arabians used the cymbal. But we use the one instrument of peace, the word alone, by which we honor God. We no longer use the ancient psaltery, trumpet, timbral, and flute. Those who were skilled in war, and who mocked the fear of God, used these instruments in the choruses at their festive gatherings. They did this so that, by such music, they might lift up their discouraged minds. But let our cheerful spirit in drinking be twofold, in keeping with the law. For if you love the Lord your God, and then your neighbor, let the first expression of that love be toward God, in thanksgiving and psalms. Let the second be toward our neighbor, in proper fellowship. For the Apostle says, "Let the word of the Lord dwell in you richly." And this word fits and adapts himself to seasons, to persons, and to places.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Let our seals be a dove, or a fish, or a ship sailing before the wind, or a musical lyre that Polycrates used, or a ship's anchor that Seleucus had engraved as a symbol. If there is someone fishing, he will remember the apostle and the children drawn out of the water. We should not draw the faces of idols, because we are forbidden to cling to them. We should not use a sword or a bow, because we follow peace. We should not use drinking cups, because we are self-controlled.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: The honest philosophers should be addressed in a fair and friendly way. We should openly point out both how they live and how they keep coming up with new teachings. We do not do this to get revenge on those who attack us. That is not what people do who have learned to bless those who curse them, even when those people wrongly throw blasphemous words at us. We do it so they might turn and be changed. In this way, these teachers who claim to be wise may feel ashamed and come to their senses when they are shown the proof from non-Greek sources. Then, even if it is late, they can clearly see what kind of learning it is that makes them travel across the seas like pilgrims.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: You must help an enemy so that he does not stay an enemy, because when you help, good feelings are built up, and hostility is broken down.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: how great kindness is. It is said, "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you," and things like that. To this it is added, "so that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven." This points to being like God. Therefore, the perfect person ought to practice love. As a result, he should be quick to enter God's friendship, obeying the commandments out of love. And loving your enemies does not mean loving wickedness, or ungodliness, or adultery, or theft. It means loving the thief, the ungodly person, and the adulterer. But you do not love them in the sense of loving their sin, or the actions by which they stain the name of man. You love them as people, and as the work of God. Truly, sin is something a person does, not something a person is. Therefore, sin is not a work of God. Now, sinners are called enemies of God. That is, they are enemies of the commands they do not obey. Those who obey become friends. The first are called friends because they share fellowship. The others are called enemies because they are separated, and this separation is the result of free choice. For there is no enmity without an enemy, and there is no sin without a sinner.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Let these things then be so; and since this is the Christian's attitude toward the body and the soul, and toward his neighbors, whether a member of his household or a lawful enemy or anyone at all, he is found to be fair and like others; for he does not despise his brother, who, according to the divine law, has the same father and mother. Certainly, he helps those who are suffering. He helps them with comfort, encouragement, and the basic things needed for life. He gives to all who are in need, though not in the same way to everyone, but fairly, according to a person's worthiness. He also gives to the one who persecutes and hates him, if that person needs it. He does not worry much about those who tell him that he gave out of fear, if he did not do it out of fear, but to give help. For how much more are those who, toward their enemies, are free from love of money and who hate evil, stirred up with love for those who belong to them?

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Paul does not just describe the Christian as someone who would rather suffer wrong than do wrong. He also teaches that the Christian does not keep thinking about injuries. He does not even allow him to pray against the man who has wronged him. Paul knows that the Lord clearly commanded us to pray for enemies. So, to say that the man who has been injured goes to court before the unrighteous is the same as saying he wants to get even. It means he wants to hurt the other person in return, and that is also doing wrong himself. Paul's words that he wants some to go to law before the saints point to those who, in prayer, ask that the people who did wrong should suffer payback for their injustice. He also hints that the second group is better than the first, but they are not yet obedient if they do not, after becoming completely free from resentment, pray even for their enemies. So, it is good for them to receive right attitudes from repentance, which leads to faith. For even if the truth seems to gain enemies who hold bad feelings, the truth is not hostile to anyone. For God makes His sun to shine on the just and on the unjust, and He sent the Lord Himself to the just and the unjust. And the one who truly works hard to become like God by practicing a great freedom from resentment forgives seventy times seven times. That is, he forgives through his whole life and through his whole time in this world. This is what is shown by the counting of sevens. He shows mercy to each and every person if anyone does the Christian wrong during his whole life in the flesh. For he not only thinks it is right for the good man to give up his property to others, even to those who have wronged him. He also wants the righteous man to ask those judges to forgive the offenses of those who have wronged him. And this makes sense if it is only in what is outward and concerns the body, even if it goes as far as death, that those who try to wrong him take advantage of him. None of these things truly belong to the Christian. And how can someone judge the apostate angels if he has himself become an apostate from that forgetting of injuries that the Gospel requires? Why do you not rather suffer wrong, Paul says? Why are you not rather defrauded? Yes, you do wrong and defraud. He means this clearly. You do it by praying against those who sin in ignorance. As far as it depends on you, you take away from those you pray against the love for mankind and the goodness of God. And you do this to these your brothers and sisters. He does not mean only those who already have faith, but also the converts. For we do not yet know whether the person who is hostile now will later believe. From this, the conclusion follows clearly. Even if all are not yet brothers and sisters to us, they should be treated as if they are. And now it is only the man of knowledge who understands that all people are the work of one God. They are given one image and one nature, even though some may be more clouded than others. And in created things he recognizes God's working, and so he worships the will of God. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? The one who pays back wrong acts unrighteously, whether by action, by words, or even by forming the wish to do it. After the training of the law, the Gospel rejects that wish. And such were some of you. That means people like those you still are if you do not forgive. But you are washed, not just like the rest, but with knowledge. You have thrown off the passions of the soul so that you may become like the goodness of God's providence as much as possible. You do this by patience and by forgiveness towards the just and the unjust. You shine on them with kindness in words and actions, like the sun. The Christian will reach this either by greatness of mind or by copying what is better. And that is a third cause: forgive, and it shall be forgiven you. This commandment, in a way, pushes us towards salvation through an overflowing abundance of goodness.

HIPPOLYTUS: About people coming to baptism: a soldier of the civil authority must be taught not to kill people. He must refuse to do it if he is commanded. He must also refuse to take an oath. If he is not willing to obey, he must be rejected. A military commander or civic magistrate who wears the purple must resign or be rejected. If a catechumen or a believer tries to become a soldier, they must be rejected because they have despised God.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Do you, then, who think that we do not care at all about Caesar's welfare, look into God's revelations, examine our sacred books—we do not keep them hidden, and many accidents put them into the hands of people who are not part of us. Learn from them that we are commanded to show great kindness. This kindness goes as far as praying to God for our enemies and asking for blessings on those who persecute us. So who are greater enemies and persecutors of Christians than the very people whose treason we are accused of? No, even in plain words, and most clearly, Scripture says: "Pray for kings and rulers and powers, that all may be at peace with you."

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. If we are commanded, then, to love our enemies, as I said above, who do we have to hate? If we are hurt, we are forbidden to strike back, so that we do not become just as bad ourselves. So who can suffer harm from us? About this, think about your own experiences. How often you treat Christians with terrible cruelty, partly because you want to, and partly because you obey the laws. How often, too, the angry mob, paying no attention to you, takes the law into its own hands and attacks us with stones and fire. With the wild frenzy of the Bacchanals, they do not even spare Christian dead bodies. They tear them, now sadly changed and no longer whole, from the rest of the tomb, from what we might call the shelter of death. They cut them into pieces and rip them apart. And yet, even though we stand together as one group and are always ready to give our lives, what single case of revenge for injury can you point to? And that is even though, if we thought it was right to pay back evil with evil, one night with one or two torches could bring plenty of revenge. But get rid of the idea that a divine group would take revenge with human fires, or would shrink back from the sufferings by which it is tested. If we wanted, in fact, to act like open enemies and not just secret avengers, would we lack strength, whether in numbers or in resources? The Moors, the Marcomanni, the Parthians themselves, or any single people, no matter how great, living in one separate territory and kept within its own borders, is surpassed in numbers by a people spread over the whole world. We are new, as if we were only from yesterday. And we have filled every place among you: cities, islands, fortresses, towns, marketplaces, the very camp, tribes, companies, the palace, the senate, the forum. We have left you nothing except the temples of your gods. What wars would we not be fit for, and not eager for, even with weaker forces? We are the ones who so willingly give ourselves to the sword, but in our religion it is counted better to be killed than to kill. Even without weapons and raising no rebel banner, but simply being against you, we could fight you by separation alone, by cutting ourselves off from you in hostility. For if such huge crowds of people were to break away from you and go to some far corner of the world, the loss of so many citizens, whatever kind they were, would cover the empire with shame. No, even in the leaving, vengeance would be done. You would be shocked by the emptiness you would find yourselves in. You would be shocked by the silence everywhere, and by a numbness like a world that is dead. You would have to look for people to rule. You would have more enemies left than citizens. For right now, it is the great number of Christians that makes your enemies so few. Almost all the people living in your many cities are followers of Christ. Yet you choose to call us enemies of the human race, rather than enemies of human error. Instead, who would rescue you from those secret enemies, always working to destroy your souls and ruin your health? Who would save you, I mean, from the attacks of those evil spirits, which we drive out without reward or pay? This alone would be enough revenge for us, that from now on you would be left free to be possessed by unclean spirits. But instead of considering what you owe us for the important protection we give you, and even though we are not only no trouble to you, but actually necessary for your well-being, you prefer to treat us as enemies. And we are enemies, yes, but not of people. We are enemies of their error.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. The Christian does no harm even to his enemy.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. People ask about this point. They ask whether a believer may turn to military service. They also ask whether soldiers may be admitted to the faith, even the common soldiers and every lower rank, since they do not have to take part in sacrifices or in executions. There is no agreement between God's sacrament and a human sacrament. There is no agreement between a military oath and the banner of Christ. There is no agreement between the standard of Christ and the standard of the devil. There is no agreement between the camp of light and the camp of darkness. One soul cannot belong to two masters, God and Caesar. And yet Moses carried a rod, Aaron wore a buckle, John the Baptist is dressed with leather, Joshua the son of Nun leads a line of march, and the people went to war, if it pleases you to joke about the subject. But how will a Christian man go to war? Or rather, how will he serve even in peace without a sword, which the Lord has taken away? For although soldiers came to John and received the rule he gave them, and although a centurion also believed, still the Lord later, when he disarmed Peter, disarmed every soldier. No clothing is lawful among us if it is assigned to any unlawful action.

TERTULLIAN: To begin with the real basis of the military crown, I think we must first ask whether war is proper at all for Christians. What is the point of discussing something that is only a side issue when the thing it depends on should be condemned? Do we believe it is lawful for a human oath to be added to a divine one? Is it lawful for a man to come under a promise to another master after Christ? Is it lawful for him to renounce father, mother, and all his nearest relatives? Even the law has commanded us to honor and love them next to God himself. The Gospel also, while counting them as less important than Christ, has still honored them in the same way. Should it be considered lawful to make a job out of the sword when the Lord announces that the one who uses the sword will perish by the sword? And should the Son of Peace take part in battle when it is not fitting for him even to sue at law? And should he apply the chain and the prison and the torture and the punishment when he is not even the avenger of his own wrongs? Should he either keep watch duty for others more than for Christ? Or should he do it on the Lord's day when he does not even do it for Christ himself? And should he keep guard in front of the temples he has renounced? And should he eat a meal where the apostle has forbidden him? And should he carefully protect at night those whom in the daytime he has put to flight by his exorcisms, leaning and resting on the spear with which Christ's side was pierced? Should he carry a flag that is hostile to Christ? And should he ask a watchword from the emperor when he has already received one from God? Should he be disturbed in death by the trumpet of the trumpeter when he expects to be raised by the angel's trumpet? And should the Christian be burned according to camp rule when he was not permitted to burn incense to an idol and when Christ removed from him the punishment of fire? Then you can see, by a brief look, how many other offenses are involved in the duties of camp offices. We must consider these duties to involve breaking God's law. Even carrying the name over from the camp of light to the camp of darkness is a violation of it. Of course, if faith comes later and finds someone already taken up with military service, that case is different. This was true in the case of those whom John used to receive for baptism. It was also true of those very faithful centurions. I mean the centurion whom Christ approves and the centurion whom Peter instructs, that is, Cornelius. Yet at the same time, when a man has become a believer and faith has been sealed, there must be either an immediate leaving of it, which has been the path of many, or all kinds of word games will have to be used to avoid offending God. But that is not allowed, even outside of military service. Or, last of all, for God the fate must be endured, which a citizen's faith has been no less ready to accept. Military service also does not offer escape from punishment for sins or exemption from martyrdom. Nowhere does the Christian change his character. There is one Gospel and the same Jesus. One day he will deny everyone who denies, and he will acknowledge everyone who acknowledges God. He will also save the life that has been lost for his sake, but on the other hand, he will destroy the life that, for gain, has been saved to his dishonor. With him, the faithful citizen is a soldier, just as the faithful soldier is a citizen. A life of faith allows no excuse of necessity. They are under no necessity to sin, whose one necessity is that they do not sin. For if someone is forced toward offering sacrifice and openly denying Christ by the necessity of torture or punishment, discipline does not excuse even that necessity. This is because there is a higher necessity: to fear denying Christ and to undergo martyrdom rather than to escape suffering and give the required worship. In fact, an excuse like this overturns the whole heart of our sacrament. It even removes the barrier against voluntary sins, for then it would also be possible to claim that desire is a necessity since it includes, in fact, a kind of pressure. I have, in fact, already dealt with this claim of necessity. I did so when speaking about the excuses used to defend crowns connected with official positions. This excuse is commonly used in support of them. But for this very reason, offices must either be refused so that we do not fall into acts of sin, or martyrdoms must be endured so that we can be free from offices. On this main part of the question about the unlawfulness even of military life itself, I will not add more, so that the second question can be put back in its place. Indeed, if I put my full strength into the question, I would banish military life from among us.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Our religion commands us to love even our enemies. It also commands us to pray for those who persecute us. It aims at a perfection all its own. It looks for something in its disciples that is higher than the ordinary goodness of the world, because everyone loves those who love them. It is unique to Christians alone to love those who hate them.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Isaiah announces, in the words that follow, that a new law will come out of this house of the God of Jacob. He says, "For from Zion shall go out a law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem, and shall judge among the nations," that is, among us, who have been called out of the nations. He also says, "And they shall join to beat their swords into plows, and their spears into sickles; and nations shall not take up sword against nation, and they shall no more learn to fight." Who else, therefore, is meant but us? We have been fully taught by the new law, and we follow these practices. The old law has been wiped away. The action itself shows that its wiping away was coming. The way of the old law was to take revenge by the sword. It was to pull out eye for eye and to pay back injury with equal revenge. But the way of the new law was to point people to mercy. It was to turn the earlier fierceness of swords and spears into calm. It was to reshape the earlier practice of war against the rivals and enemies of the law into peaceful actions like plowing and tilling the land. Therefore, just as we have shown above that the coming end of the old law and of physical circumcision was announced, so also the keeping of the new law and spiritual circumcision has clearly appeared in the willing obedience of peace.

TERTULLIAN: Isaiah says, "And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord," that is, God's greatness, "and the house of God," that is, Christ, the Catholic temple of God, in which God is worshipped, "shall be established upon the mountains," above all the highest virtues and powers. "And all nations shall come to it, and many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us his way, and we will walk in it. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." The gospel will be this "way": it is the new law and the new word in Christ, no longer in Moses. "And he shall judge among the nations," even about their error. "And these shall rebuke a large nation," meaning the Jews themselves and their converts. "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks." In other words, they will change the attitudes of harmful minds, hostile tongues, and every kind of evil and blasphemy into ways of self-control and peace. "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation," meaning they will not stir up conflict. "Neither shall they learn war anymore," that is, they will not practice stirring up fighting. So you learn here that Christ is promised, not as someone strong in war, but as someone who seeks peace. Now you must deny either that these things were predicted, even though they are clearly seen, or that they have been accomplished, even though you read about them.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. In days long ago, prayer was used to call down plagues, to scatter the armies of enemies, and to hold back the helpful effects of the rains. Now, however, the prayer of righteousness turns away all God's anger. It keeps watch on behalf of personal enemies. It also makes requests to God on behalf of persecutors.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Long ago, people wanted to demand eye for eye and tooth for tooth, and to pay back evil with evil, with interest. At that time, patience was not on earth because faith was not there either. In the meantime, impatience used to enjoy the chances the law gave. That was easy while the Lord and Master of patience was absent. But after He has come and has joined the grace of faith with patience, now it is no longer lawful to attack even with a word. It is not lawful even to say "fool" without danger of the judgment. Anger has been forbidden. Our spirits are held back. The hand's temper is checked. The poison of the tongue is pulled out. The law has found more than it has lost, while Christ says, "Love your enemies, and bless your cursers, and pray for your persecutors, that you may be sons of your heavenly Father."

ORIGEN: Origen. I cannot understand how, with all your practice of studying and thinking deeply about the Scriptures, you have not noticed that the prophets keep quoting each other almost word for word. Who among all believers does not know the words in Isaiah? And in the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be clearly seen, and the house of the Lord on the top of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills, and all nations shall come to it. And many people shall go and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his way, and we will walk in it." For out of Zion shall go forth a law and a word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But in Micah we find a matching passage. It is almost word for word. And in the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be clearly seen, established on the top of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills, and people shall hurry to it. And many nations shall come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and they will teach us his way, and we will walk in his paths." For a law shall go forth from Zion, and a word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

ORIGEN: If there had been many kingdoms, it would have made it harder for the teaching of Jesus to spread through the whole world. This is because people everywhere would have had to go to war and fight for their own country. That is what happened before the time of Augustus, and even earlier whenever it became necessary. For example, the Peloponnesians and the Athenians fought against each other, and other nations did the same. So how could the gospel teaching of peace spread through the world? It does not allow people to take revenge, not even on enemies. It could only spread if, when Jesus came, a gentler spirit was brought in everywhere in the way things were run.

ORIGEN: Each one of us, then, has come in the last days, when one Jesus has visited us to the visible mountain of the Lord. That mountain is the Word that is above every word. We have also come to the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And we notice how it is built upon the tops of the mountains; that means the predictions of all the prophets, which are its foundations. And this house is lifted up above the hills; that means those individuals among people who claim to have higher wisdom and truth. And all the nations come to it, and the many nations go out and say to one another, as they turn to the religion that in the last days has shone out through Jesus Christ: "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in them." For the law came out from the people living in Zion, and it has settled among us as a spiritual law. Also, the word of the Lord came out from that very Jerusalem so that it might be spread through all places. It might judge in the middle of the heathen, choosing those whom it sees are willing to obey, and rejecting the disobedient, who are many. And to those who ask us where we come from, or who our founder is, we reply that we have come in agreement with the guidance of Jesus to cut down our hostile and insolent wordy swords into plowshares, and to convert into pruning hooks the spears formerly employed in war. For we no longer take up sword against nation, nor do we learn war any more. We have become children of peace for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader. This is instead of those whom our fathers followed. Among them we were strangers to the covenant, and we have received a law, and we thank him who rescued us from the error of our ways, saying: "Our fathers honored lying idols, and there is not among them one that causes it to rain."

ORIGEN: and I am not yet speaking about those whose character has been shaped by the teaching of Jesus, and who have heard the words, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who spitefully use you, so that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." And in the prophetic writings the righteous man says, "O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands, if I have paid back evil to those who have done evil to me, let me fall helpless under my enemies; let my enemy persecute my soul and take it; yes, let him tread down my life on the earth."

ORIGEN: We insult no one because we believe that revilers will not inherit the kingdom of God. And we read: "Bless those who curse you; bless and do not curse." Also, being insulted we bless.

ORIGEN: What Celsus, a pagan critic, says is false. That in the days of Jesus, others who were Jews rebelled against the Jewish state and became his followers, because neither Celsus nor those who agree with him can point to any action by Christians that has any hint of rebellion. And yet, if a revolt had led to the forming of the Christian community so that it got its start this way from the Jews, who were allowed to take up arms to defend their family members and to kill their enemies, then the Christian lawgiver would not have completely forbidden putting people to death. But he never teaches that it is right for his own disciples to use violence against anyone, no matter how wicked that person is. He did not think it fit, with laws like his that came from a divine source, to allow the killing of any person at all. And if Christians had started from a rebellion, they would not have accepted laws so extremely gentle that, when it was their fate to be killed like sheep, they were not allowed, on any occasion, to resist their persecutors.

ORIGEN: Christians were taught not to take revenge on their enemies, so they have followed laws that are gentle and kind to others. Also, even though they were able, they would not have made war, even if they had been given authority to do so. Because of this, they have received this reward from God: He has always fought on their behalf. At certain times, He has held back those who rose up against them and wanted to destroy them. God did this to remind others: when people saw a few believers struggling for their religion, they could be better prepared to look down on death. So, on special occasions, some people have endured death for the sake of Christianity. These people can be easily counted. God did not allow the whole nation to be wiped out. Instead, He wanted it to continue, and He wanted the whole world to be filled with this helpful and religious teaching.

ORIGEN: To those who ask us where we come from, or who our founder is, we answer that we have come, in line with the teachings of Jesus, to cut down our hostile and insolent wordy swords into plowshares, and to change into pruning hooks the spears that were once used in war. For we no longer take up sword against nation, and we do not learn war anymore. We have become children of peace for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader.

ORIGEN: if all the Romans accept the Christian faith, then when they pray, they will overcome their enemies—or rather, they will not go to war at all because they will be protected by that divine power. That power promised to save five whole cities for the sake of fifty righteous people.

ORIGEN: Next, Celsus, a pagan critic, urges us to help the king with all our might and to work with him in keeping justice, to fight for him, and if he requires it, to fight under him or lead an army along with him. Our answer is that we do, when the situation requires it, give help to kings, and so to speak it is a divine help by putting on the whole armor of God. We do this in obedience to the command of the apostle. I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority. The more anyone excels in devotion to God, the more effective help that person gives to kings. This help is even greater than what soldiers give, who go out to fight and kill as many enemies as they can. And to those enemies of our faith who demand that we carry weapons for the commonwealth and kill men, we can reply: Do not those who are priests at certain shrines and those who serve certain gods, as you count them, keep their hands free from blood. They do this so that, with hands unstained and free from human blood, they may offer the appointed sacrifices to your gods. And even when war is upon you, you never enlist the priests in the army. If that, then, is a praiseworthy custom, how much more is this? While others are engaged in battle, these too should engage as the priests and ministers of God. They keep their hands pure, and they struggle in prayers to God on behalf of those who are fighting in a righteous cause and for the king who rules righteously. They pray that whatever opposes those who act righteously may be destroyed. And since we, by our prayers, defeat all demons who stir up war, who lead people to break oaths, and who disturb the peace, we are in this way much more helpful to kings than those who go into the field to fight for them. We do take our part in public affairs. We do it when, along with righteous prayers, we practice self-denial and meditation. These teach us to despise pleasures and not be carried away by them. And no one fights better for the king than we do. We do not fight under him even if he requires it, but we fight on his behalf, forming a special army, an army of devotion to God, by offering our prayers to God. And if Celsus wants us to lead armies in defense of our country, let him know that we do this too. And we do it not to be seen by men and not for empty pride. For in secret, and in our own hearts, there are prayers that rise up like prayers from priests on behalf of our fellow citizens. And Christians are benefactors of their country more than others. For they raise up citizens and teach devotion to the supreme being, and they bring those whose lives, even in the smallest cities, have been good and worthy, into a divine and heavenly city. To them it may be said: You have been faithful in the smallest city coming to a great one, where God stands in the assembly of the gods and judges the gods in the midst. And he counts you among them if you no longer die as a man or fall as one of the princes. Celsus also urges us to take office in the government of the country, if that is required for the maintenance of the laws and the support of religion. But we recognize that in each state there is another national organization, founded by the word of God. And we urge those who are strong in speech and live blamelessly to rule over churches. We reject those who are eager to rule, but we press those to serve who, because they are very modest, are not easily persuaded to take a public responsibility in the church of God. And those who rule over us well are under the strong influence of the great king. We believe him to be the Son of God, God the Word, and if those who govern in the church and are called rulers of the divine nation, that is, the church, rule well, they rule according to God's commands, and they never allow themselves to be led off course by worldly politics. And it is not to escape public duties that Christians refuse public offices. They do it so they can keep themselves for a more divine and more necessary service in the church of God, for the salvation of men. This service is both necessary and right. They take care of all people. They care for those who are inside so that day by day they may live better lives. And they care for those who are outside so that they may come to have many holy words and deeds of devotion. And as they worship God truly and train as many as they can to do the same, they may be filled with the word of God and the law of God. In this way they are united with the supreme God through his Son, the word, wisdom, truth, and righteousness. He unites to God all who are determined to shape their lives in every way to the law of God.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian. Think about the wars spread all over the earth and the bloody horror of military camps; the whole world is soaked with people's blood. Murder, which everyone admits is a crime when one person does it, is called a virtue when it is done on a large scale. People demand that there be no punishment for these evil deeds. They do not claim the deeds are innocent. Instead, they claim it is acceptable because the cruelty is carried out on a grand scale.

CYPRIAN: And it can be understood this way, beloved brothers and sisters: since the Lord commands and warns us to love our enemies and to pray even for those who persecute us, we should also ask for those who are still earthly and have not yet begun to be heavenly. We should ask that, even for these people, God's will would be done. This is the will that Christ carried out by preserving and renewing humanity.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian. We always ask for our enemies to be driven back, and for rain to come. We also ask for hardship to be removed, or at least made less severe. We pour out our prayers, as we seek to make God favorable and to calm His anger. We keep begging Him constantly and urgently, day and night, for Your peace and salvation.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian. Love is the bond of brotherhood. It is the foundation of peace. It is the anchor and security of unity. It is greater than both hope and faith. It is better than good works and martyrdoms. It will stay with us always, forever with God in the kingdom of heaven. Take patience away from love, and without it, love does not last. Take away the strength to bear and to endure, and love continues with no roots and no strength. Finally, when the apostle wanted to speak about love, he joined to it endurance and patience. Love, he says, is large-soled. Love is kind. Love does not envy, is not puffed up, is not provoked, does not think evil. Loves all things, believes all things, hopes all things, bears all things. In this way, he shows that love can keep going firmly because it knows how to endure all things. And in another place, he says, forbearing one another in love, using every effort to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. He proved that neither unity nor peace could be kept unless brothers and sisters cherish one another with mutual tolerance and keep the bond of agreement through patience. What else is required? You should not swear or curse. You should not demand your goods back when they are taken from you. When you are struck, you should offer your other cheek to the one who struck you. You should forgive a brother who sins against you, not only seven times, but seventy times, seven times, and more than that, all his sins completely. You should love your enemies. You should pray for your opponents and persecutors. Can you do these things unless you keep the steady strength of patience and endurance? We see this in Stephen. When he was killed by the Jews with violence and stoning, he did not ask for vengeance for himself. Instead, he asked for pardon for his murderers, saying, "Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge." The first martyr of Christ needed to be like this. He went before the martyrs, who would follow him in a glorious death. He was not only a preacher of the Lord's suffering, but also an imitator of His very patient gentleness. What should I say about anger, discord, and strife? These things should not be found in a Christian. Let there be patience in your heart, and these things cannot stay there. Or if they try to enter, they are quickly pushed out and leave. Then a peaceful home can remain in the heart, where the God of peace is pleased to live. Finally, the apostle warns us and teaches us, saying, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you are sealed to the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and anger, and wrath, and clamor, and blasphemy be put away from you." For if the Christian has left rage and fleshly fighting behind, as if escaping the hurricanes of the sea, and has already begun to be calm and gentle in the harbor of Christ, then he should not allow anger or discord into his heart. He must not return evil for evil, and he must not hold on to hatred.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian: even our enemies must be loved. In the Gospel according to Luke, "If you love those who love you, what thanks do you have? For even sinners love those who love them." Also according to Matthew, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven." He makes His sun rise on the good and the evil, and gives rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

ARCHELAUS: Those soldiers were filled with wonder and admiration at how great the man's devotion and generosity were. They were amazed, and they felt how powerful this example of mercy was. Because of this, very many of them were added to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and they took off the belt of military service.

LACTANTIUS: A just man is not an enemy of any human being; he also does not want anything at all that belongs to someone else. Why should he take a voyage? What should he look for in another land when his own land is enough for him? Why should he wage war and get mixed up in other people's passions when his mind is always at peace with people? Surely, the person who does not know how to seek gain will be delighted with foreign merchandise or with human blood. He is satisfied with his way of living; he considers it unlawful not only to commit slaughter himself, but also to be present with those who do it and to look at it.

LACTANTIUS: Therefore, it is not virtue either to be the enemy of bad people or the defender of good people, because virtue cannot depend on uncertain chances. Moreover, to reckon the interests of our country as in the first place. When agreement among people is taken away, virtue does not exist at all. What are the interests of our country except the harm and trouble of another state or nation? That is, it means to extend boundaries that are violently taken from others, to increase the power of the state, and to improve revenues. All these things are not virtues; they are the overthrow of virtues. First, the unity of human society is taken away; innocence is taken away; not taking another person's property is taken away; finally, justice itself is taken away. Justice cannot bear the tearing apart of the human race. And wherever weapons have glittered, justice must be driven away and wiped out. Whoever then has gained for his country these "goods," as they themselves call them, that is, whoever has filled the treasury with money by overthrowing cities and destroying nations, and has taken lands and enriched his fellow citizens, is praised up to heaven. People say that in him there is the greatest and perfect virtue. This is an error not only of the people and the ignorant, but also of philosophers. They even give teachings that support injustice so that foolishness and wickedness will not be missing from discipline and authority. Therefore, when they speak about duties related to warfare, all that talk is fitted neither to justice nor to true virtue. Instead, it is fitted to this life and to civil institutions, and the matter itself shows that this is not justice.

LACTANTIUS: If we all come from one man whom God created, then we are clearly of one blood. Therefore, it must be considered the greatest wickedness to hate a person, even if that person is guilty. Because of this, God has commanded that we must never start enmities. Instead, they must always be removed. We should calm those who are our enemies by reminding them that we are related. In the same way, if we are all given life and spirit by one God, what else are we but brothers? In fact, we are even more closely united because we are united in soul rather than in body. So Lucretius, a Roman poet and philosopher, is not wrong when he says, "In short, we are all sprung from a heavenly seed. All have that same Father. Therefore, those who harm people should be counted as savage beasts. They act against every law and every right of human nature when they plunder, torture, kill, and banish." Because of this relationship of brotherhood, God teaches us never to do evil, but always to do good. He also tells us what doing good means. It means giving help to those who are oppressed and in trouble, and giving food to those who are destitute.

LACTANTIUS: What else is this preserving of humanity except loving a person because he is a person and the same as we are? If it is against nature to harm a person, it must be in line with nature to help a person. And the one who does not do this takes away from himself the right to be called a person because it is the duty of humanity to help a person in his need and danger.

LACTANTIUS: But the just man will not miss any chance to do something merciful. He will not make himself unclean with profit like this. Instead, he will act so that, without any loss to himself, what he lends can be counted among his good works. He must not accept a gift from a poor man. Then, if he himself has given anything, it can be good, because it is freely given. If anyone insults him, he must answer with a blessing. He himself must never insult anyone, so that no evil word comes out of the mouth of a man who honors the good word. Also, he must carefully take care that, because of any fault of his, he does not ever make an enemy. And if anyone is so shameless as to harm a good and just man, he must endure it with calmness and self-control. He must not take revenge for himself. Instead, he must leave it for the judgment of God.

LACTANTIUS: Pity is closely connected with harmlessness. Harmlessness does not cause injury; pity does good. Harmlessness begins justice, and pity completes it. The nature of human beings is weaker than the nature of other animals. God has provided those animals with ways to use force and with defenses to push it back. But God has given us the feeling of pity. He did this so that we would place the full protection of our life in helping each other. For if we are created by one God and descended from one man, then for this reason we should love every person. Therefore, we are required not only to avoid hurting others but also not even to take revenge when someone hurts us. In this way, there can be complete harmlessness in us. And for this reason, God commands us to always pray, even for our enemies.

ARNOBIUS: Although you claim that the wars you speak about were stirred up because people hated our religion, it would not be hard to prove something else. After the name of Christ was heard in the world, those wars not only did not increase, but they were even greatly reduced because wild passions were held back. We are a large group of people. We have learned from his teaching and his laws that evil should not be paid back with evil. We have learned that it is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong. We have learned that we should rather shed our own blood than stain our hands and our conscience with the blood of another person. Because of this, an ungrateful world has for a long time been enjoying a benefit from Christ. By his help, the rage of savage cruelty has been softened, and people have begun to hold back their hostile hands from the blood of a fellow human being. But if everyone, without exception, who knows they are truly human, not just in body but in the power of reason, would listen for a little while to his saving and peaceful rules, things would change. They would not, in the pride and arrogance of being enlightened, trust their own senses more than his warnings. Then the whole world would turn the use of steel to more peaceful work. The world would now be living in the calmest peace. People would join together in blessed harmony, keeping the holiness of treaties unbroken. SECOND CLEMENT: When they hear from us that God says, "There is no thanks to you if you love those who love you, but there is thanks to you if you love your enemies and those who hate you," and when they hear these things, they are amazed at how excellent this goodness is. But when they see that we not only do not love those who hate us, but we do not even love those who love us, they laugh at us, and the name is blasphemed.

JUSTIN MARTYR: The statement in the law, "Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree," supports our hope. Our hope depends on the crucified Christ. This does not mean that the one who was crucified is cursed by God. Instead, it means that God foretold what would be done by all of you, and by people like you, Jews. You do not know that this is the one who existed before all things. He is God's eternal priest, and king, and Christ. And you can clearly see that this has happened. In your synagogues, you curse all those who are called Christians because of him. And other nations also carry out the curse. They put to death those who simply confess that they are Christians. To all of them, we say, "You are our brothers and sisters." Instead, recognize the truth of God. Even though neither they nor you are convinced by us, you still work hard to make us deny the name of Christ. But we choose instead to accept death. We do this with full confidence that God will reward us with all the good things he has promised through Christ. And besides all this, we pray for you that Christ may have mercy on you. For he taught us to pray for our enemies too. He said, "Love your enemies. Be kind and merciful, as your heavenly Father is." For we see that Almighty God is kind and merciful. He makes his sun rise on the unthankful and on the righteous. He sends rain on the holy and on the wicked. He has taught us that he will judge all of them.

MATHETES: If you also want to have this faith, you will also receive, first of all, the knowledge of the Father. God has loved mankind. Because of mankind, He made the world; He made all the things in it subject to mankind. He gave mankind reason and understanding. To mankind alone, He gave the privilege of looking up to Him. He formed mankind after His own image. He sent His only begotten Son to mankind. He has promised a kingdom in heaven to mankind. He will give it to those who have loved Him. When you have gained this knowledge, how much joy do you think you will have? How will you love Him who has first loved you like this? If you love Him, you will imitate His kindness. Do not be surprised that a person can become an imitator of God. He can, if He is willing. Happiness is not found by ruling over your neighbors. It is not found by trying to be the greatest over those who are weaker. It is not found by being rich and using violence against those who are below you. No one can become an imitator of God by doing these things. These things do not show His majesty at all. Instead, the imitator of God is the one who takes on the burden of his neighbor. He is the one who, in whatever way he may be better off, is ready to help another person who lacks what he has. He is the one who takes whatever he has received from God and shares it with the needy. By doing this, he becomes a god to those who receive his help. He is an imitator of God. Then you will see, even while you are still on earth, that God in the heavens rules over the universe. Then you will begin to speak the mysteries of God. Then you will both love and admire those who suffer punishment because they will not deny God. Then you will condemn the deceit and error of the world. You will do this when you know what it means to live truly in heaven. You will do this when you despise what people here think is death. You will do this when you fear what is truly death. That true death is reserved for those who will be condemned to the eternal fire. That fire will torment those who are sent to it, even to the end. Then you will admire those who, for righteousness' sake, endure the fire that lasts only a moment. You will count them happy when you understand the nature of that fire.

IRENAEUS: Irenaeus. That then was called the Day of Payback. It is the day when the Lord will give to everyone according to his works, that is, the judgment. The acceptable year of the Lord, again, is this present time. It is the time in which those who believe Him are called by Him and become acceptable to God. That is, it is the whole time from His coming onward to the completion of all things. During this time, He gathers to Himself, as fruits of the plan of mercy, those who are saved. The Day of Payback has not yet come, but He still makes His sun to rise upon the good and upon the evil and sends rain upon the just and unjust.

IRENAEUS: Irenæus. Therefore, the God who kindly causes His sun to rise on everyone, and who sends rain on the just and the unjust, will judge those people. They enjoyed His kindness, which He gives out equally to all, but they lived in ways that did not match the honor and worth of His generous gifts. Instead, they spent their days in wild pleasure and luxury against His kindness. What is more, they even blasphemed Him who has given them such great benefits.

IRENAEUS: Eireneus. He also makes it clear that, after we are called, we should also be decorated with works of righteousness so that the Spirit of God may rest on us. For this is the wedding garment that the Apostle also speaks about: "Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up by immortality." But those who have indeed been called to God's Supper, yet have not received the Holy Spirit because of their wicked conduct, shall be, he declares, cast into outer darkness. In this way, he clearly shows that the very same King who gathered the faithful from all places to the marriage of His Son and who gives them the incorruptible banquet also commands that the man be cast into outer darkness who does not have a wedding garment. That is, He commands this for the one who despises it. For just as in the former covenant, with many of them was He not well pleased, so it is also the case here that many are called but few chosen. For He who is good and righteous and pure and spotless will put up with nothing evil or unjust or detestable in His wedding chamber. This is the Father of our Lord. By His providence all things hold together, and all things are managed by His command. He gives His free gifts to those who should receive them. But the most righteous judge gives out punishment according to their works, and He does this most deservedly. He punishes the ungrateful and those who do not notice His kindness. Therefore He says, "He sent His armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city." He says here, "His armies," because all people belong to God. For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and all that dwell therein. Therefore the Apostle Paul also says in the Epistle to the Romans, "For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever resists the power resists the ordinance of God, and they that resist shall receive to themselves condemnation. For rulers are not for a terror to a good work, but to an evil. Will you then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and you shall have praise of the same. For he is the minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid. For he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the minister of God, the avenger for wrath upon him that does evil. Therefore you must be subject not only for wrath but also for conscience' sake. For this cause you pay tribute also. For they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing." So both the Lord and the Apostles announce that the one and only God is the Father. He is the one who gave the Law, who sent the prophets, and who made all things. Therefore he says, "He sent His armies," because every man, simply because he is a man, is God's workmanship, even if he does not know his God. For He gives existence to all. He is the one who makes His sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and sends rain upon the just and unjust.

IRENAEUS: Irenæus. He himself gives the creation to us; he causes his sun to rise, and he sends rain when he wants to.

IRENAEUS: Irenaeus. If the Father then does not judge, it follows that judgment does not belong to Him, or that He approves of all the actions that take place. And if He does not judge, all people will be equal and counted as being in the same condition. Then the coming of Christ would have no purpose. Yes, it would be absurd, since He would have no power to judge. For He came to divide a man against his father, and the daughter against the mother, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law; and when two are in one bed to take the one and to leave the other, and of two women grinding at the mill to take one and leave the other. Also, at the time of the end, He will order the reapers to collect the weeds first, bind them in bundles, and burn them with unquenchable fire. But He will gather the wheat into the barn, and He will call the lambs into the kingdom prepared for them. But He will send the goats into everlasting fire, which has been prepared by His Father for the devil and his angels. And why is this? Has the word come for the ruin and for the resurrection of many? For ruin certainly for those who do not believe Him. He has also threatened them with a greater damnation on the judgment day than that of Sodom and Gomorrah. But He has come for the resurrection of believers and for those who do the will of His Father in heaven. If, then, the coming of the Son truly comes to all alike, but it is for the purpose of judging and separating believers from unbelievers, this is the reason. Those who believe do His will by their own choice. And in the same way, by their own choice, the disobedient do not accept His teaching. So it is clear that His Father has made all people in the same condition. Each person has his or her own choice and a free understanding. And the Father cares about all things and watches over all things, making His sun to rise upon the evil and on the good, and sending rain upon the just and unjust.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Now, the word himself will again confirm that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus is good. He says, "For he is kind to the unthankful and the evil." He also says, "Be merciful, as your Father is merciful." He also clearly says, "None is good but my Father, who is in heaven." In addition to these, he again says, "My Father makes his sun to shine on all." Here, it should be noted that he announces that his Father is good and that his Father is the Creator, and that the Creator is just is not disputed. And again, he says, "My Father sends rain on the just and on the unjust." When it comes to his sending rain, he is the Creator of the waters and of the clouds. And when it comes to his doing this for everyone, he keeps an even balance in a just and right way. And because he is good, he does this for the just and the unjust alike.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: "For God makes His sun shine on the just and on the unjust, and He sent the Lord Himself to the just and the unjust."

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Who is this good God? There is, he says, none but one. It is not as if he has shown us that one of two gods was the highest good. Instead, he clearly says that there is only one good God. He is the only good because he is the only God. Now, without a doubt, he is the good God who sends rain on the just and on the unjust and makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good. He keeps sustaining, nourishing, and helping even the Marcionites, the heretics, themselves.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. In Isaiah, "You shall eat the good of the land." This phrase means the blessings that are waiting for the body in the kingdom of God. There, it will be made new, and made like the angels. It will be waiting to receive the things which neither eye has seen nor ear heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man. If that is not what it means, then why would God invite people to obey Him by promising the fruits of the field and the things of this life? That would be pointless, because He gives these things even to people who are not religious and to blasphemers. He does this under a general condition, made once for all to mankind: sending rain on the good and on the evil, and making His sun to shine on the just and on the unjust.

ORIGEN: The Savior also gave this command when He was urging His disciples to practice kindness. Be perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect, for He commands His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. This very clearly suggests, even to someone with weak understanding, that He is setting before His disciples for them to copy no other god than the Maker of heaven and the One who gives the rain.

ORIGEN: how can we claim that God, leaving the regions of heaven and the whole world, and despising this great earth, takes up His home among us only? When we have found that all thoughtful people must say in their prayers that "the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord" and that "the mercy of the Lord is upon all flesh," and we also find that God, being good, makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends His rain on the just and the unjust, and He urges us to act in a similar way so that we may become His sons. He teaches us to share the benefits we enjoy, as far as we are able, with all people, for He Himself is said to be the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe, and His Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. God commends His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, and although "scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die." But now Jesus is declared to have come for the sake of sinners in all parts of the world so that they may turn away from their sin and trust themselves to God. He is also called, in keeping with an ancient custom of these Scriptures, the Christ of God, against.

CYPRIAN: Let us think about what the congregation of believers did in the time of the apostles. This was at the very beginning, when their minds were strong with greater virtues, and when the faith of believers was burning with the warmth of faith that was still new. Then they sold houses and farms. They gladly and generously brought the money to the apostles so it could be given out to the poor. By selling and giving up their earthly property, they moved their treasure to where they could receive the rewards of an eternal possession. There they prepared homes where they could begin an eternal home. So their hard work was great, and their love was in full agreement. We read this in the Acts of the Apostles: "And the multitude of them that believed acted with one heart and one soul. Neither was there any distinction among them, nor did they esteem anything their own of the goods which belonged to them, but they had all things common." This is truly to become sons of God by spiritual birth. This is to copy, by the heavenly law, the fairness of God the Father. Because whatever belongs to God is shared for our use. No one is shut out from His benefits and His gifts. He does not keep the whole human race from enjoying equally the divine goodness and generosity. In the same way, the day gives light to everyone. The sun gives its brightness. The rain makes things wet. The wind blows. Sleep is the same for those who sleep. The shining of the stars and of the moon is shared by all. With this example of equality, the person who owns things on earth and shares his income and his harvest with the brothers and sisters is copying God the Father, as long as He is generous and fair in giving freely.

ALEXANDER OF ALEXANDRIA: the only begotten son of the father, truly has a sonship that cannot fail. But the adoption of rational sons does not belong to them by nature; instead, it is prepared for them by the integrity of their life and by the free gift of God. Athenagoras: the life we look for is far better than words can describe, as long as we reach it pure from all wrongdoing. We also carry our kindness so far that we not only love our friends. For if you love them, he says, that love you, and lend to them that lend to you, what reward will you have? So, I ask, when our character is like this, and when we live this kind of life so that we may escape condemnation in the end, will we not be counted as godly? Clement of Alexandria: Only let us keep free-will and love. Troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. For those who strive after perfection, according to the same apostle, must give no offense in anything, but in everything approve themselves not to men, but to God.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: I understand sanctity to mean a mind that is completely pure; it is pure in actions, thoughts, and words, too. At its highest level, it means having no sin even in your dreams.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: But the person who, because of this, has trained himself up to the highest level of knowledge and to the high place of the perfect man, is helped forward by everything connected to time and place. This is true now that he has chosen to live without failing. He also puts himself under training so that he can gain steady, stable knowledge in every way. This does not happen without effort; it happens through the exercise of the will and by the power of reason and knowledge and providence. In this way, it becomes something that cannot be lost. Through careful attention, it becomes something that cannot be lost. He will use caution so that he does not sin. He will use careful thought to keep from losing virtue.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Staying away from sins is not enough for perfection unless a person also takes on the work of righteousness. That means being active in doing good. Then our skillful man, the Christian, is shown to be righteous even here and now. It is like Moses. Moses was honored in the face of his soul, as we said before. The body carries the mark of a righteous soul. Think about dying wool. The dye-setting chemical stays in the wool. It gives the wool a certain quality and makes it different from other wool. In the same way, in the soul, the pain is gone, but the good remains. The sweet remains, but the shameful is wiped away. These are two qualities found in each soul. By them we know what is honored and what is condemned. In Moses' case, because of his righteous conduct and his unbroken fellowship with God, who spoke to him, a kind of honored glow settled on his face. In the same way, a divine power of goodness clings to the righteous soul. It clings to the soul in contemplation, in prophecy, and in carrying out the duty of governing. It presses into the soul something like intellectual brightness, like a ray of the sun. This is a visible sign of righteousness. It joins the soul with light through unbroken love. This love both carries God and is carried by God. So, becoming like God the Savior comes to the Christian as far as human nature is allowed. The Christian is made perfect as the Father who is in heaven.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Anyone who talks with God must have a soul that is clean and without stain. This is essential; he must have made himself completely good.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Be perfect as your Father is perfect, by forgiving sins, forgetting injuries, and living with a steady habit of being free from sinful passions. In the same way, we call a physician perfect, and we call a philosopher perfect. In my view, we also call a Christian perfect. But none of these points, even though they are very important, is taken to mean that we become like God in every way. We do not say, as the Stoics do, in a very ungodly way, that virtue in man and in God is the same. Should we not, then, be perfect as the Father wills? It is completely impossible for anyone to become perfect in the same way God is perfect. Now, the Father wants us to be perfect by living without blame, in obedience to the Gospel.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: For this is how someone truly follows the Savior: by aiming to live without sin and to reach His perfection.

TERTULLIAN: But since God is eternal and rational, I think He is perfect in all things. Be perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Servant women of the living God, my fellow servants and sisters, the right I share with you—I, the least worthy in that shared service and family—gives me courage to speak to you. I am giving you a message, not mainly about affection, but to clear the way for affection, for the sake of your salvation. That salvation, and not the salvation of women only, but also of men, depends on showing modesty. If any modesty can be believed to exist among Gentiles, it is clear that it must be imperfect and untrained. It is untrained to such a degree that, even though it holds tightly to modesty in the mind up to a certain point, it still lets itself loosen into wild and immoral extremes in clothing. This fits Gentile stubbornness. They crave what they carefully avoid the result of. How many people, in short, do not strongly want even to look pleasing to strangers? Who does not, for that very reason, take care to have herself painted up, and then deny that she has ever been an object of sexual desire? And yet, even if we allow that this is a practice familiar to Gentile modesty, namely, not actually to commit the sin, but still to be willing to do it, or even not to be willing, yet still not fully to refuse, what is so surprising about that? For all things that are not God's are twisted. Therefore, let those women pay attention, who, by not holding tightly to the whole good, easily mix evil into even the good they do hold on to. You must turn away from them. Do this as in all other things, and also in your way of walking, since you ought to be perfect, as is your Father who is in the heavens.

ORIGEN: If anyone dares to say that the one who was made after the image and likeness of God has corruption in his very nature, then, in my opinion, this godless charge reaches even the Son of God himself. That is because Scripture calls him the image of God. Or the person who holds this opinion would certainly attack the authority of Scripture. Scripture says that man was made in the image of God, and in man you can clearly find traces of the divine image. This is not seen in the shape of the body, which can decay. It is seen in the mind, in wisdom, in justice, in self-control, in virtue, in wisdom, in discipline. In short, it is seen in the whole group of virtues. These virtues are part of God's own nature, and they can come into a person through hard work and by copying God. The Lord also points this out in the Gospel when he says, "Be therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful," and "Be perfect, even as your Father also is perfect." From this it is clearly shown that all these virtues are always in God. They can never come near to him or leave him because they are always with him, but people gain them only slowly and one at a time.

ORIGEN: Without the help of the Word, and especially the Word of perfection, it is impossible for a person to become free from sin.

ORIGEN: And we know that in this way the angels are greater than humans. So humans, when made perfect, become like the angels. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but the righteous are as the angels in heaven, and they also become equal to the angels. We also know that, in the order of the universe, there are certain beings called thrones, and others dominions, and others powers, and others principalities. We see that we humans are far below these, but we can still hope that by living a virtuous life and by doing everything in a way that agrees with reason, we may rise to be like all these. And finally, it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like God and shall see him as he is. And if anyone were to claim what some people say, whether they are intelligent or not, but have misunderstood sound reason, that God exists and we are next to him, I would explain the word we by replacing it with we who act according to reason, or better, we who are virtuous and act according to reason. For in our view, the same virtue belongs to all the blessed, so the virtue of man and of God is the same. Therefore, we are taught to become perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect. So then, no good and virtuous man is a worm rolling in filth. A godly man is not an ant. A righteous man is not a frog. And someone whose soul is lit up with the bright light of truth cannot reasonably be compared to a bird of the night.

ORIGEN: A man becomes perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect. He hears the command, "Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." He also learns the teaching, "Be followers of God." Then he receives into his virtuous soul the traits of God's image. Also, the body of the person who has such a soul is a temple of God, and God lives in the soul because it has been made after His image.

ORIGEN: Christ led them up with Himself into the divine citizenship that is above the law. This law includes, for those who are imperfect and still sinners, sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. Then the one who is without sin and no longer needs the sacrifices required by the law may have become perfect. If so, he has gone beyond even the spiritual law. He comes to the Word beyond it. The Word became flesh for those who live in the flesh, but for those who no longer fight according to the flesh at all, he is understood as the Word. He was God in the beginning with God, and he reveals the Father.

ORIGEN: I am sure that every action of a perfect man is a witness to Christ Jesus. I am also sure that staying away from every sin is a denial of self. It leads him to follow after Christ. A person like this is crucified with Christ; he takes up his own cross and follows him who, for our sake, carries his own cross.

ARNOBIUS: Since we are likely to make mistakes and to give in to many desires and cravings because of the fault of our inborn weakness, He allows Himself at all times to be understood in our thoughts. Then, as we pray to Him and work to be worthy of His gifts, we can receive a desire for purity. We can also free ourselves from every stain by removing all our shortcomings.