All of which brings us to that word “authority”. The phrase “what would Jesus do?” is overused. But it doesn’t seem to me a bad question to ask oneself, particularly if one pursues a career soaked in scripture and moral exhortation. And whether one understands Jesus simply as an interesting historical figure, or as the Son of God, we can all surely agree on one thing: he cared nothing for earthly authority, or his own security, when fundamental questions of right and wrong hung in the balance. On what authority did he turn the money-changers out of the Temple, or prevent the gleeful mob from stoning an adulterous woman? His protective instincts were particularly strong on behalf of children: “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.”