takes what is yours do not demand it back”, New English Bible, Luke 6 v.29. In other words when your house is burgled, you are not to dial 999 for the Police; instead before the man has made off with the television, you are to give him the silver spoons as well. Not only must you not tell the Police, you must not claim on your insurance company, because you can only insure your household goods on the basis that you take all reasonable steps to apprehend the thief. In other words if the Sermon on the Mount is to be put into practice, bang go the Police and Insurance, two of the main supports of our modern commercial world. I do not think I have ever met anyone who has behaved like this when his house was burgled; and I doubt if I have ever met anybody who has made a serious attempt to put the Sermon on the Mount into practice. It is far too hard. Most of us are content to aim for goals which seem to be within our capabilities; not those which appear hopelessly far outside. Even thinking that one has an indwelling or a communion with Jesus soon becomes myth and comfort if one does not try to share it with others, however dangerous it may be to do so. And my experience is that it is very dangerous, and should only be attempted with great caution.
If Christianity seems so hard to put into practice, people should not be blamed for going to Church for the comforts of myth and fantasy. But one should not make the mistake of thinking that they go to Church to bring the Kingdom of Heaven down to earth. They do not. And they are of course excellent material for the dogmatists among the clergy; because those who go to church for the comforts of myth and fantasy do not want to believe anything. In fact that is exactly what they want to avoid; because if you believe something there is always the danger that one day you may have to put your beliefs into practice. What they want is to pay lip-service to some beliefs; and that is exactly what the dogmatist is able to teach them to do, and exactly what he…