Many years ago, when I was writing as a stringer for a Christian tabloid, I submitted the following story. It passed through the hands of the editor who had been a senior reporter for a big-city newspaper. He wrote the snappy headline, which you have just read. The story has never gone out of date, and I give it to aspiring writers to keep their feet on the ground.

The story:

When a person is arrested, they are warned that they are not obliged to say anything, but anything they say may be put in writing and used as evidence.

Thanks to the law, the flesh becomes word, immutable letters on paper on which life itself may depend.

As a writer, I have many times sat on the other side of a table with a notepad and a recorder, gathering evidence--not with prosecution in mind, but in order to tell a story. Research is any journalist's bread and butter, and the more communicative the subject, the better the story.

A great deal of effort is expended to achieve accuracy and, for a Christian writer, to understand not only with the head, but with the heart.

One of the lengths that I will go to in order to get the story right is, whenever practical, to send a copy of the story to the person or persons concerned for them to check the facts. This is not the norm in the world of journalism, but it is good insurance, and it often winkles out more information still.

But the practice has its drawbacks.

The most common thing to happen is for the subject, who may have shown no previous inclination to literacy, to come over coy, and cover your manuscript with changes.

Corrections are appreciated, but some changes are unacceptable--like changing the sense of what was said, or crossing out things entirely, with no reasons given, or replacing a carefully-chosen, apt phrase with a deathly dose of Christian jargon.

Suddenly, the world is blessed with another writer--why don't they do it for a living?

Now, I am not at heart a hostile witness. In fact, in most cases, I have gone out of my way to be sympathetic, even though I might not have agreed with a particular point of view. But it seems to me that people think I, a Christian writer, am out to "get" them the way Woodward and Bernstein got President Nixon, as we learned in their book, and the film All the President's Men.

Again, I can sympathise. I, too, have been dishonoured by a reporter's perception of the facts, and his presentation of them, and the experience is not pleasant. But does it make no difference that I am their Christian brother, committed to loving them, and to telling the truth?

Experience has shown me, however, that none of this cuts any ice, and I should not expect the subject to behave any more responsibly.

No matter how chummy we have been before the interview, a definite insecurity taints the air when my notebook and recorder come out. The message comes across clearly.

Is it really this serious? Are they going to be held to their word? Yes, it is, and they are, and worse, they are going to have to trust me.

Over the years, I have learned not to argue much with people who maintain what was written was not what they said, despite my tape recording of their voice, or was not what they meant. The fact is, they did say it, and the flesh has become word.

"Don't print this, but..." is a universal appeal. "Off the record I can say..."

And then, caught by their enthusiasm, they lunge down a favourite freeway, with me taking it all down. All of it, even though love and mercy dictate that it may never see print.

I have talked with people who own no connection with Christianity, and with devoted, serious Christians, and sadly, the people I find most slippery are the Christians.

The others are definite, unashamed and trusting.

Sometimes I feel like God, writing down my subjects' careless words for posterity, and judgment day. One day I might even remind them that God will judge every careless word they utter, with no arguments.

When God spoke, he did not change his mind.

Christ let his yes be yes, and his no be no.

If we deem statements worth making, we should make them as if they will follow us into eternity, for they surely will.