LAW AND PROPHET
"Behold I am against the prophets," saith the Lord, "that use their tongues and say 'He saith' " ' (Jeremiah, chapter 23).
NO ONE should dismiss the possibility that God speaks directly to Mr James Manchester. the Chief Constable of Greater manchester. The Almighty has used even odder channels and, as Mr Anderton him- self has reminded us, He moves in a mysterious way. To say that one is receiv- ing direct instruction from God is not necessarily a sign of madness. One strong !!tand of the Christian tradition — that of Protestant puritanism — has long held that Jets Only by the personal knowledge of _sus Christ as their saviour that men can manchester. The Almighty has used even odder channels and, as Mr Anderton him- self has reminded us, He moves in a mysterious way. To say that one is receiv- ing direct instruction from God is not necessarily a sign of madness. One strong !!tand of the Christian tradition — that of Protestant puritanism — has long held that Jets Only by the personal knowledge of _sus Christ as their saviour that men can Li ow that they are saved. Mr Anderton is it°Itling the Roman Catholic Church, it is true, but Rome, also teaches that God has the sPecial e a relationship with Hi saints. But re two things wrong with what Mr Anderton has said. The first is that he allowed an interviewer to draw him into agreeing that he might be a prophet. It is a teaching of the Church that prophets ceased after the coming of Christ: Mr Anderton cannot be a prophet. The second is that Mr Anderton is foolish to proclaim his messages from God to the public. The relationship with God which he describes is personal; its character must remain pri- vate. By telling us how it commands his public actions, he makes it very difficult for people to deal with him. How can we judge what he says? How can we share the truth of his experience? Mr Anderton should realise that he cannot expect others to take his revelations on trust and therefore they cannot possibly assist his efforts to police Greater Manchester. One might almost say that his relationship with God is unprofes- sional. Certainly, his description of it does not give him the moral weight which, he so rightly observes, the bishops lack.
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