The priest performed his functions with an easy conscience because he had been brought up from childhood to believe that this was the one true faith which had been held by all saints that had ever lived and was held now by the spiritual and temporal authorities. He did not believe that the bread became flesh, or that it was good for the soul to pronounce a great number of words, or that he had really devoured a bit of God - no one could believe that - but he believed that one ought to believe it. But the main thing that confirmed him in this faith was the fact that, in return for fulfilling the demands of this faith, for eighteen years now he had been drawing an income which enabled him to support his family, and send his son to a high-school and his daughter to a school for the daughters of clergy.
Tolstoy, Resurrection
How hard to preach without being aware that your salary depends on the very people you are preaching to. How hard not to adapt the message to that the are expecting to hear (be that good or harsh). How hard not to use the terminology they are expecting to hear from a minister of the Lord. How hard not to convince yourself that the doctrines they expect you to believe are actually true. How hard...
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