麻豆社

Good morning.

Sales of the 1993 pop single, 鈥淢oving on Up鈥� may well be in for a surprising revival. It鈥檚 adoption, by the new Prime Minister, as entrance music for her party conference speech, has aired the song to a fresh generation of music lovers. What鈥檚 more, it has also brought that whiff of controversy, which can propel an item close to the top of the news schedules as well as the pop charts. The founder of the group M People, one of my home city of Manchester鈥檚 many musical exports, understandably feels attached to the song. whatever the legal situation may be regarding its current copyright, he鈥檚 upset to see it being used to promote a brand of politics with which he deeply disagrees.

I鈥檝e some sympathy for the Prime Minister. Many years ago, I wrote a largely lighthearted piece in a national newspaper. In the course of my text I quoted, favourably, an author whose works I love, but known to hold atheist views. He himself didn't object, as it happened he鈥檇 been dead for some years. However, several fellow devotees wrote online comments to the effect that they were offended at a Christian using him to promote my line of thought.

I鈥檝e sympathy too for Mike Pickering and his fellow group members. My Christian faith is every bit as precious to me as their music to them. When I hear Christianity being used to justify homophobia or racist attitudes, or Christian symbols being adopted by extreme political groups, I want to weep at what feels to me a desecration of what I hold most dear.

Galling though it is, to see something precious to us so perverted, I remain far more concerned when I look around the world and see places where disagreement and dissent are banned. Diverse opinions and beliefs are a strength of our society, and the answer to obnoxious viewpoints is, in most cases, to counter them with healthy and life-giving ones. It can take time. St Francis of Assisi, who was commemorated in churches two days ago, lived long enough to see many of his ideals watered down by those who sought to make them more compatible with contemporary standards. And yet his influence remains powerful, centuries after his opponents have vanished into history. My faith encourages me to believe that good will ultimately triumph over evil, that love is more powerful than hate. And that 鈥淢oving on Up鈥� is not just the title of a pop song, nor a handy political slogan, but a hint at our ultimate human destiny in God鈥檚 Kingdom.

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