is the spirit that is within him; and the corresponding claim of the Christian is that he has communion, or an indwelling, with the God who created all things. This too may be true or false. If true, it is “the Truth” about the man; if false, then it is just a great fantasy and imagination. But while the belief is held that it is true, obedience is demanded not only in action and motive, but also in heart and will; that is in the willingness to act and in the spirit in which actions are undertaken. In one sense it is complete slavery, although in another it is perfect freedom. The disagreeable possibility is that sometimes it may be true, and sometimes it may not. Idolatry is remarkably similar. Men and women no longer worship silver and wooden idols in this country, at least not obviously; but Francis Bacon, better moralist in theory than in practice as one modern judge has put it, yet still an incredibly intelligent and observant man, classified men's fondest beliefs as Idols of the Tribe and Idols of the Market-Place. And the man who makes his profession, or even the inanimate hills, his whole life is falling into the old error, as surely as Solomon did in sacrificing to his wives' pagan gods, so as not to offend them. The point is that idolaters too claim an in-dwelling with the object of their worship; and I expect any idolater would say that his idol was just as imperious as the one true God. But I hope that the few examples I have given from the Law Courts are enough to show that I have pursued Justice by other means; I mean by means other than idolatry.
In this context, claiming to be infallible does not really help. For one thing, we all make mistakes. Jesus did; Judas was one, and by all accounts rather a bad one. For another, the danger of claiming infallibility, whether in oneself or as advised by council, is that one leaves the practical world of common sense behind, and indulges in delusions of grandeur. It is more important to inspire confidence.
This is particularly so, when two World Wars and the prophets of the permissive society between them have removed so many familiar landmarks on…