However, since Scripture does have a positive socio-political function in promoting justice and charity, one might wonder how much authority the clergy has in public matters. Spinoza’s response is that “authority in sacred matters belongs wholly to the sovereign powers ” (Ch. 19, title). Like Hobbes, he embraces the Erastian position that religious law is realized through the will of the civil authority (TTP, Ch. 19). The crux of the single authority thesis is this: the sovereign is the sole ci