Some Catholics think that the words of Jesus do not apply to them. Such is the case with those who see nothing wrong in ignoring Jesus’ disapproval of the repetition of prayers, such as the persistent repetition of 50 “Hail Marys” in the rosary.

This is not the only instance where Christians give short shrift to the teachings of Jesus. In his religious writings, Tolstoy highlighted the inconsistency of Christians who believe that Jesus was divine and infallible while ignoring to put into practice what he preached.

For example, Jesus forbade his followers to take revenge for evil done against them. He told his disciples to forgive their enemies and to bless those who persecute them. This is an unquestionable part of the Gospels’ teachings. As A.N. Wilson writes in his biography of Tolstoy, “Equally unquestionable is the fact that the Church does not hesitate to disavow the plain tone of Jesus’ pacifist teaching... Tolstoy conceded the force of arguments against pacifism − usually based on patriotism or the desire to protect the defenceless − but what the anti-pacifist arguments can never be based upon is the teaching of the Gospels.”

In his novel Resurrection, Tolstoy deplores the way Christians, including priests, ignore the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. Tolstoy writes about a priest who administers oaths during court trials (as was the custom in 19th century Russia).  ”It had never occurred to the priest that his work in the court-room, which consisted in having people take an oath over the Gospel, in which the swearing of oaths is directly prohibited, was not good...”

In a chapter entitled “Thoughts About The Mass”, Tolstoy writes: “It did not occur to any one present that Jesus had forbidden prayers in temples, and had commanded each to pray in solitude; that He had forbidden the temples themselves, saying that He came to destroy them, and that one should pray not in temples, but in spirit and in truth... It never occurred to any one that the gilt cross, which the priest brought out and gave the people to kiss, was nothing else but the representation of the gibbet on which Christ had been executed for prohibiting those very things which were done here in His name.” 

John Guillaumier

ST JULIAN’S