Bartolomé de Las Casas presents, for the time, a surprising statement on human equality before God. Defending the native populations of the New World from the violence of Spain and the claims to authority expressed by Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, Las Casas provides an early affirmation of human rights and the limits of civil and ecclesiastical authority. In this article I will argue that Las Casas gives a nuanced assessment of civil government, to which he attributes vital but limited authority. I further propose that Las Casas, while maintaining the traditional and scriptural authority of the church, ascribes a similarly circumscribed earthly authority. The effect of these positions is to grant non-Christians rationality and the freedom of self-government. My evaluation of Las Casas' thinking will begin with his vision of civil authority, then move on to a description of the Church's role in the world. I will then turn to his defense of Native American rationality and freedom. Las Casas presents a nuanced view of the authority of civil government, arguing for its validity and introducing a theological critique of its abuses. Las Casas's approach itself implicitly supports the authority of civil government within the human, earthly order. Much of his intent in his defense is to appeal to governmental powers to use their authority as Las Casas believes God would. This priority is exemplified in Defence's opening summary. Las Casas presented his arguments in response to Emperor Charles' call for the Valladolid debates. In response to Las Casas's thoughts, the first summary of the Defense attributes to Emperor Charles the pontifically decreed authority over the “Indians living near the Ocean S...... half of...... paper time . Las Casas maintains a fundamental concern for the spread of the Gospel. However, it is concerned with what the Gospel itself means and how it should be spread. Church and State, Las Casas argues, seize the power of Christ when they force conversion with violence. Therefore, they abrogate the very civilization and gospel they claim to serve. For Las Casas, the true messengers of God adhere to the true message of God: they call people to Christ through the love due to equal and rational beings, created in the image of God.Works CitedDefense 3Defense 294Defense 279Defense 38-39Defense 39-40Defense 4Defense 297Defense 104-5Defense 115Witness 139Defense 288Defense 299Defense 287Defense 283-85Defense f 37Defense 44-46Defense 42Gutierrez, Introduction to the Witness, xviiiDefense 47Witness 141Defense 302