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Hobbes & the
Two Kingdomsof God
JoelSchwartz
of Michigan
University
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of God
8 Hobbes& theTwo Kingdoms
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JoelSchwartz 9
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10 Hobbes& theTwo Kingdoms
of God
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JoelSchwartz 11
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of God
12 Hobbes& theTwo Kingdoms
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JoelSchwartz 13
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14 Hobbes& theTwo Kingdoms
of God
becauseit so strikingly
resemblestheHobbesiananalysisof thecauses
and effectsof otherrebellions:
A certainJudas,a Gaulanitefroma citynamedGamala,whohad
enlistedtheaid ofSaddok,a Pharisee,threw himselfintothecause
of rebellion.Theysaid thattheassessment carriedwithit a status
amounting to downright slavery,no less, and appealedto the
nationto makea bidforindependence. Theyurgedthatin caseof
successthe Jewswouldhave laid the foundation of prosperity,
whileif theyfailedto obtainany such boon, theywouldwin
honourand renownfortheirloftyaim;andthatHeavenwouldbe
theirzealoushelperto no lesserend thanthefurthering of their
enterprise untilitsucceeded-allthemoreifwithhighdevotionin
theirheartstheystoodfirmanddidnotshrink fromthebloodshed
thatmight be necessary.Sincethepopulace,whentheyheardtheir
appeals,responded gladly,theplotto strikeboldlymadeserious
progress; and so thesemensowedtheseedofeverykindofmisery,
whichso afflicted thenationthatwordsareinadequate. Whenwars
are set afootthatare boundto ragebeyondcontrol,and when
friendsaredoneawaywithwhomight havealleviated thesuffering,
whenraidsare madebygreathordesof brigands and menof the
highest standing areassassinated,itis supposedto be thecommon
welfare thatis upheld,butthetruth is thatinsuchcasesthemotive
is privategain.Theysowedtheseedfromwhichsprangstrife be-
tweenfactions andtheslaughter offellowcitizens. Somewereslain
incivilstrife,forthesemenmadlyhadrecourse tobutchery ofeach
otherand of themselves froma longing notto be outdonebytheir
opponents;otherswereslainby the enemyin war. Then came
famine,reserved to exhibitthelastdegreeof shamelessness, fol-
lowedbythestorming andrazingofcitiesuntilat lasttheverytem-
ple of God was ravagedby theenemy'sfirethrough thisrevolt.
Hereis a lessonthatan innovation and reform in ancestraltradi-
tionsweighsheavily inthescaleinleadingtothedestruction ofthe
congregation ofthepeople.... Thezeal whichJudasand Saddok
inspired in theyounger element meanttheruinof ourcause."
Josephus'analysismight almosthavebeentakenfromBehemoth: the
to taxationand thereligious
resistance zealotrywhichhe the
describes,
seedsofcivilwarwhichhe discerns inthedesireforindividual
advance-
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JoelSchwartz 15
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16 Hobbes& theTwo Kingdoms
of God
"improves"thepresentation of hispositioninLeviathan,bymakingit
lessobvioustherethanitis inDe Civethattheinfluence oftheHebrew
authorsof theBibleand thelearning of theHebrewtonguecouldcon-
ceivablyalso be blamedforthepoliticalinstabilityof theWest.
We haveseenhownostalgic desiresto restore
thekingdom of God to
prominence were responsiblefor "a falseshow of liberty,"in which
rebels"favour[ed]tumults."It is evenmoreimportant, however,to
realizethattheJudaicinsistence had
uponliberty alreadyimpaired the
properfunctioning of thekingdom of God duringits earlier
and more
successful
period.OnlyduringtheruleofMoses,and duringtheruleof
thehighpriestinthelifetime ofJoshua,wassovereignty inthiskingdom
botheffective and absolute.Thereafter rulewas divided,in waysthat
werepredictably harmful to thewelfareof thekingdom."The supreme
civil power was . . . rightlydue by God's own institutionto the high
priest;butactuallythatpowerwasintheprophets, to whom(beingrais-
ed byGod inan extraordinary manner) theIsraelites,a peoplegreedy of
prophets, submitted themselvesto be protectedandjudged,byreasonof
thegreatesteemtheyhadofprophecies."'3 SinceHobbesexplicitly states
thatthebelief"thatthesupremeauthority maybe divided"is fatal"to
all commonweals,"3l he necessarily condemnsthe institutional ar-
rangements of thekingdom of God, in whichno singlegroupof rulers
was able to exercisesupreme authority.
Whydidthehighpriestslackthenecessary powerto enforce thelaw
thattheyproclaimed? The answerto thisquestionliesonceagainin the
Jewish concern withliberty,andtheconcomitant reluctanceto submit to
anysinglegroup of human rulers.In the
effect, Israeliteswere able to
play one set of rulersoffagainst the other.32Hobbes to
appears deny
this,in thathe contends thattheprophets'rulewas absolute(ifnotde
jure),33whichimpliesthattheycouldenforce thelaw. Butwealso learn
fromHobbes's own testimony thatthe prophets'authority was not
always absolute. A prophet's claim to authority is oftenquestionable,
becauseit is notcertainthatsomeoneis a prophetuntilafterhispro-
phecyeitherhas or has notbeenfulfilled. In themeantime, is he to be
30. De Cive, xvI, 15.
31. De Cive, xII, 5.
32. Hobbesmakesthiscriticism moreexplicitlyinLeviathanthanhe doesinDe Cive,
although theLeviathan discussionconcerns notthekingdom ofGod butinsteadthedivi-
sionofpowerbetween prophets andkingswhichtookplaceafteritsdemise.SeeLeviathan,
"alwayskeptinstorea pretext,
40, p. 350:theIsraelites either todis-
ofjusticeorreligion,
chargethemselves of theirobedience,whensoever theyhad hopeto prevail."
33. See De Cive,xvI,15: "If we considerthefact,["thesupreme civilpowerandthe
authority God'sword"]wereunitedintheprophets
ofinterpreting whojudgedIsrael.For
as judges,theyhadthecivilauthority; as prophets, God's word."
theyinterpreted
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JoelSchwartz 17
obeyed?TheIsraelites werenotalwaysabletoresolvethisquestionsatis-
sincetherewerethosewhomtheJews"slewwhentheyprophe-
factorily;
sied,"whose"writings" they"esteemed... forprophetic afterward,""34
Hobbesineffect concedesthatprophetic authorityamongthemwasnot
alwaysabsolute.
The ruleof thede jure authorities was not absolutebecauseof the
interferenceof thedefactoauthorities;theruleofthedefactoauthori-
tieswas notabsoluteeither,as evidenced bythefactthatsomeof them
werekilledbytheirsupposedsubjects.As Hobbesexplains, theabsence
of absoluteauthorityin thekingdom of God resultedfromthefactthat
no individualor groupof individuals possessedthechiefrequisiteof
sovereignauthority: power punish."For thesecurity
the to ofparticular
men,and,byconsequence, the is
for commonpeace,it necessary thatthe
rightof usingtheswordforpunishment be transferred
to somemanor
council;thatmanor councilis necessarily understood byrightto have
thesupremepowerin thecity.""3In thisrespect,thekingdom of God
wasunlikeall othercommonwealths thathaveeverexisted:"The rightof
inflictingpunishment dependedwhollyon privatejudgment;and it
belongedto a dissolute
multitude andeachsinglepersonto punishornot
to punish,accordingas theirprivatezeal shouldstirthemup."6 The
retentionbyprivateindividuals of therightto punishcausestheJewish
kingdom ofGod,atleastinthisonerespect, morecloselytoresemble the
Hobbesianstateof naturethananyconceivableHobbesiancommon-
wealth.Hobbes'scommentary on theidiosyncratic
character oftheking-
domof God in thisrespectis of particularinterest:
Now thiswas conformable to thenatureof God's peculiarking-
dom.For thereGod reignsindeed,wherehislawsare obeyednot
forfearof men,butforfearof himself. And truly,if menwere
suchas theyshouldbe, thiswerean excellentstateofcivilgovern-
power(inwhichI compre-
ment;butas menare,thereis a coercive
hendbothrightand might)necessary to rulethem.37
The Bibleitself,Hobbescontends, acknowledges this:"And therefore
also God, fromthebeginning, lawsbyMosesforthefuture
prescribed
kings."38
Hobbes'scriticalanalysisof theJewishkingdom of God reflects
his
34. De Cive, xvI, 12.
35. De Cive,vi,6.
36. De Cive,xvi,15.
thatevenifprophetic
37. De Cive,xvI,15. Notetheimplication rulehadbeenabsolute
withinthekingdom becauseprophetic
ofGod,itwouldstillhavebeendefective; rulewas
onlydefacto,itpossessedonly"might,"not"right."
38. De Cive,xvI,15.
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of God
18 Hobbes& theTwo Kingdoms
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JoelSchwartz 19
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of God
20 Hobbes& theTwo Kingdoms
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JoelSchwartz 21
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22 Hobbes& theTwo Kingdoms
of God
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JoelSchwartz 23
III. Conclusion
The Christiankingdomof God is a moresuccessfulversionof the
Leviathan-state, in thatitssubjectsobeytheirsovereign and do notdie.
In addition,the politicalarrangements of the Christian(but not the
Jewish) kingdom ofGod callto mindsomeofthepoliticalarrangements
oftheLeviathan-state. Bothcallforobedience to a centralized
authority,
andallowno splitbetween dejure and defactoauthority;inbothliberty
is to be foundinthesilenceofthelaws,notinresistance to,orparticipa-
tionin,themakingof politicaldecisions.
Thusthekingdom of God employssomeoftheinstitutional arrange-
mentsof the Leviathan-state and transforms humannature,so as to
guarantee theachievement of thegoalsof theLeviathan-state.In these
the
respects kingdom ofGod to come differs from
radically thekingdom
ofGod thatwas. In theoriginal kingdom ofGod,humannaturewasthe
same as it is today,but institutional arrangements weresignificantly
worsethanthoseoftheLeviathan-state. Accordingly, theoriginalking-
domofGod wasfarfroma Hobbesianutopia,inthatitfailedto achieve
thegoalsof theLeviathan-state, and therefore to ful-
failedsufficiently
fillthedeepestdesiresof humannature.
In Hobbes'sconception ofuniversalhistory,wearesuspended intime
between thetwokingdoms ofGod. As Pocockhasargued,theseemingly
ahistorical humanbeingsdescribed inBooksI andII ofLeviathanarenot
altogether fortheyremember
ahistorical, thekingdom ofGod thatwas,
and anticipatethe kingdomof God thatis to come. In one sense,as we
have seen,theoriginalkingdomof God is an antetypeof itssuccessor;in
another sense, however,the Leviathan-statetoo, ruled as it is by a
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24 Hobbes& theTwo Kingdoms
of God
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