Part 3 Chapters 39, 40, & 41 Summary and Analysis

The word "church" is sometimes taken to mean God's house though it is not an edifice, a building, or a temple. A church is an assembly of people who gather together to hear a magistrate, such as a priest or pastor, speak to them about the word of God. Hobbes officially defines a church as "a company of men professing Christian religion, united in the person of one sovereign, at whose command they ought to assemble, and without whose authority they ought not to assemble." The commonwealth comes first, because God wants all people to obey the laws of their nation. Christians must obey all civil and divine laws simultaneously.

In chapter 40, Hobbes introduces the rights of Abraham, Moses, the High Priests and the Kings of Judah. God first made a contract with Abraham. He spoke only to Abraham...