He Might Imitate Brave, Brave Sir Robin

“Civil governments rest upon force, and the gospel does not. How can these two principles ever abide together? There are some who have wanted the church to train its sons in the arts of politics, encouraging them to have their try at shinnying up the greasy pole of civil ambition. Others want the church to keep its prophetic purity, standing off at a distance, speaking truth to power. But as history will show, from time to time, as it happens, power sometimes listens. What does the prophet do then?” (5 Cities, p. xv.)