members live their ordinary lives by secular standards; they do so, because they are the only ones they know, and the inspiration to do anything different has almost died. It has died, because clergy and laity alike each look at things from their own points of view, and not from God's. The poet in Schubert's Winterreise reiterates the theme that there is no escape from heartbreak as long as a man persists in his own point of view; but then in the last song of the cycle he says that when you learn to extend the hand of sympathy again to another, then you learn again to live. I believe he was right. To enter into God's life, you have to be willing to bring a little of the Kingdom of Heaven down to earth, and to see his problems through his eyes. Whether churchmen are unwilling or unable to do this, they do not do it. The only occasion when I have come across anybody who looked at things through Christ' s eyes was when I read Professor Seeley's book Ecce Homo, first published in 1865. He described Christ's claim to Kingship, the legislative and partial judicial functions which he claimed, and considered the solutions Christ himself chose for these problems in his earthly life. Unfortunately there are not many Professor Seeleys around.
The principal concern of the Church is the perpetuation of fantasy and myth, which many people cannot live without. Many people need a large amount of fantasy in their lives; the humdrum life in the community by itself is not enough. They admit that they need fantasy, and do not attempt to conceal the fact. And the Church provides this world of fantasy, and in doing so performs a valuable social service. But it is a secular social service. This is Freud's opinion of the average man's religion.
Because this may seem a little far-fetched, let me give an illustration. The Christian ethic, most people agree, (believers and unbelievers alike) is the Sermon on the Mount. Let us see what it says. Well one of the things it says is, “When a man takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well ** When a man…