God's Country

Part Sixty

'For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God.'

1 Corinthians 2:5

Michael Winstanley did not need or ask for any media advice, from Alistair Forbes or from anyone else. He had all the advice he needed in his bible, and if he was not usually a fire and brimstone preacher, he was sorely tempted to become one. His secretary seemed to have every newspaper and television company on the phone before he had even finished his morning coffee. By the time the BBC car arrived he had given his response some serious thought, and remembered his responsibilities, but he was still unbelievably cross. He had been listening to Today on Radio Four so he heard Charles Buckingham live. He had also caught up with Strickland's rant online, after his grandson found it for him, and it made him even more furious. He ended up in a studio in Guildford, doing an extended interview for the World at One.

"Pastor, are you a Christian Fundamentalist?" The presenter's voice came down the line loud and clear. Winstanley had forgotten the man's name in his continuing fury but he doubted if it would matter.

"Yes and no." He replied, with deliberate finality.

"Could you possibly expand on that answer?"

"I checked my dictionary this morning...fundamentalism is defined as 'a usually religious movement or point of view characterised by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism' so I say yes to the first part, and obviously no to the end bit that talks about intolerance." Michael Winstanley quoted the definition by heart, without hesitation, his anger clearly evident in his voice. Charles Buckingham had to temper his response but the Pastor was not seeking election and he was prepared to stand up for himself, for his Church and his friends. "My Church uses the word reform in its name young man, and we clearly wish to return to the fundamental principles of Christianity. But I fear the word was not used in that sense, and was meant as an insult, as an attempt to blacken our good name."

"And that clearly irritates you, Pastor?"

"On the contrary, if Mr Strickland wishes to have a religious debate with me, I would be more than happy to oblige. What irritates me is that a decent man has been forced to defend himself and his family by the wild accusations of a fool who is clearly not fit to hold office. I listened to a good friend of mine baring his soul live on your radio station this morning and I was moved to tears by his words." Winstanley's cold fury seemed to fill the airwaves. "I am not opposed to secularism at all; although I will admit that as a minister of God I see it as something of a challenge. Our church is fully supportive of the Christian Democratic Party as are many other Christian organisations, but this election is not a Christian crusade. It is, as I see it, a crossroads in the social and political history of this great country and I am afraid Mr Strickland's performance on television this morning only underlines the need for change. He should be ashamed of himself, and I hope he has the backbone to apologise."

"But some people do think that your beliefs are quite radical..."

"Once again, that might depend on your definition of the word...it comes from the Latin, of roots, and in my preferred use of the word it means getting to the root cause of a problem and solving it, rather than taking the expedient course of action...something politicians like Mr Strickland tend to do as a matter of course. However, since my beliefs come from the bible, I fail to see how we can be accused of anything else. I believe that the bible is at the root of everything and everyone. The only possible cause of contention and argument comes from interpretation, and different interpretations of the bible are hardly a new phenomenon. But here is a belief that you can interpret for yourself...Brian Strickland disgraced himself, his party and his country this morning and I hope he realises what he has done. In my opinion good government is about clearing the path forwards, about offering support to every member of society who plays by the rules. I would ask anyone thinking of voting Labour whether they would trust a man like Brian Strickland with their future, as he appears intolerant and bitter in the extreme. My friend Charles Buckingham is a good and very honest man...most of his opponents will say the same thing...and the fact that he was forced to relive the pain of losing his first wife live on air this morning is something Mr Strickland will have on his conscience until the day he dies."