The Ancient Witnesses

254 • The Ancient Witnesses: A Journey to Discover Our Sacred Roots

“Our one Father, God, lives; and so does our mother , the Church,” said Tertullian, illustrating his point. 52 “He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church as his mother” agreed Cyprian. 53 Other witnesses mentioned biblical terms like the temple of God , a house of living stones , and the body of Christ to illustrate the Church. But when one of them spoke of the people of God , it seemed the debate about whether the Jews were still the people of God might erupt once more. The Church and Society So, Mentor invited Augustine to address the topic of the church and its relationship to society, and especially to worldly authorities, during the Last Times . “Paul warns Christians who become puffed up with pride about the freedom they enjoy in Christ,” began Augustine, “and who therefore think they no longer need to submit to governing authorities. Besides, I say, are we not made of soul and body?” 54 “Are you saying our bodies are subject to earthly rulers?” asked Cesar. “As long as we are in this life,” replied Augustine, “we make use of temporal things as a means of living this life. So, it is fitting, as far as this life is concerned, that we be

52 Tertullian, On Monogamy 7 (ANF 4,64).

53 Cyprian, Treatise 1.6 “On the Unity of the Church,” quotation in Allison, 569, and ANF 5:423.

54 Augustine, On Romans . This and following passages are from Gerald Bray, Romans , in Thomas Oden (ed), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, VI (Chicago: Institute of Classical Christian Studies, 1998), 325.