Tertullian, went on the Pope, "became more and more demanding with respect to the Christians, with the passing of the years": "Under any circumstances, and above all, in relation to persecutions, he expected a heroic behaviour from them. With his rigid positions, he did not spare heavy criticism to anybody, and he inevitably found himself isolated". "This great personality makes me really think", added Benedict XVI, speaking off the cuff: "Staying with the Church and accepting its weak points he stated is one of the characteristics of the great theologian: just God is really holy, and we really need forgiveness". Therefore, Tertullian remains "an interesting witness of the first times of the Church, at a time when the Christians found themselves to be the real subjects of the ‘new culture’". Benedict XVI also recalled another reflection of the theologian, according to whom "the Christian cannot hate his enemies, not even them"; and "the unavoidable moral aspect of choosing one’s faith proposes ‘non violence’ as rule of life. This teaching is dramatically present-day, also in the light of the heated debate on religions". The Pope encouraged believers to be able "to express the Rule of Faith in a more and more convincing way". It is the rule "according to which, we believe just one God exists, and there are no other Gods apart from the Creator of the world".
