And lo! it came to pass, that in the land of St Aldate's there did dwell an Evangelist, who did say unto his flock: "Verily I say unto thee this day, that if ye who have broken the Eighth Commandment shall repent of your thieving ways, and return thy ill-gotten gains to the church or the person you nicked it off, there shall be much rejoicing in the library."

Not since Moses made the return trip with the Tablets, have so many people obeyed holy orders to hand back anything which, strictly speaking, wasn't theirs in the first place.

St Aldate's Church in Oxford has been awash with library books, money and other goodies since the Church of England's most celebrated preacher, J John, told the faithful: "Thou Shalt Not Steal". He challenged them: Give back anything you've pilfered or borrowed to the church or the owner.

The sermon pricked a series of guilty consciences - and parishioners responded with gusto.

So far, Oxfordshire's libraries have been the main beneficiary - with long-forgotten volumes filling the aisles.

These have now been returned to the library, or given to charity, as the ecclesiastical amnesty continues.

The evangelist, who travels the world and has issued similar calls in Chester, Merseyside and Twickenham, said he was amazed by the response.

St Aldate's curate Andrew Buckler said it showed people wanted to embrace values like honesty and truth - particularly as the new Millennium looms large in people's minds.

"It is signalling a genuine desire for some sort of moral grounding," he said.

Each week, a different commandment is being discussed by J John. So far they have had Coveting, Not Bearing False Witness, Stealing, Adultery and Murder.

And a bumper crowd of about 600 is expected tomorrow when How To Honour One's Family is on the agenda.

Mr Buckler attributed the impact of J John's words on his charisma. "He is very dynamic - an extremely energetic speaker, a superb communicator," he said.

And should he ever tire of sermons, he has a job for life with Oxfordshire's library service.

Story date: Wednesday 17 February

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