Comparing Machiavelli's The Prince As Applied To God In The Bible
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Machiavelli’s The Prince as Applied to God in The Bible
In his political treatise, Niccolo Machiavelli emphasizes that it is best a leader is both feared and loved, but if impossible, it is better to be feared. A good leader must assume some sense of dictatorial power in order to maintain his position. Machiavelli believes that a true leader must be cunning and deceptive, winning the hearts of his people through power and influence. If he could not be liked, he should be able to intimidate those inferior to him into submission. However rash or cruel this may seem, Machiavelli’s argument is not one to be countered easily. In the Bible, God employs Machiavelli’s philosophy that it is “much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either…show more content… This indicates God is merciful and forgiving, yet just and stern. A god without the perfect balance of these two such extremes would not be omnipotent, as the biblical God is. Such attributes are proven in the Books of Genesis, Exodus, and…show more content… God creates the first man, Adam, out of dust and tells him to look after the trees in the garden of Eden, but warns him that he “may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [he] shall not eat, for in the day that [he eats] of it [he] shall die" (Genesis 34:15-17). Although God provides Adam with all life’s necessities and comforts, he also asserts his power by threatening to take all of those away had Adam not heeded his command. To give company to Adam, God creates the first woman, Eve, from his ribs and both live in the idyllic garden. However, God had also placed a serpent, the most deceitful creature in the Bible, in the garden; the serpent talked to Eve and tricked her into eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."” (Genesis 3:1-5). The serpent convinced Eve