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This chapter examines the most basic and fundamental concepts of authority that defined the early military commander in Roman tradition, and it attempts to create a foundation from which to chart the evolution of military command in later periods. More specifically, the chapter looks at the three most fundamental types of authority exercised by military commanders: the potestas they (eventually) held as civil magistrates, the auspicium they possessed as intermediaries between the state and its gods, and the imperium they wielded as military commanders. The imperium in particular is defined as the singular and indivisible authority of military command that was forbidden within the civilian sphere of Rome except in dire emergencies.

This chapter examines how reformation unfolded in England. A tiny number of people acted on the imperative to quit the state church. Why did others who wanted reform or reformation not follow their example? As often happened in early modern Europe, outbursts of radicalism prompted a reaction in favor of more moderate or even conservative principles or goals. The first of these was the ambition to take over and refashion a state church with the help of the civil magistrate. In 1558, hopes ran high for Elizabeth to play this role. In the eyes of English and Scottish Presbyterians, magisterial Protestantism—that is, church and state working together to impose and protect a certain version of Protestantism—was justified by biblical precept and political theology. Moreover, this kind of Protestantism preserved a strong role for the clergy over against the “Brownistical” or “democratic” implications of Separatism. At a moment when the rhetorical strategy of anti-puritans such as Bancroft was to emphasize the “Anabaptisticall” aspects of the movement, a third goal was political, to deflect the force of that rhetoric by insisting on the benefits of a national church and some version of the royal supremacy.

In the New England election sermons of the American founding era, few topics commanded more attention and analysis than the qualifications for and duties of a righteous civil magistrate. And no biblical text excited greater interest in, or was more frequently referenced in the commentaries on, this topic than Proverbs 29:2: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” A commonplace axiom held by eighteenth-century Americans was that national prosperity and political happiness were directly related to the moral character of a nation’s civil rulers. This chapter examines uses of Proverbs 29:2 in the founding era, as well as uses of biblical texts, such as Exodus 18:21, which many Americans thought described the characteristics of a righteous civil magistrate. These texts were thought to offer insights into the qualifications for and duties of civil rulers.

This chapter explores the triangular relationship between lay government, ecclesiastical authorities, and the individual Christian. Adiaphora constituted non‐doctrinal matters regarded as ‘indifferent’; mainly rites and ceremonies, but perhaps encompassing church government as well. These issues were central to negotiations over comprehension and were rooted in the theology of Christian liberty. However, the royal supremacy of the civil magistrate in the English Church meant that adiaphora unavoidably raised questions about law and authority. Discussions about the casuistry of obedience brought to the fore the psychological dilemmas of conformity. Debating the aesthetics of worship and their relationship to the remnants of Catholic ‘Popery’ rendered problematic the identity of the English Church. This chapter explores what was distinctive about the Restoration phase of an argument as old as the English Reformation, and how this complicates notions of toleration in the seventeenth century.

Luther and Zwingli employed the prophet and biblical prophecy later in their careers to define the key functions of the pastoral office and consolidate Protestant clerical authority. Luther emphasized the duties of the prophet-pastor to preach Christ and the Gospel and guard true doctrine. Zwingli presented a dual conception of the prophetic office—as gifted exegete and as watchman of Christian society—and distinctively emphasized the cooperative relationship between the Protestant pastor and the civil magistrate in fostering Christian piety and an ethical society. New in both of their accounts was an emphasis on knowledge of the biblical languages in the prophet-pastor’s work as exegete. Their uses of the prophet and biblical prophecy helped them establish the prime authority of Scripture and furthered their visions of the reform of worship.